In this blog post, we explore the dangers to survival, the loss of humanity, and the conditions for happiness that a society selecting only superior genes might bring, using the movie Gattaca as a lens, and ponder whether such a future is truly desirable.
Since T.H. Morgan introduced the gene theory in 1926—stating that “the heredity of organisms is determined and governed by genes”—and the existence of genes and their constituent base sequences were revealed by Mendel and other experimental biologists, interest and discussion in artificial modification of dominant individuals through genetic engineering have persisted. This interest gradually became mainstream. By 2012, the Korean webtoon ‘NoNameD’ by author Moon Ji-hyun began serialization on Naver, depicting the ultimate fate of a society composed solely of humans created through genetic manipulation to possess only dominant traits.
The film ‘Gattaca,’ released in 1998, poses the question: Can the value of humans artificially created to selectively possess only their parents’ dominant genes truly be considered superior to that of humans born naturally? Vincent, born naturally through his parents’ love, realizes his physical and intellectual shortcomings compared to his brother, born through artificial insemination with only superior genes. Vincent strives relentlessly to overcome this, but he is denied even a proper interview opportunity solely because he possesses recessive genes. Ultimately, though he dreamed of becoming a navigator flying to Saturn, he could only become a janitor. By chance, he borrows the identity of Jerome Morrow. Liberated from his identity as a carrier of recessive genes (an unfit individual), Vincent, now Jerome Morrow, is recognized as the most outstanding talent at the aerospace company Gattaca. However, on the eve of his flight to Saturn, Vincent becomes entangled in a murder case, facing the crisis of his identity being exposed. With the help of Irene and Jerome, he safely departs for Saturn, concluding the film. A naturally born Ineligible has achieved his dream among those possessing genetically dominant factors.
Can we truly consider it an absolute benefit to receive only dominant genes from parents through artificial manipulation? In the film, not only height and vision, but also the strength of various organs and genetic diseases are controlled by selecting and regulating alleles at the pre-implantation embryonic stage. This ensures the child is born free from genetic diseases while possessing the optimal expression of traits within the given genetic makeup. Therefore, from a societal perspective, it eliminates the probability of children being born with congenital disabilities or dying from genetic diseases. This can also yield positive economic effects by significantly reducing budgets allocated to adoption, disability support, and medical welfare.
However, from the perspective of the survival of the human species, it is undesirable to standardize all children’s traits—such as height, leg length, and eye color—toward what society and biology deem positive. Examples of dominant trait selection being unsuitable for species survival can be found both in external physical phenotypes and internal chemical metabolic processes. First, examining external physical phenotypes, society generally prefers well-proportioned long legs over short ones. However, from the perspective of adaptation to environmental change, individuals with poor body proportions have a relatively larger surface area exposed to air compared to their volume. Consequently, they experience greater heat exchange with the external environment due to temperature fluctuations. Thus, while individuals with less proportionate bodies are socially less preferred as a recessive trait, they may adapt better to abrupt climate shifts. Examining internal chemical metabolic processes also reveals that dominant traits are not always optimal for survival, as seen in the relationship between sickle cell anemia and malaria. Sickle cell anemia occurs when a problem arises in the gene sequence encoding red blood cells, causing the sixth amino acid, glutamic acid, to be replaced by valine. This results in the red blood cells adopting a sickle-like shape instead of their normal disc-shaped structure. This altered structure impairs the red blood cells’ ability to bind and transport oxygen, leading to anemia. Consequently, it is called sickle cell anemia and is classified as a recessive trait both socially and biologically. However, in cases like malaria where pathogens utilize the host’s metabolic activity to proliferate, the abnormal permeability of the sickle cell membrane causes potassium ions concentrated within the cell to leak out. This results in metabolic disruption for the pathogen. Based on this principle, patients with sickle cell anemia, which is socially and biologically recessive, develop resistance to malaria pathogens. Indeed, during malaria epidemics in Africa, while many individuals with normal red blood cells died, the majority of sickle cell anemia patients survived. Consequently, it becomes clear that selecting for dominant traits to produce offspring is not desirable for the survival of the human species. While socially and biologically dominant traits include internal organs with efficient metabolic function and a physique exhibiting superior athletic ability, many pathogens and parasites exploit the host’s metabolic processes, making such individuals vulnerable to these diseases. The dominant trait can become a poison.
This logic can also be examined within the context of species safety discussed in biology. Naturally occurring phenotypic expressions in individuals follow a normal distribution and exhibit diversity, which minimizes the risk of extinction due to external shocks like diseases or environmental changes. Conversely, when genetically dominant traits are selectively bred into offspring, most individuals’ genetic traits soon become concentrated in a specific range considered dominant. In such cases, the risk of extinction due to diseases like malaria—which are lethal to individuals possessing the dominant trait—becomes extremely high. The webtoon ‘NoNameD’ also explores a similar narrative, where a generation of children created by selecting only genetically dominant traits is wiped out by a cold caused by a mutant virus. In the case of viruses or pathogenic diseases, the rate at which variants emerge due to genetic sequence changes is faster than the rate of human immune adaptation. Therefore, maintaining genetic diversity is more rational for human survival than constructing a species by selecting dominant traits.
Selecting dominant traits is also undesirable from the perspective of human happiness. The clearer the criteria for what is good or bad—such as height, eyesight, or organ function—the easier it becomes to classify people based on these traits. Even if only superior genes are selected for the next generation, the scope is limited by the parents’ genes. Consequently, individuals possessing more superior genetic factors can consistently pass on more of these superior genes to their descendants. This can foster a social hierarchy based on genetics. Moreover, the formation of such hierarchies will lead people to evaluate others based on their value as commodities rather than their value as human beings when choosing partners or interacting with others. In other words, what wealth did in capitalist society as a criterion for dividing rich and poor, genetic sequences will do in the future. Such deepening social stratification is unlikely to bring happiness to humans. The purpose of superior genes is merely to create a species with outstanding phenotypic traits, not human happiness. We must also critically examine the correlation between outstanding phenotypic traits and happiness.
Two memorable scenes in ‘Gattaca’ were Vincent and his brother’s swimming bet in the ocean and Irene’s confession about her heart. They enjoyed a bet where the first to turn back out of fear while swimming toward the sea lost, and the genetically superior younger brother always beat Vincent. But in their final bet, Vincent wins. He explains why: “I push forward without saving strength to return, but you always save strength to return after winning.” Similarly, I remember the part where Irene tells Vincent that her heart isn’t as strong as others’ genetic traits, so she can only run this far, acknowledging her own limits.
Through these two scenes, I believe the author wanted to show the negative impact superior genes have on human self-awareness. People born with superior genes become aware of their own excellence, but simultaneously become aware of their quantified limitations. Vincent’s brother and Irene also possessed excellent physical conditions, yet they lived constrained lives, trapped by their quantified limitations. Vincent, on the other hand, though born naturally, overcomes his limitations through relentless effort. Those who live knowing precisely how superior their bodies are in certain aspects may lead stable lives, but they are inherently deprived of the opportunity for self-realization through effort – the very thing that brings humans happiness. The scene where the real Jerome, who became disabled and lent his identity to Vincent, states, “The day I was hit by that car, I was more in my right mind than I’d ever been in my life,” also reveals the author’s skeptical questioning of whether those trapped within quantified limitations truly possess the opportunity for genuine self-realization. In exchange for acquiring genetically superior traits, they are deprived of the right to overcome limitations through effort and the right to contemplate their own identity.
Furthermore, even in the process of dominant trait expression, there is no inevitable link guaranteeing manifestation in the desired phenotypic form. Traits like height, vision, or violence are not determined solely by genetics; they are influenced by life circumstances such as education. Therefore, even if genetically perfect individuals are created, their certainty cannot be guaranteed due to environmental influences. Just as Jerome’s superior in ‘Gattaca’ was a murderer despite showing no genetic sequence for violence, environmental influences can be seen to significantly diminish the inherent effectiveness of genetic manipulation aimed at creating superior phenotypic expressions.
Consequently, forming generations possessing only dominant traits through genetic manipulation diminishes human individuals’ flexibility in adapting to environmental changes. Moreover, the very purpose of such manipulation tends to be viewed not as serving human dignity and happiness, but rather as a means to an end. Furthermore, genetic manipulation risks creating human stratification and commodification. Since genetic factors are not the sole determinant of human expression traits and are heavily influenced by the environment, the certainty of obtaining desired traits is also lacking. Genetic manipulation, where losses outweigh gains, is undesirable.
