Gattaca Essay

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The film Gattaca is set in the “ not too distant future.” Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol is a futuristic story about a genetically imperfect man and his seemingly unobtainable goal to travel into space. Society has categorized Vincent Freeman as less than suitable given his genetic make-up and he has become one of the underclass of humans that are only useful for menial jobs. The director has composed a modern piece of dystopia, which speculates on a future in which humankind uses science over the human genome to create a better faster and perfect human race. However, strive for perfection does not come without a price. The film portrays the social ramifications of the human genome project and shows how through genetic manipulation this technology can eradicate the problems with human nature. The director presents the main theme, the consequences of genetic engineering, on personal freedom and in creating a new kind of discrimination. Andrew Niccol has cleverly shown the film in a variation of different genres so that the viewer can clearly see the number of themes and social issues arising from genetic engineering. Gattaca shows living in a genetically perfect world as a disadvantage. It makes the viewer think 'Where do you draw the line in the advancement of eugenics?' Through the use of satire the director has shown an alternatice future. The film incorporates the traditional elements of movie - a murder-mystery tied in with a love story plus a science fiction touch very effectively to show these themes. The main theme and issue presented in the film is how will genetic engineering change and effect mankind. Characters such as Vincent, Anton and Director Josef act as a warning to viewers that specific gene therapy used to predetermine attributes of a child isn't necessarily a good thing. On the other side of things Niccol uses Vincent to suggest that
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