What would life be like if natural birth became frowned upon? Parents would go to their local geneticist to tailor their future child to become “perfect”. As is the course of history, these children would go on to be the future; they would have the greatest and most influential careers. The offspring that are conceived out of love would most likely have less superior genes and would be unjustly discriminated against by peers and future employers. This is the society in which the science fiction film “Gattaca”, written and directed by Andrew Niccol, takes place.
The story follows the life of Vincent Freeman, a “degenerate”, or child conceived naturally. He longs to go into space but is held back by his heart condition and life expectancy of 30.2 years. With the help of the black market, Vincent then adopts the identity of a paralyzed man with genetic superiority, Jerome Morrow, in order to begin working at a space station. Jerome supplies Vincent with all things necessary to pull off this stunt: blood, urine and hair. Each plays a different but vital role in maintaining the façade Vincent assumes. With Jerome’s DNA, Vincent is able to secure a spot on a mission into space.
Ethan Hawke, who acts as Vincent/Jerome, played the character well. His good looks matched with his naturally innocent and determined charm make him the perfect choice for this lead role. Jude Law, who plays the real Jerome, provided a sour and witty element to the film as well, pleasantly contrasting the seriously resolute Hawke.
Although the film had generally positive reviews from critics, this 1997 film was not a box office hit. The film was praised by film critics, yet it has been denounced almost universally by scientists. David Kirby, a British professor, feels as if the public was not yet ready to accept “genetic-determinist ideology”. Furthermore, bioethicist James Hughes argues that many professions discriminate those with likeliness of threatening diseases and heart problems for good reason and that many people in the United States today are already singled out for genetic issues by employers and insurance agencies.
“Gattaca” is a science fiction film with a new element written in: possibility. While most science fiction films are just that: fiction, the protagonists in this film are against an oppressive society built on an advanced field of genetics – a field that is real and advancing right this very moment. In the “not-too-distant future”, the time in which the film is set, real-life society can possibly be genetically designing their children in Gattacan fashion.
The question that the film will leave you asking is this: “is this something we want?”, and that answer is entirely up to each individual. Will this new form of genetic engineering take the fun out of life – people’s lives will no longer be up to chance and free will, it will be decided for them before birth by their parents – or will this ultimately be a positive? People will live longer, be healthier, as well as better looking. “Gattaca” shows the negative effects of this type of society, but it is absolutely possible for this development to affect humanity in both positive and negative fashions.