Thought Archive

Sunday, May 24, 2009

A battle with the genes

Will a Man eventuall play God? Will Man be able to do so, will he create - through a sheer scientific ability - a Perfect Human . He may create a Perfect Genetic Man - but can he stop a human being from believing the impossible?

Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction drama film that presents a vision of a society driven by liberal eugenics. Children of the middle and upper classes are selected through preimplantation genetic diagnosis to ensure they possess the best hereditary traits of their parents. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to instantly identify and classify those so created as valids while those conceived by traditional means are derisively known as in-valids. While genetic discrimination is forbidden by law, in practice it is easy to profile one's genotype resulting in the Valids qualifying for professional employment while the In-Valids who are susceptible to disease are relegated to menial jobs.

The movie draws on concerns over reproductive technologies which facilitate eugenics, and the possible consequences of such technological developments for society. It also explores the idea of destiny and the ways in which it can and does govern lives. Characters in Gattaca continually battle both with society and with themselves to find their place in the world and who they are destined to be according to their genes.

1 comment:

said...

DNA and battles!!!
I've got that covered right here.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LubuSAgB5s