GATTACA

[Erin Nash]

“They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of….”

While watching the movie GATTACA, there are several things I want you to consider. First, be on the lookout for all of the hidden genetic items within the movie. Secondly, consider the following prompts while watching the movie - you will write on them when we are finished.

During a scene in GATTACA, Vincent’s parents visited a doctor who
specialized in child conception to select for the best traits for his future
brother. They hoped that his brother would have the best possible chances
for a successful life. Some of the traits mentioned in GATTACA included
intelligence, height and any possibility of inheritable diseases.
If you decided to have a child one day and are given the opportunity to
select for special traits, would you do so? Explain why or why not.

What does the movie GATTACA say about DNA determining a person’s
potential? Provide examples from the movie to support your answer.

[Tori Scott]

They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness...

[Rachel Huntsman]

I wonder if GATTACA actually stands for a specific code, or if the letters were just arranged to sound like a valid name?

The fact that you can decide just about anything about your child before it's even really developed is ridiculous. I have to say I don't want to choose all those things about my child. I don't want to know when my child will die either. I would like to know if they have any diseases, but simply so they could be cared for to try to cure it. I'm okay with whatever my child looks like when it's born.

It's amazing that so much importance is placed simply on physical aspects and not much on intelligence. To get the job Vincent just had to give a urine sample. It seems like DNA may eventually hold sole importance regarding a person's eligibility for life.
It was crazy that Irene was able to get "Jerome's" genetic code in a few seconds just by giving them a single strand of hair. Can anyone get away with anything anymore? Are courts and judges really necessary at this point?

[Rachel Huntsman]

The fact that a person's DNA can decide so much about their life is crazy. It definitely lowers a person's chances of committing a crime, because they could tell Vincent was at the murder scene just by his eyelash. A person couldn't even easily get away with beating up a person because of all the DNA they leave behind.

In the end I don't think it really matters what your DNA says about you. Regardless of physical appearances or internal make-up, a person can usually still do what they want. Vincent was still able to go up into space, people simply thought he was someone else. The doctor still allowed Vicent to go into space even when he knew that Jerome was really Vincent. It turned out the doctor actually knew all along that Jerome wasn't really Jerome.

[Erin McAndrews]

If I decided to have a child one day, I wouldn't want to select special traits. It may depend on how many people are doing it because, if everyone is doing it, my child will be discriminated, so then maybe I would do it. If everyone is getting a head start, then I want mine to have a head start to. I wouldn't be happy about it, but I wouldn't want to hurt my child's chances in the world.

In the movie GATTACA, DNA determines is you'll be an outcast in society and it even decides what kind of job you'll have. In the movie, because of Vincent's DNA, and the heart problem that hasn't even appeared yet, he can't do what he really wants. He is told he has to be a janitor and he can't go into space. DNA determines everything that goes on in a person's life in the movie GATTACA.

[Erin McAndrews]

I take that back. I don't know what I would do....

[Chelsie]

If I decided to have a child one day and if i am given the opportunity to select for special traits I wouldn't. I could understand maybe if there was a disease that was going to be passed on that was going to kill the kid I would but I believe that how ever the kid is born is how god wanted that child to be and if the kid had a disability or anything else wrong with them then you deal with it to the best of your ability. By Vincent's parents visiting the doctor and deciding to do select the best traits for his future brother have affected his little brothers future. Because of his genetic make-up he has become one of the underclass humans that are only useful for small easy jobs. To get a good job he uses the identity of Jerome Morrow who is a paraplegic due to a fall. He is now constantly passing gene tests by using samples of Jerome's blood, skin, urine and hair. With some professional help, Vincent learns to mislead DNA and urine sample testing but when a coworker (the mission director) is killed but he loses one of his eyelashes at the scene he is then scheduled for a space mission but another coworker suspects his birth and he goes to the police and they begin investigation. The police are certain they know the murder's ID but they are unable to track down the former Vincent. The police begin to close in on him and start doing extra searches and gene testing. With his big once and a life time chance coming up, just days away, Vincent must avoid suspicion while passing the tests, not knowing who he can trust.
I believe that the overall purpose/theme of this movie is showing sacrifice, sibling rivalry, fate, friendship, love, some ones own personal identity, perfection and most importantly whether human nature and spirit can be definite or imperfect by DNA.

[Skylar N. Womach]

Probably not because we are who we are for a reason. Nobodies perfect so having desired traits when you were never meant to have them is something that i personally see as unmoral. So simply i'd say no way jose!

An invalid is seen as a less of a person in this world. He is able to do so very little since he's not a conceived child like the rest. But he works hard to keep his real identity secret. Ill add to this discussion later :)

[Ryne Relford]

No I wouldn't select special traits for my child, because I believe that there is a true purpose for the way we are. So choosing their traits would be stealing from their true purpose in life. It would be like a parent permanently determining their child's destiny. Because in the movie traits are given to a child that they will need for their career in their life.

GATTACA uses DNA to pretty much determine Vincent's whole life in the movie and every other character in the movie. They see it as if your parents didn't choose your traits then you were lower class. Vincent has to work as a janitor because his parent's didn't choose his traits, but when he uses Jerome's genes he is able to pursue his dream and get the chance to go to space and work a job for the upper class people who have specially picked traits.

[Tori Scott]

I'm not quite sure if I would chose my child's traits or not. The right answer here would be no that's not right and so on, but to be honest for me it'd depend on the circumstances. If you knew before hand that your child would have a disability and could change it then why wouldn't you? People in today's society can be cruel if there is a chance to avoid that sort of torment then I'm quite sure I would. I'm not saying that I would try and make his/her physical features perfect or anything in that nature just try and give the child a chance.
Although like I said it depends on the circumstances. If everyone was picking there children traits to make them as genetically perfect as possible then I'm sure I would too. That sounds a lot like the saying if everyone jumped off a bridge would you? But how unfair would it be to your child to walk around in a world where it was considered beneath the norm because of its features? Take GATTACA for example it's not fair that Vincent couldn't make his dream come true without having to be someone else. That's not something I would want for my child. Every parent wants what is best for there child. Hopefully though science doesn't come down to perfecting your children lol.
Whoa!!! Big twist on the cop being Vincents brother. WOW. I dont understand what Antoine's problem is. You would think he'd be happy for his brother, not try and take away everything he worked hard for away. He does not make me happy!!! But the whole love thing between blondie and Vincent does make me happy:)

[Tori Scott]

I like that doctor man... he also makes me happy:)
I wonder if he'll continue to be Gerome when he gets back. I mean he got his dream, to be in space, so why would he? How sad:( the real Gerome kills himself. I wonder why, he seemed a little happy. lol.

[Taylor Snider]

If i ever have a child i wouldn't give it special traits because i believe every person was created the way they are for a reason. It just doesn't seem right to decide what your child will look like. Sure it would be nice to have your child be disease-free and perfect, but no one can be perfect.

In the movie, people who had traits decided for them were considered perfect. They could do all the things regular people couldn't do. People who didn't have their traits decided for them were considered in-valid. They were the ones that had risks of getting diseases and dying a lot sooner. Vincent always wanted to go into space, but he couldn't because he was an in-valid. So he used Jerome's DNA to become Jerome and go into the space program. Jerome had all the right traits to do what Vincent wanted but he was paralyzed. So Vincent was able to live his dream.

[Morgan Wacker]

There were a lot of hidden genetic items in this movie, I can see why this movie was chosen.
But if I was given the opportunity to do that, to select specific traits and everything, I most likely would not. It kind of takes the fun out of raising a kid I would think. I think you can still hope for certain traits like you want your kid to have blue eyes, but it's like there's a wonder before the child is born. You wonder what the eye color will be and the hair color and everything like that. There are a lot of reasons why I would probably not do that.

It seems that if you create the perfect child, they seem to take advantage of it. But if you're not a perfect child like Vincent you seem to work a little harder to get what you want to make up for your DNA not being perfect.

...will finish later...