Gattaca.
Somehow this 1997 film "Gattaca" has caught my heart - not that lovey dovey way. But I just 'felt' it - perhaps it was the soundtrack by Michael Nyman "The Other Side". Listening to the soundtrack really make me reminisce those old Barker band days again, playing my beloved Euphonium with all the breath and energy I had. I guess I sold my soul to the music.
Back to the movie, it's all about a society in the "not-too-distant" future that persue for only the best candidates to work - and what I mean by this is the birth of genetically-modified babies and how the natural babies get discriminated in the future of having myopia etc. Starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law, the movie talks about how "a genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel". Well.. It's no ordinary job application to the space travel of course, since they wouldn't want to invest so many training and risk the mission - as such, urine, blood and others like hair, dead skin cells were used to retreive their DNA to determine if they are truly in a sense "perfect" for the mission - coined as "Valid" and "In-Valid" for the inferior.
Anyway, it's quite an inspiring movie in such a way that it really moves you - you must totally feel the music to understand it, especially the part when the grown-up brothers started swimming out to the sea. It was basically a challenge between the two to swim as far out into the sea and see who chickens out first. When the time had passed and day they met one another once again, they went out on another challenge (it's more than this, but I'm trying my best not to spoil too much) and this is where I totally liked the following conversation on how Vincent was able to swim so much better and further than his superior brother Anton and how he managed to deceived everyone his identity in the space agency:
Anton: "Vincent! How are you doing this, Vincent? How have you done any of this? We have to go back!"Vincent: "It's too late for that, we're closer to the other side."
Anton: "What other side? Do you want to drown us both‽"
Vincent: "You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back."
Watch it and you'll get what I meant. Sadly, this film was totally overshadowed by Titanic during the awards though nominated, and didn't grossed much due to its poor marketing strategy that portrayed it like a Star Trek movie. Geeze. Thankfully, that had changed with the release of the DVD versions making the cover looks more appropriate to the true Gattaca theme. There's a whole lot of meaning behind the movie, but I'm just a crappy movie reviewer. Hahaha.. This is surely one of those sci-fi movies worth buying and keeping - I wonder if they still have the soundtrack and the DVD on sale..
Edited - 17 August: I added a synopsis from some other website in the read more, and check out the following quote too.
"My father was right. It didn't matter how much I lied on my resume. My real resume was in my cells. Why should anybody invest all that money to train me when there were a thousand other applicants with a far cleaner profile? Of course, it's illegal to discriminate, 'genoism' it's called. But no one takes the law seriously. If you refuse to disclose, they can always take a sample from a door handle or a handshake, even the saliva on your application form. If in doubt, a legal drug test can just as easily become an illegal peek at your future in the company." - Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), Gattaca, 1997
Too damn fascinated what the future holds for us.. Just look at the beauty of that space shuttle lifting off. How great would it be to be able to look down onto glowing Earth in the complete darkness. Well.. It's a career indeed impossible to have alright - just like the in-valids in Gattaca? Haha.
Synopsis
Set in the 21st century, Gattaca gives one perspective of what the future of discrimination is to become: DNA. “No longer determined by social status or the color of your skin, no, we now have discrimination down to a science.” Gattaca is similar to our current NASA, a space agency in the future that is only open to those with the “right things.” Children, for those who can afford it, are now created by DNA manipulation, called “valids.” You can essentially buy whatever traits you would like for your baby.
Vincent was conceived as a “natural birth” because his parents wanted it that way, but their next child, Anton, was a valid. Vincent’s dream had always been to go to Gattaca. However, his DNA had already been analyzed by Gattaca and been determined to be “in-valid.” The act of discriminating based on someone’s DNA is called genoism. Vincent is of course rejected from Gattaca and has to result to becoming a janitor. However, he never loses his dream of going to in to space, and thus takes steps several others have to obtain his goal.
Vincent decides to become a “de-generate,” or a “borrowed ladder” with the help of a DNA Broker. A DNA Broker finds valids that for one reason or another decide to not take part in the social world, and allow an in-valid to take over their genetic identity. Vincent’s DNA Broker determines that Jerome Eugene Morrow is a good candidate. The only problem is that Jerome is over an inch taller than Vincent. A radical surgery ensues. In the end, with the use of finger-masks (silicone fingerprints filled with valid blood), urine pouches, blood pouches, and contact lenses, Vincent immediately is hired by Gattaca. In addition to these measures, he must remove all in-valid material, such as loose skin, from his body as possible everyday.
Everything goes well until the mission-director at Gattaca is murdered, who also happens to be the only one who had come close to discovering Vincent’s true identity. The irony is that Vincent must be even more careful now because law enforcement is all over the place. To add a twist, the lead investigator happens to be Anton, Vincent’s valid brother. The interesting thing is that Anton, who in childhood was always negative towards his brother, seemed to be trying to prevent the discovery of Vincent during the investigation.
The savior for Vincent turns out to be Gattaca’s physician who has known since the beginning that Vincent was an in-valid, but was sympathetic because his own son was a natural birth, so he tricked the computers into thinking Vincent was a valid.
Description of Biology Presented
The main biology present in this movie is DNA. The entire movie revolves around how DNA affects the world. Everyone is identified through DNA.
Fiction vs. Reality
The interesting thing about this movie is that much of the fiction is not that difficult to believe. DNA is taking from pinprick fingertip blood samples and analyzed within seconds. Currently, it several minutes to gain a basic DNA fingerprint such as that used in law enforcement today. Obviously, current technology could not accomplish what is done in Gattaca. Entire DNA sequences are also printed out in seconds after a sample is given. Today, it takes years to decode an entire DNA sequence of a human genome. Other than the quickness at which DNA can be analyzed, the movie is very realistic. Leg extensions like that done to Vincent can be, and are done today under extreme circumstances. Electric cars are gaining ever more popularity, however not to the point of Gattaca’s acceptance. We also of course have a space program, NASA, but we do not have nine launches a day, nor manned missions to Mars.
Views, Science, Recommendation
I believe the movie was very effective. When I initially heard about it while watching the NOVA program in class, I did not expect it to be a feature film or a good one at that. I started to watch it and loved the film. I was very impacted by the way it was presented and frightened that the discrimination taking place in Gattaca could one day turn into a reality.
The science was easy to understand, whether or not you have any background in biology. Although, some phrases would not make much sense without a background, such as a “borrowed ladder” coming from the ladder shape of an unwound DNA double-helix.
