Monday, November 19, 2007

Lara Hodgson: Gattaca Insights

*Submit two detailed insights/observations relating the film to the reading.

1. I thought it was interesting on how much you can determine from a person based on their genetics. A strand of a person’s DNA can tell you all their weaknesses and physical problems. This intrigued me because a person’s ideology would be based around what they are told of themselves when they are born. The first insight or observation that I made was that since it is determined when you are born what job you can and cannot have, how old you will be when you die, illnesses that you will encounter, and so on; then through your genetics it will be in some way telling the future. I believe that no one can tell the future because knowledge of the future can give you the power to change the future, as Ethan Hawke’s character, Vincent Freeman, did throughout the film. It made me think, in the film were the other characters living life to what they want or just living to go through the process of what they are told to be when they are born? Also, Vincent overcame what was predicted of him self and exceeded, in his studies, lifespan, and so on; which means there was a flaw in the genetics system which made it impossible to tell what people were going to do with their lives.
“There’s no gene for fate,” quoted by Vincent in the film. I think as much as people try to play God, they can’t. This quote sums up everything that I was relating to the film. That no matter how great since gets, to even determine your perfect child, you can’t determine what fate is. If everything is handed to you when you are born then that takes away the element of surprise. It gives life no meaning except to be a robot to the path that is already laid out before you. In that case you only have two options take the road given t you or try and change it. Since most people believe something they could see with their own eyes they would more then likely just take what’s given to them. In that case, people would just be living to what expectations are given to them. If they are expected to succeed and be the model human being that is what they will strive to be, if they are expected to be a slacker then that’s what they will do. Knowing what lies ahead for you would take the meaning away from life, which would mean that you would only live to die.

2. The second insight or observation that was as the parents they were able to choose the gender and characteristics of the child they were going to have. In this I would think that the most traditional families in most case would end up choosing a male over female in order to hold the family name. Also, if this were possible eventually they would be able to weed out all illness from people in general by making them into perfect model human beings and eventually female would only be seen to give birth to babies since they are inseminated. According to hegemony people would pick the predominant influence, in this case male over female. Whatever gives them more power would be the smart way to get ahead in life. If this were possible, I would think that in the close future after they were able to determine everything about you through your genes the eventually the society and countries would be made of what is known as the supreme being. Everyone would be clones of each other.

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