Gattaca Movie Analysis

The film I am going to be discussing is Gattaca in 1977 American dystopian science fiction film, written and directed by Andrew Niccol. Cultural anxiety has been extrapolated to make predictions to keep the story entertaining while still providing insights into human decision-making and its consequences. This will outline how genes can determine the ‘possible future’ and control life, DNA discovery, cultural anxiety, and Eugenics. 

During the movie, cultural anxiety is used to describe what was happening and how people felt at that time. The Cultural Anxiety revolves around Vincent Freeman, who is not a part of the eugenics program, and must overcome genetic discrimination to realize his dream of going into space. The characters struggle with society and themselves in an ongoing quest to find their place in the world and to become who they are destined to be based on their genes. This movie focuses primarily on the implications of developing reproductive technologies to facilitate eugenics and the potential consequences of these developments. In the film, a vision of a future driven by eugenics is presented, in which children will be conceived by genetic selection, so they can inherit the best traits of their parents' lines. In the movie, Vincent works as an in-valid, cleaning an office, including those of spaceflight conglomerate Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. Through the donation of hair, skin, blood, and urine samples from Jerome Eugene Morrow, who was paralysed when he was hit by a car as a young swimmer, he can pose as a valid candidate. Vincent gains employment at Gattaca as a navigator for an upcoming mission to Saturn's moon Titan with the help of Jerome's genetics. Vincent must meticulously groom and scrub himself down daily to remove his genetic material, pass daily DNA scanning and urine tests using Jerome's samples, and hide his heart defect to conceal his identity.

In Gattaca, the possible future is created to show what society was going to be like and how science will control everything. Eugenics is common in the ‘possible future’ Historically, eugenics has been used to improve the human population's genetic quality by the exclusion of those believed to be inferior and promotion of those considered superior. A genetic registry database that uses biometrics to classify those who are created as ‘valids’, while those who are conceived naturally are classified as ‘invalids. The society is filled with discrimination. Gattaca reveals how individuals are discriminated against based on their genetic codes. Those born of natural means are considered second-class citizens by most of the society, whereas those genetically engineered, are the elite. As an example, ‘invalids’ are limited in their ability to choose their occupation, as they are only allowed to do menial tasks, regardless of their academic abilities. This is illustrated by the ironic quotation, “the best test score wasn’t going to matter unless I had the blood test to go with it.” This shows that society is not a meritocracy, since an individual's self-worth is determined entirely by genetics. At that time, people were more worried about their genetics and whether they would be criticized because of it. Gattaca uses three basic colours to show different shifts in the character's identity. Yellow represents the past, blue represents the future and green represents the transition between the two. It is through this kind of subconscious communication that we can decipher on a subconscious level how a restrictive, classist society can manipulate and harm an individual. The tone and mood of the film at the beginning are clinical, harsh, and didactic to emphasize the lack of humanity due to the emphasis on genetic engineering. The film ends in an extremely optimistic manner since Vincent triumphs against all odds. There is foreshadowing in the flashback to the swimming scene where Vincent beat his genetically superior brother Anton. As well as foreshadowing Vincent's victory at the end of the movie also points to the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. Scientific allusions are also prominent in the film. DNA's genetic code is composed of the letters G, A, T, and C, forming the name 'Gattaca'. Throughout the film, there are also numerous scientific images, for example, Jerome's staircase that resembles the double-helix model of DNA. 

In the opening scene use of film language that shows genes are used to determine things in the possible future. Despite maintaining an air of ambiguity, Gattaca's first scene immediately conveys a sense of success and ambition. In the opening scene, we see a pan of the interior of the Gattaca Institute. This rigid and structured society can be seen in the crisp white walls, artificial lighting, and minimalistic decorations, and no room for any imperfection. An establishing shot shows hundreds of workers ascending on an escalator dressed in suits. In terms of clothing and low-angle shots, it is evident that the rising figures belong to society's elite. An unnamed man becomes the protagonist of the film when the camera zooms in on him from among these figures. The very first time he appears in the film is as he reaches the top of the escalator, foreshadowing his remarkable success throughout the film. As you can see, he has slicked-back hair and is wearing a suit and a tie, and his appearance is very professional. By pricking his finger on the device, he activates a green light, signalling his genetic code. As he leaves, he maintains his calm demeanour and steps confidently. It is evident that there is no warmth in the institute, as repetitive loud footsteps demonstrate the monotony and lack of individuality. The man sitting at his desk, Jerome, used a small vacuum to remove debris from his computer keyboard as he sat at his desk. He is doing this to erase any traces of his DNA, but we don't learn this until much later in the film. An extreme close-up shows him opening a jar and sprinkling its contents, including skin, hair, and nails, around his workstation. The film's key motif is the obsession with genetic material that is embodied by skin, hair, and nails. The short film “Sight” by Eran May-Raz and Daniel Lazo, produced in 2012, shows that the main issue of the cost of having augmented reality and lack of privacy that is associated with the ‘possible’ future and the advancements in technology.

In Gattaca, the possible future is suppressed by the human spirit, with no allowance for dreams. Scientists and technologists should evaluate the possible advantages and disadvantages of potential advances, such as genetic engineering, as science and technology progress. Genetic engineering has the obvious advantage of eliminating genetic diseases. In this movie, we learn that progress does not come free. Firstly, it separates valid from invalid classes. Vincent is facing a major problem because of his inferior status, which will prevent him from fulfilling his dream of becoming an astronaut. Vincent would not be accepted by the space program because of his genetic deformities, although he proves to be capable of performing the duties of an astronaut despite being genetically inferior throughout the film. The genetic makeup of a human being is the basis of these social classes. Vincent represents that free human spirit that drives each of us to achieve these goals. This film explores the concepts of identity, discrimination, courage, the burden of perfection, sacrifice, overcoming obstacles, sibling rivalry, society, and control, fate as well as the question of whether the human spirit, as well as human nature, can be molded by DNA.