Frame 1: Gender Differences At Work
Whenever Vincent would talk to any of the men in his life, he would demonstrate report talk. For example, Vincent demonstrated conversational command when he was working as a custodian. Vincent’s boss told him to not clean the glass too well. Vincent acknowledged his boss’s comment and explained why he was cleaning it so thoroughly. Vincent explained that one day his boss would look through the clean glass and see him on the other side as a worker at Gattaca. Vincent took control of the conversation and even explained his long term goal to his boss.
Whenever Irene would talk with Vincent, she would demonstrate rapport talk. For example, Irene demonstrated equality through matching experiences. Vincent gave Irene one of his hairs, so that she could find out what was wrong with him once and for all. Irene let go of the hair and said, “The wind caught it.” Irene used the exact same saying that Vincent used when Vincent was given the opportunity to find out more about Irene by testing one of her hairs.
Frame 2: Gender Identity As Organizational Performance
Vincent, as a man, could not act overly excited about going on a mission. He had to play it cool and act emotionless. Irene would often find Vincent watching the shuttles as they were taking off. She mentioned, “You’re the only one that watches all of them. If you’re going to pretend like you don’t care, don’t look up.” Vincent did not reply to her statement. This was his way of not acknowledging that he was excited about any of the missions. He was not supposed to show his excitement.
Irene, as a woman, was not supposed to question authority in the organization. Her boss told her that she had to assist with the investigation. She tried to speak her piece and give her reasoning why this assignment would interfere with her work, but her boss ignored Irene. He told her that she had to take the assignment and then he dismissed her. Irene did not have any power in the organization and she was never to question power from the men in the organization.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Gattaca - Brian Roberson
The movie Gattaca portrays a possible future of DNA discrimination and a system that only caters itself to the genetically advanced. The weak or genetically different were weeded out through genetic testing and were only allowed to work medial jobs like janitorial services. Only those with a superior genetic make-up were allowed to perform more challenging jobs.
The main ideology, which is a system of ideas that serve as the basis of a political or economic theory, in the movie was the idea of genetic superiority. This ideology led to a sense of legitimate power that left those without a superior genetic make-up in a class of people destined never to do great things. This set of circumstances led to a type of genetic hegemony, which is an ideological control that worked effectively because the world view of genetic superiority by the ruling elite was actively taken up and supported by subordinate groups.
Myths, stories, and metaphors are used by the central control to change people perceptions within this society. People are told upon birth the day and cause of their newborns eventual death. These forms of communicating, which happen in other forms throughout the film, contain hidden, implicit, ideological assumptions that help form the deep structure of power and control in the film.
The power of the society was displayed by the director overtly through these genetic tests and subliminally through the use of color, architecture, camera angles. The color of the movie is very drab and dark and women wear their hair back, almost to look as manly as possible. Also the women in the movie have almost no choice. Vincent’s mother is not even allowed to have a say in her son’s name, it’s the father who decides. Vincent is also not given his father’s name because his genetic identity isn’t worthy of his fathers name.
The choice of architecture and furniture was very modern with very distinct clean lines, and an overall lack of character that reflect the authority of the ruling power which controls people’s lives. Camera angles were used to show dominance in certain situations, police or those in power were always shot with camera pointing upwards, whereas the main character Ethan Hawke was always shot with camera pointing down.
The main ideology, which is a system of ideas that serve as the basis of a political or economic theory, in the movie was the idea of genetic superiority. This ideology led to a sense of legitimate power that left those without a superior genetic make-up in a class of people destined never to do great things. This set of circumstances led to a type of genetic hegemony, which is an ideological control that worked effectively because the world view of genetic superiority by the ruling elite was actively taken up and supported by subordinate groups.
Myths, stories, and metaphors are used by the central control to change people perceptions within this society. People are told upon birth the day and cause of their newborns eventual death. These forms of communicating, which happen in other forms throughout the film, contain hidden, implicit, ideological assumptions that help form the deep structure of power and control in the film.
The power of the society was displayed by the director overtly through these genetic tests and subliminally through the use of color, architecture, camera angles. The color of the movie is very drab and dark and women wear their hair back, almost to look as manly as possible. Also the women in the movie have almost no choice. Vincent’s mother is not even allowed to have a say in her son’s name, it’s the father who decides. Vincent is also not given his father’s name because his genetic identity isn’t worthy of his fathers name.
The choice of architecture and furniture was very modern with very distinct clean lines, and an overall lack of character that reflect the authority of the ruling power which controls people’s lives. Camera angles were used to show dominance in certain situations, police or those in power were always shot with camera pointing upwards, whereas the main character Ethan Hawke was always shot with camera pointing down.
Gattaca
Gattaca takes a unique look at the power of organizations and their ability to create a class system within society. The main character Vincent is called an invalid because his parents did not have him genetically modified. Despite his enormous talent, society restricted his career choices because of his genetics. The ideology of the community is that those who are genetically modified are superior compared to those who are not. A person’s value is defined only by their genetics, not their skills or ability. The power of society and organizations to belittle people who were classified as invalid is enormous. This ideology invades peoples' life by forcing them to be either in a superior or subservient role based on genetics alone. Everyday people must accept their class status as defined by society. When the detectives at Gattaca find Vincent’s eyelash, they automatically assume he is the murder. Even though they had no background on him, they believed that since he was an invalid, he must have motive to kill a valid.
The organization had significant control over its employees. They took daily blood test, random urine and skin samples. Almost anything could be used to prove a person’s value. Vincent took on the identity of a man named Jerome who was genetically modified so he could pursue his dream job at Gattaca. When he went for the interview, they took his blood and he got the job. He was not asked any questions about his background or knowledge in his chosen field.
Vincent’s parents are one example of hegemony, where those in the oppressed class further the oppression. Vincent’s parents never believed Vincent could amount to anything because he was an invalid. His brother, who was a valid, was also treated specially. Regular women also used the class system to find a mate. They would take samples to be tested to find out what a guy’s genetics look like. So not only did organizations judge on the basis of genes, but potential mates did too. Even though the main female character, Irene has a heart defect, she still wanted to make sure Vincent’s genes were acceptable for her. At the beginning, she was only attracted to him because she believed he had Jerome’s genes.
Individuals positioned themselves differently as members of the valid class. When Vincent was acting as Jerome, he was very cocky and was even expected to be this way. In one scene, he was very rude to the doctor at Gattaca even though in previous scenes we had seen them talking like friends. No one questions Vincent’s rude behavior since he is a valid. Vincent is also caught looking up at the mission launches by Irene. This was odd to Irene, because looking up at the launches was out of character for a valid. None of the other Gattaca valids ever looked at them. Irene did not know Vincent was an invalid at the time, but we knew that Vincent looked up because he was in such awe that he got to be where he was. For Vincent, being able to launch into space would be his emancipation. For the other Gattaca employees, it was just work.
Vincent’s attitude can also be analyzed using Karen Ashcraft’s frames of identity from our textbook. When you change the word gender to genetics, Ashcraft’s four frames become genetic differences at work, genetic identity as organizational performance, genetic organizations and genetic narratives in popular culture. Vincent’s arrogance, but acceptable attitude at work reflects that valids are allowed and even expected to act superior to invalids. Vincent’s brother and the real Jerome also possess the same arrogant attitude that they are better than invalids. This reflects Ashcraft’s second frame of genetic identity as organizational performance. Vincent, Irene, and the detective all have to portray certain emotions and appearances that reflect their genetic superiority. The more each of these characters can perform this role, the more they are respected as valids. Being distant and showing little emotion is the most acceptable attitude for them, but it still involves emotional labor as described on page 209 of our textbook.
Similar to how society has made women’s work to be of lesser importance, invalids are only allowed into certain lower status positions such as janitors. This reflects Ashcraft’s third frame: genetic organizations. The gendered, or genetic, organization emerges out of five processes. The first process is ‘the social construction of divisions of labor, positions and types of work along gendered (or genetic) lines’ (211). The technology used to identity ‘invalids’ and even the word invalid itself help to reinforce the genetic division. Since society is so restrictive to what valids and invalids can do as a profession, the forth process, which involves individuals taking up those career choices that reinforce the genetic differences, is also apparent in the film Gattaca. Only when Vincent lies about his genetic identity is he hired into a ‘valid’ position.
These are just some of the examples of how Gattaca shows the four frames of identity as well as how organizations use power. Vincent is able to break the chains of an invalid but it is only through a lot of hard work and trickery. He did not change society’s ideology; he only found a way to get around it. Even though Gattaca is an extreme form of discrimination and power, it can help us to see in real life, how organizations use power to control employees and how society’s ideology may limit our expectations of people.
The organization had significant control over its employees. They took daily blood test, random urine and skin samples. Almost anything could be used to prove a person’s value. Vincent took on the identity of a man named Jerome who was genetically modified so he could pursue his dream job at Gattaca. When he went for the interview, they took his blood and he got the job. He was not asked any questions about his background or knowledge in his chosen field.
Vincent’s parents are one example of hegemony, where those in the oppressed class further the oppression. Vincent’s parents never believed Vincent could amount to anything because he was an invalid. His brother, who was a valid, was also treated specially. Regular women also used the class system to find a mate. They would take samples to be tested to find out what a guy’s genetics look like. So not only did organizations judge on the basis of genes, but potential mates did too. Even though the main female character, Irene has a heart defect, she still wanted to make sure Vincent’s genes were acceptable for her. At the beginning, she was only attracted to him because she believed he had Jerome’s genes.
Individuals positioned themselves differently as members of the valid class. When Vincent was acting as Jerome, he was very cocky and was even expected to be this way. In one scene, he was very rude to the doctor at Gattaca even though in previous scenes we had seen them talking like friends. No one questions Vincent’s rude behavior since he is a valid. Vincent is also caught looking up at the mission launches by Irene. This was odd to Irene, because looking up at the launches was out of character for a valid. None of the other Gattaca valids ever looked at them. Irene did not know Vincent was an invalid at the time, but we knew that Vincent looked up because he was in such awe that he got to be where he was. For Vincent, being able to launch into space would be his emancipation. For the other Gattaca employees, it was just work.
Vincent’s attitude can also be analyzed using Karen Ashcraft’s frames of identity from our textbook. When you change the word gender to genetics, Ashcraft’s four frames become genetic differences at work, genetic identity as organizational performance, genetic organizations and genetic narratives in popular culture. Vincent’s arrogance, but acceptable attitude at work reflects that valids are allowed and even expected to act superior to invalids. Vincent’s brother and the real Jerome also possess the same arrogant attitude that they are better than invalids. This reflects Ashcraft’s second frame of genetic identity as organizational performance. Vincent, Irene, and the detective all have to portray certain emotions and appearances that reflect their genetic superiority. The more each of these characters can perform this role, the more they are respected as valids. Being distant and showing little emotion is the most acceptable attitude for them, but it still involves emotional labor as described on page 209 of our textbook.
Similar to how society has made women’s work to be of lesser importance, invalids are only allowed into certain lower status positions such as janitors. This reflects Ashcraft’s third frame: genetic organizations. The gendered, or genetic, organization emerges out of five processes. The first process is ‘the social construction of divisions of labor, positions and types of work along gendered (or genetic) lines’ (211). The technology used to identity ‘invalids’ and even the word invalid itself help to reinforce the genetic division. Since society is so restrictive to what valids and invalids can do as a profession, the forth process, which involves individuals taking up those career choices that reinforce the genetic differences, is also apparent in the film Gattaca. Only when Vincent lies about his genetic identity is he hired into a ‘valid’ position.
These are just some of the examples of how Gattaca shows the four frames of identity as well as how organizations use power. Vincent is able to break the chains of an invalid but it is only through a lot of hard work and trickery. He did not change society’s ideology; he only found a way to get around it. Even though Gattaca is an extreme form of discrimination and power, it can help us to see in real life, how organizations use power to control employees and how society’s ideology may limit our expectations of people.
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.
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.
Monday, November 12, 2007
G A T C: The Building Blocks of Discrimination
The world of Gattaca portrays a bleak and dark futuristic society based on biologic hegemony. It is a world in which a person’s DNA strands and genomics destine their place in a caste system: Valid or Invalid. In the ideology of Gattaca, one must have a “genetic quotient second to none”; all the defects eliminated through engineering. To have begun life as a natural zygote or “God’s hand instead of a geneticist’s” is to trudge through life as a second-class citizen or Invalid. Those that are genetically engineered have a higher role than God; they wield all the power, benefits, and glory of achievement. Invalids, hence, are subjected to a life of purgatory. In Gattaca, the powers that be have “discrimination down to a science.”
Gattaca mirrors life in that Invalids are representative of women’s lives. Biology plays a major role in the film, as does real life. We can safely say that our society as an organization is gendered, “advantage and disadvantage, exploitation and control, action and emotion, meaning and identity, are patterned through and in of a distinction between male and female, masculine and feminine.” (211) We can deconstruct the 5 process of Frame 3 to illustrate this point.
Women like Invalid usually play supporting roles in most organizations. There are the exceptions of women and Vincents that outwit the dominant group. In doing so, women often have to adapt to rules of the divisions of labor.
Symbols and Images. Like Gattaca, the symbols of leadership today are that of masculinity. Even the Valid women in the film must adhere to this image. Their hair is held tightly in a bun, their wardrobe is masculine-influenced, and their speech/body language is structured to that of men. Is it similar today’s world? The images of world, business, social, and religious leadership all point in the same direction.
Communication interaction. Throughout Gattaca, Invalids are spoken to not with. Machines often tell an Invalid if he is welcomed or not. The communication is also non-verbal; Valids are upright, forward-looking and confident in stature. Invalids look downward and never at a Valid’s eyes, slouching, and disheveled. Even amongst Invalids, the language spoken is usually of a defeatist nature, hopelessness. Recall how Vincent’s supervisor speaks to him. In today world, observe the communication between women/men, women/women, men/men. The language usually reflect that women are not in power.
Identity reinforcement. The career choices, dress, and communication of Invalids are blatant. The above 3 processes are practiced over and over by women in today’s world. In her book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich uses first person research methods to illustrate this point. Women will often times restructure and reinforce their identity to subserviency. Many times, they do this without realizing it, creating a vicious cycle.
Fundamental element in “organizational logic”. Just as Invalids in Gattaca ‘become’ Invalids, women are often the product of the daily practices of domination and culture of subserviency.
Gattaca mirrors life in that Invalids are representative of women’s lives. Biology plays a major role in the film, as does real life. We can safely say that our society as an organization is gendered, “advantage and disadvantage, exploitation and control, action and emotion, meaning and identity, are patterned through and in of a distinction between male and female, masculine and feminine.” (211) We can deconstruct the 5 process of Frame 3 to illustrate this point.
Women like Invalid usually play supporting roles in most organizations. There are the exceptions of women and Vincents that outwit the dominant group. In doing so, women often have to adapt to rules of the divisions of labor.
Symbols and Images. Like Gattaca, the symbols of leadership today are that of masculinity. Even the Valid women in the film must adhere to this image. Their hair is held tightly in a bun, their wardrobe is masculine-influenced, and their speech/body language is structured to that of men. Is it similar today’s world? The images of world, business, social, and religious leadership all point in the same direction.
Communication interaction. Throughout Gattaca, Invalids are spoken to not with. Machines often tell an Invalid if he is welcomed or not. The communication is also non-verbal; Valids are upright, forward-looking and confident in stature. Invalids look downward and never at a Valid’s eyes, slouching, and disheveled. Even amongst Invalids, the language spoken is usually of a defeatist nature, hopelessness. Recall how Vincent’s supervisor speaks to him. In today world, observe the communication between women/men, women/women, men/men. The language usually reflect that women are not in power.
Identity reinforcement. The career choices, dress, and communication of Invalids are blatant. The above 3 processes are practiced over and over by women in today’s world. In her book, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich uses first person research methods to illustrate this point. Women will often times restructure and reinforce their identity to subserviency. Many times, they do this without realizing it, creating a vicious cycle.
Fundamental element in “organizational logic”. Just as Invalids in Gattaca ‘become’ Invalids, women are often the product of the daily practices of domination and culture of subserviency.
Gattaca-Katrena Uelese
Gattaca Review
Gattaca displayed ideology throughout the film. The ideology of the workplace was that men were suited best to go to space. The men were dominant in the workplace and the women were viewed as the caretakers of the office. People assumed that everyone was ‘valid’ and that everyone went about their day in their small cubicles and stayed very conformed. It seemed there were unwritten rules about how to complete the day, stay silent, do your work, pass the identity test, etc. We definitely saw that power can change people. The director was murdered so someone else could take his place and run the project. We saw that genetics also gave people more power over others, for example, the main character obtains power from having such perfect genetics. The ideology of genetic superiority is that those who were pre-determined genetically are to be better than those who weren’t. It definitely can invade you life, for example, Anton’s life was changed when he found out his life span was to his 30’s and that his heart problem would prohibit him from ever going to space. The same disadvantage applies to the women character; she had a similar heart problem that left her unable to make it to space as well. It is life altering to control the genetics of your children before they are even born, then to have one child who is genetically perfect and one who is not.
We definitely saw two of the four frames from chapter seven displayed in the film. The first, gender differences at work, was very prevalent. The workplace was mainly men, while there were few women present. The main character that was in the film was not genetically perfect, nor did she have a chance at going into space. She was also the person in charge of getting records together during the investigation, while the men did the research and questioning, more hands on detective work. We also saw men doing physical strength exercises to prove their abilities, while the women character never participates. This works closely with the second frame, gender identity as organization performance. There were several gender norms in this film. The men wore suits and were very strict and stern. The women were few but proper and more sensitive and emotional. The men were very competitive, especially making it to space, being the head director and winning at a swimming challenge.
We also saw the differences of how genetics can separate people. Those with pre-determined genetics are superior to those who were not genetically pre- determined. They were viewed as less valuable and not worthy of living long lives with fewer achievements. Gender and genetic discrimination are very similar. You are treated differently for the way you are made and not what you are capable of and the person you are. The children who were not genetically determined did not choose to be different that the majority and the same goes for gender. People don’t necessarily want to be different from the most, but when you are dealt a hand of cards, you have to go with it and make the best of it. The main character of Gattaca does a good job surpassing the unexpected and showing people that he is capable of the un-imaginable. Overall, this film definitely touches on gender, power, and identity and a different look at the work life.
Gattaca displayed ideology throughout the film. The ideology of the workplace was that men were suited best to go to space. The men were dominant in the workplace and the women were viewed as the caretakers of the office. People assumed that everyone was ‘valid’ and that everyone went about their day in their small cubicles and stayed very conformed. It seemed there were unwritten rules about how to complete the day, stay silent, do your work, pass the identity test, etc. We definitely saw that power can change people. The director was murdered so someone else could take his place and run the project. We saw that genetics also gave people more power over others, for example, the main character obtains power from having such perfect genetics. The ideology of genetic superiority is that those who were pre-determined genetically are to be better than those who weren’t. It definitely can invade you life, for example, Anton’s life was changed when he found out his life span was to his 30’s and that his heart problem would prohibit him from ever going to space. The same disadvantage applies to the women character; she had a similar heart problem that left her unable to make it to space as well. It is life altering to control the genetics of your children before they are even born, then to have one child who is genetically perfect and one who is not.
We definitely saw two of the four frames from chapter seven displayed in the film. The first, gender differences at work, was very prevalent. The workplace was mainly men, while there were few women present. The main character that was in the film was not genetically perfect, nor did she have a chance at going into space. She was also the person in charge of getting records together during the investigation, while the men did the research and questioning, more hands on detective work. We also saw men doing physical strength exercises to prove their abilities, while the women character never participates. This works closely with the second frame, gender identity as organization performance. There were several gender norms in this film. The men wore suits and were very strict and stern. The women were few but proper and more sensitive and emotional. The men were very competitive, especially making it to space, being the head director and winning at a swimming challenge.
We also saw the differences of how genetics can separate people. Those with pre-determined genetics are superior to those who were not genetically pre- determined. They were viewed as less valuable and not worthy of living long lives with fewer achievements. Gender and genetic discrimination are very similar. You are treated differently for the way you are made and not what you are capable of and the person you are. The children who were not genetically determined did not choose to be different that the majority and the same goes for gender. People don’t necessarily want to be different from the most, but when you are dealt a hand of cards, you have to go with it and make the best of it. The main character of Gattaca does a good job surpassing the unexpected and showing people that he is capable of the un-imaginable. Overall, this film definitely touches on gender, power, and identity and a different look at the work life.
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