Set in a future society striving to create a genetically perfect humanity through genetic engineering, the film Gattaca warns against genetic discrimination and the loss of free will, exploring the ethical issues technology can bring.
“Consider God’s handiwork: who can straighten what He hath made crooked?”
This verse from Ecclesiastes 7:13 is the film’s opening scene and encapsulates its core message. It implies that what God has made crooked has its own meaning—in the context of this film, suggesting that even ‘imperfect things’ hold their own significance.
The film Gattaca is set in a world where genetic technology has advanced to the point where one’s blood can reveal disease susceptibility and even the estimated time of death. Furthermore, technology exists that can remove or manipulate ‘negative genes’ like congenital diseases, violent temperaments, or alcoholism at the fertilized egg stage, allowing parents to select only the desired genetic traits. This creates a world capable of producing a new humanity possessing superior height, appearance, vision, intelligence, and health. These technologies are truly astonishing, enabling parents to conceive children that would be nearly impossible to achieve naturally, even after 1,000 attempts.
When the film was released in 1997, such a future might have been considered purely the realm of science fiction. However, the likelihood of such technology becoming reality has grown significantly. In 2007, a couple in the UK created 11 embryos, selected one without the breast cancer gene through genetic testing, and implanted it. Although, unlike in the film, the genetic manipulation occurred at the embryo stage rather than the fertilized egg stage, it suggests that genetic manipulation technology is not merely a distant future prospect but a very real possibility. Is this technology, seemingly capable of creating a superior human race, truly justifiable?
In the world of the movie Gattaca, it is not particularly difficult for parents to manipulate their children’s genes. Consequently, people with superior genes obtained through genetic manipulation are deemed inherently superior, and society begins to evaluate individuals based solely on their genes. Companies and even schools discriminate by dividing people into INVALIDs (those with inferior genes) and VALIDs (those with superior genes, either naturally or through manipulation). The protagonist, Vincent, an INVALID, disguises himself as Jerome Murrow, a VALID, to pursue his dream in a society controlled by genetics since childhood. After many twists and turns, Vincent ultimately achieves his dream of becoming an astronaut, heading toward Saturn’s moon Titan.
Let’s return to the initial question: Is genetic manipulation technology justified? The film Gattaca implicitly answers ‘No’ to this question. While depicting Vincent hiding his true self and becoming an astronaut under a false identity, the film critically examines the negative aspects of a society practicing genetic discrimination. Many INVALIDs in the film cannot even pass job applications based solely on their genes. Furthermore, it introduces a famous pianist with twelve fingers, showing another facet of genetic discrimination, even for those who haven’t undergone genetic modification. The pianist with twelve fingers, genetically engineered for piano advantage, may represent parents unilaterally determining their child’s future. Naturally born children face being disregarded due to their genes, regardless of acquired effort, while genetically engineered children must live fulfilling roles dictated by their parents and society.
In the world of Gattaca, genes as a new standard would be highly efficient from the perspective of corporations or society. Society desires individuals with outstanding talent, while individuals aspire to be more exceptional, attractive, and healthy than others. The genetically modified VALID humans, tailored to these desires, could be more productive and progressive on average. But is a society overflowing with genetically superior individuals truly positive?
I cannot help but oppose this stance. For where there is light, there is always shadow. The benefits of genetic manipulation, begun with good intentions, inevitably become tied to money, meaning only a select few, not all of humanity, will reap the rewards. Even if the technology becomes widespread, a gap will inevitably form between children who benefit and those who do not. This problem of discrimination stems from evaluating people solely by their genes, not as individuals. In other words, it heightens the likelihood of creating a class society that judges individuals based solely on their DNA sequence, not their lived experiences.
Such a society disregards the dignity of humans and life. Human dignity means that value exists simply because one is human, and that personhood must be respected. Yet a genetic class society judges a person’s worth based solely on their genes, treating people not as individuals but as commodities. Furthermore, regarding the long-debated question of whether nature or nurture has a greater influence, the film embodies a narrow perspective that ignores nurture and emphasizes only nature. As if to counter this, Vincent in the film, despite being an INVALID, becomes the company’s most outstanding employee through relentless effort. People can earn recognition through acquired effort beyond their innate genes. Yet the film presents a pathological society that judges individuals solely based on their pre-determined genetic makeup.
While Gattaca emphasizes the injustices faced by INVALIDs, it also reveals the anguish of VALID humans forced into lives dictated by their parents. This is glimpsed in the scene where Jerome Moreau, who lent Vincent his identity, possesses excellent genes but faces pressure from those around him for failing to achieve commensurate success. Furthermore, as with the pianist mentioned earlier, there is no guarantee that a child born for a specific purpose will necessarily be happy. Humans possess free will to make their own choices. However, genetically engineered individuals may live lives forced in the direction society demands, without even knowing what they truly want to do. While technology can provide convenience, it cannot guarantee happiness. The society of Gattaca demonstrates that it cannot offer true happiness to these engineered humans.
Genetic engineering isn’t entirely bad, like the society in Gattaca. While the film presents an extreme scenario, genetic modification could offer children from families with chronic diseases the chance to escape those conditions. It could also provide opportunities for recovery, like transplanting genetically modified bone marrow to treat leukemia. From the perspective of solving previously untreatable diseases and enabling longer lives, genetic modification could function as a beneficial technology for preventing congenital illnesses. The film Gattaca warns that such a beneficial technology carries the potential for abuse or negative consequences.
Let’s return to the film’s conclusion. In the line, ‘Who dares to straighten what God has made crooked?’, the ‘crookedness’ symbolizes genetically disadvantaged or defective genes. The film Gattaca depicts a world where these genes are manipulated to remove the crookedness God created, yet the world never appears happy. Through this biblical passage, the film warns that genetic manipulation could ultimately create a society that brings happiness to no one. It conveys the advice to accept the crookedness given by God and embrace the flawed world as it is.
