When parents can order “perfect” babies, will they? Would you take your chances on a throw of the genetic dice, or order up the make and model you wanted? This is the premise of the movie Gattaca. In this world people are subjected to preemptive plastic surgery also know as genetic engineering. Make the child perfect in the test tube, and save money later. Throw in perfect health, a high IQ and a long life-span, and you have the brave new world of perfect people who are expected to do great things. If your parents decided to leave your birth to chance and conceive naturally, you were automatically deemed “Invalid”. Invalids were always considered a risk, unfit, and forced to menial labor jobs. This is the life of our protagonist, Vincent. He had big dreams of space but due to his natural birth he was outright discriminated against.
What is the “perfect person” in this movie the only semblance of someone different was the pianist with 12 fingers. In a world where everyone is breed for perfection, does it not get boring? I also did not see much racial diversity, but this could be because of the time period of the movie. I would hate to think a genetic modified world would diminish not only cultural diversity but also personal uniqueness. That being said, we cannot lose sight of what makes us human, which includes being unique in the various talents and abilities that God gives us and the crosses we have to bear in this life.
I would also like to point out the dystopia factors and why this world should not be created. There was a scene where Vincent’s parents went to a geneticist for their second child. The doctor was talking about eradicating all possible imperfection and Vincent’s mother glared at him. The mother’s expression of realization at the doctor’s words and her glance towards the “imperfect” child shows just how dystopic the world is. Children are labeled perfect or imperfect. Something as natural as one’s gender is now an identity chosen by one’s parents. What happens to genders other than male and female? There is another scene where Vincent is undergoing his final vital check before going into space, and the doctor who has always known his true identity talks about his son, “Unfortunately, my son’s not all that they had promised. But then who knows what he could do.” Once again, I feel like this is another extremely powerful scene that shows the dystopia in the society. There are other people who feel the injustice in the system, but yet they cannot speak up. The discrimination against genes is strong and a part of the society that most people seemed to have accepted.
