Essay on "Effect of Genetic Engineering on Society"

Essay 4 pages (1381 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Genetic Engineering

The Effect of Genetic Engineering on Society

Gattaca

Director Andrew Niccol's film Gattaca (1997) explores the possibilities and consequences of the genetic engineering of human beings in the near future. In the film Niccol portrays a society where people are judged by not by the color of their skin, nor by the content of their character, but by the quality of their DNA.

The film opens with two quotes, one attributed to the Bible, "Consider God's handiwork: who can straighten what He hath made crooked?" (Ecclesiastes: 7-13) and the other from Willard Gaylin, "I not only think we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother Nature wants us to." Gaylin is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and co-founder of The Hastings Center, a "nonpartisan research center dedicated to bioethics and the public interest" (The Hastings Center, 2010). This theme, the inherent tension between science and faith, man and God, is woven throughout the film.

Niccol sets the film in the "the not-too-distant" future, where the genetic engineering of humans has become commonplace and DNA plays a significant part in the determination of social status as well as the availability of career options. After all "why should anyone invest in non-perfect human?" The protagonist, Vincent, is conceived and is born without the aid of this technology. Because he is less than perfect, he needs glasses, has a congenital heart defect, and is given a life expectancy of 30.2 years; he faces excessive genetic discrimination and prejudice.

Niccol demonstrates his feelings about this futuristic society in various ways and through various characters. When his father, Antonio, learns that his son is less than perfect he instructs the nurse to write the name Vincent instead of Anton on the birth certificate. Medical insurance is not available because his DNA indicates he is high risk. Later in the film the name Anton is given to Vincent's younger brother, who is brought into the world through genetic engineering or "the natural way."

The accepted rational for genetically engineered children is presented by the doctor who creates Anton. The parents are given a choice among four fertilized eggs, two boys and two girls. After choosing a boy, under the pretext that Vincent would have somebody to play with, (in reality it was so the father would have a namesake) and hearing the defects the embryo has been screened for, they wonder if it is not "good to leave a few things to chance?" The doctor replies, "You want to give your child the best possible start. Believe me we have enough imperfection built in already. Your child doesn't need any additional burdens, and keep in mind this child is still you…simply the best of you. You could conceive naturally a thousand times and never get such a result." A key indication of Niccol's feelings about the validity of this society is when Vincent says "They used to say that a child conceived in love has a better chance of happiness. They don't say that anymore." Science has become the determinate of one's chance of happiness.

The swimming scenes between the brothers show that through the force of free will and spirit Vincent is able to overcome his genetic deficiencies. The brothers would play chicken and swim out to sea until one would get scared and be the first to turn back. Inevitably Anton would win until the last time they swam together as children. Then the "impossible" happens and Vincent out swims Jerome, having to rescue him from drowning. It was the "one moment in our lives that my brother was not as strong as he believed and I was not as weak. It was the one moment that made everything else possible." (It is ironic that Jerome, the person whose identity Vincent assumes, is a world class swimmer.) At the end of the movie Vincent and his brother swim once again and the result is the same, indicating that it is Vincent who is the superior one, not Anton. This is a symbolic triumph of God over science.

Niccol uses the character of Irene to show that not all of… READ MORE

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