ENGL 101—0768 Dr. Vasileiou
Essay 1 Final
10/12/12
Gattaca: Utopia or Dystopia?
The world that we live in today is full of diseases, discrimination, crimes, and warfare. Dystopia would be a good word to describe the environment in which we live in now. A dystopia is a place where the state of living is bad. On the other hand a utopia is an ideal place. In the movie Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol, the world that is portrayed shows us an apparently utopian way of life with electric powered cars, solar energy, and the choice to make the perfect baby from the parent’s best genes. Everything in the future seems to be flawless but it has its faults. In the movie Gattaca we are presented with a dystopia where discrimination plays a big part in their society. Throughout the course of our history discrimination has been a huge issue, which author George J. Annas shows to us in his story “The Man on the Moon”. Another issue that the advancements in science bring is that it is flawed and doesn’t guarantee a perfect being. The civilization where Vincent Freeman, an “invalid”, was born was the opposite of perfect. The DNA that ran through your veins is what determines whether you will be successful in your future or be part of the minority. The society shown in the film resembles the world that we live in today, a place lacking equality and freedom. The future revealed in the movie is a dystopia and an unsuccessful attempt at a utopia.
Many may say that my outlook on the world of Gattaca is unreasonable but it has many flaws that they fail to recognize. The innovative civilization in which Gattaca is located has made many improvements to the world’s environment and has limited the chances of diseases. These enhancements have been developed by higher intelligent humans that were genetically engineered. Of course this sounds perfect, a world with no disease or pollution, but is it really? Science is not perfect and has failed as shown various times in the film. Vincent’s parents were told when he was born that he would die at the age of 30 and would have a 99% chance of heart problems, but he had neither. The mission director who was what they considered a “valid”, a person who was conceived with the technological help of genetic selection, claimed he didn’t have a “violent bone” in his body. Genetically speaking he was correct, but he was in fact a violent person. This was proven when he confessed to murdering the administrator that was delaying his mission to one of Saturn’s moons. Science is flawed because it is not only our genes that make us who we are; it’s also the environment that we grow up in. Irene, an elite worker at Gattaca, was also genetically engineered. Regardless of her upbringing she still had a heart condition. Due to her heart problems she knew she was limited to the missions she would be allowed to perform.
Genetic discrimination is a huge issue that was part of this society. Vincent Freeman was a victim to this prejudice. Vincent was conceived naturally without the new technology to make him a “perfect” baby. The decision his parents made affected his future even before he was born. “They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness. They don’t say that anymore.” In their society, discrimination was not by race but in fact by genes. Children that were conceived naturally were often called several names such as godchild, invalid, or degenerate. Job opportunities were limited to the people who weren’t born genetically engineered. Vincent said, “My real resume was in my cells”. He was correct. Some job interviews simply consisted of a blood or urine sample. It didn’t matter how smart you were, if you didn’t have the right genes you weren’t qualified for the job. In order to fulfill his dream to go to space, Vincent had to take on the identity of someone else who was “valid”.
In the society revealed to us in the film, history is repeating itself. Numerous times we have seen situations similar to the one seen in the film. The story “The Man on the Moon” written by George J. Annas, talks about people being classified as “the other” in the past. Annas argues in his story, “this genocidal proclivity of the past millennium could lead to genocide on an even more horrible scale if we create a new or ‘better’ human species (or subspecies) through genetic engineering.” He is afraid that with a “better” human species, discrimination will be taken to a whole new level. During the Holocaust in WWII, millions of people were killed because they were considered the “other”. After the war the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. This document represented a goal for humanity, “the recognition that human rights are founded on human dignity and that human dignity is shared by all members of the human race without distinctions based on race, religion, or national origin.” Although in the futuristic society in the movie there is no division based on race or religion, there is a division based on genes. The goal set for humanity has not been reached and until it has, our world will always be a dystopia.
The question still remains, “Is the world presented in the movie Gattaca a utopia or a dystopia?” A world with environmental-friendly technology is not enough to consider this place a utopia. This society views people superior to others based on their genetic coding which is clearly a dystopia. It is irrational to view someone as inferior whether it’s because of their race, gender, or in this case their genes. History shows that there has always been discrimination towards people for different reasons. In a world where discrimination has always existed and people have always lived by the society’s representation of what is ideal, is therefore not ideal and essentially a dystopia.
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