Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Gattaca

Matt Everett

The film portrays a system that is obsessed with genetic perfection. In order to survive, it was necessary to out smart other people because your fate relies on genetic testing. The film has a consistent theme of power and masculinity. Even the women conformed to the masculinity by wearing their hair back and never down. The color scheme throughout the entire film was very dark and dominant and the architecture of all the buildings was rigid and manly.

After watching the film, I noticed that Gattaca is more similar to our society than many people think; to a certain degree of course. Their society is structured so it is almost impossible for many to be successful because your life depends on your DNA and whether you are considered a valid or an invalid. In our society, the way our tax system is set up makes it almost impossible for someone to go from a lower class to a higher socio-economic class. Our system is somewhat designed to keep people in their current me social class. The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. In Gattaca, your future employment relies on your DNA testing thus keeping someone in the same social class for the rest of their lives.

Genetic identity is a reoccurring theme in the film. In order for Vincent to pursue his dreams and ambitions, he had to take on the role of another male who is considered a “valid.” Because he is considered an “invalid” at birth, it is impossible for him to become successful without the help of Jerome. Taking on multiple identities is not a simple task. As discussed in the text, multiple identities are an ongoing process and are very complex. Vincent had to go through many obstacles in order to assume the role of another person.

The text discusses gender differences in the work life which also applies to one of the constant themes in Gattaca. Gender is “a socialized but relatively fixed identity…organized around biological sex and which fosters fairly predictable communication habits” (Ashcraft, 2004, p. 276). Men and women have distinctive styles and are outgrowths of gendered socialization. In the scene when Marie Freeman is giving birth, she has no say in what her child is going to be named. This is a big give away from the very beginning of the film that lets us know everything is dominated by the male. In the workplace there was hardly in females at all in the film. This tells us that they view women as people who are only capable of giving birth while the men are out working. In the whole film there were only a couple women while everyone else was male.

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