The birth scene has a gloomy tone and color scheme, suggesting that this method of living is something humans should avoid. Since this film is a futuristic film about the use of the findings from the Human Genome Project, this film is warning us about the possible misuse of the new genetic information. Geneticists are an important job in the film because after one second, the blood is being tested and geneticists can determine your life and future. This determines how long your life will be and what diseases you may face, but not how happy or what you will face in life.
It is different from a fortune teller. A fortune teller tells the outside danger that you may face, however, this warns you about the danger from within our bodies. Similarly, fortune tellers are believed to tell you about your love life and happiness, while genes cannot. The results from the blood test and gene readings are presented as a percentage value. This shows that there are still uncertainties even with genetics, which are the “genes” that tells us who we are. Therefore, we can assume that even from what is directly built into us, we can still change and nothing is certain.
As well as, there can be more than one factor or gene that determines the diseases so these values are presented as a percentage of chance. After all, your life is how you live it. After the birth scene, we see that the parents are being over protective with Vincent and that the father isn’t proud to name Vincent with his name, “Antoine. “I believe that parents should love their child no matter what because they are still your child. If the parents are being biased with their children because of their genetic traits, it is being unfair to the children.
The reason is the children are born this way and they cannot choose what they are born with so they should still be loved. This shows the audience that genetic information can bring a lot of change to the human lives, so we should use it in the ethical and fair way. Vincent’s life is being ruined due to his genetic traits which is unfair for him. It is also about parenting, whether you get a good child or not. When people know too much, especially about the future, they become too aware and anxious which is a negative factor.
Further on in the clip, we see the parents choosing characteristics of their children or genetically designing their children. The geneticists mentioned that he is trying to give the parents the”best possible start” and that the child will be the “best of you. ” I think people are misunderstanding that the child is the best of you, but not the best human being, because we are not perfect. Imperfection is what makes human unique. This shows that the genetic traits are the potential guides or the “start” of life, but people can still change due to their living environment.
Sometimes I think gaining too much control of things makes it too complicated and it is better to leave it to nature and chance, just like how the parents in the film wanted some traits to be “natural. ” Questions about the Film: I wonder what will humans value more, life expectancy or the quality of life (the experiences we actually have)? Is it better to live a long and sad life or a short and happy life? “ten fingers, ten toes, thats all it matter. Not now. ” This quote makes me think that genetic testing at birth would change life forever, because now people would expect more.
The amazing thing about giving birth is to give life to a healthy child and that he/she is born is the best thing. However, now parents would want more than just a child, they want a future or they would create a future they want. I wonder if it is possible for traits to be obsolete, like fashion? What if in a year everyone likes Brown hair and your child is born brown hair, but then when the child is an adult, the public no longer likes brown hair. Although, some people may argue that the parent’s perspective are all that matters.
I feel like the child is becoming too much like a product for the parents to design. Does the parent fully own a life? and if yes, for how long? It is true that no matter what, the traits are what the parents give, but is designing and choosing it too much? Will genetically designing children decrease the variations in the human race? species that used to survive evolution had variations (survived diseases), can this bring any danger to the human race? Who will be responsible if the geneticists made a mistake in identifying diseases or if the child doesn’t come out like what they “designed”?
Isn’t it too risky to play with someone’s life? Nothing would be able to replace someone’s future and life, so what would the punishment be if a geneticist makes a mistake? Controversial Issues Raised by the Film: The controversial issues raised by this film is related to whether it ethical to genetically design your children. The film raises issues about the future of the children and how they will be affected by the decisions made by the parents. The children’s life will also be determined by their genetic traits.
This raises an issue about the fairness of this because parents might treat their children differently, if they know their future. Is this the right parenting style? The clip also explores the possible issues related to using the genetic information to determine the future. This raises the controversy about the rights of the children because if parents and geneticists can predetermine their life, who is controlling the life of those children? I think the main controversy this clip raises is, is it too much to play god? Would the human race be ready to handle such powerful tool and information?
What role(s) does the film play in the controversies it raises? Since Gattaca is a futuristic film, it warns the public about the future of the implications of genetic information or the age after the discovery of the Human Genome Project. This tells the public about what can happen if we take these research future and use it on the human race and life. Most people may only be exposed to the genetic research being used to cure diseases and not in the realm of designing humans or telling the future. This gives the public more knowledge about what genetics can do.
One of the main implications of genetic research and its controversy is about using it to tell the future of individuals by looking at the genetic traits and see what their potentials are. Another area is using the genetic information to design babies. This clip shows one possibility of what the outcome of this genetic research can be. It shows the viewers, what our society will be like if we bring genetic research further, rather than just curing diseases because the Human Genome Project brings so many possibilities that the public may not be aware of.
