Movie Review – GATTACA (Does Genetically Engineered Technology Violate Human Nature and Cannot Guarantee Happiness?)

The movie “Gattaca” is a critical look at genetic discrimination and human happiness in a society with advanced genetic engineering technology. It warns that while genetic modification has positive aspects, such as curing diseases, it can also violate human dignity and freedom.

 

“Consider God’s handiwork: who can straighten what He hath made crooked?”

Ecclesiastes 7:13 This verse is the very first scene of the movie, and it’s what the movie is all about. What God made crooked has its own meaning, and in the context of this movie, ugly has its own meaning.
Kataka depicts a world where genetic technology has advanced to the point where it is possible to tell from a person’s blood whether they have a disease and even when they will die. There is also technology that allows parents to remove or manipulate bad genes, such as congenital diseases, violent personalities, or alcoholism, from fertilized eggs so that their children will have only the desired genes. This could create a new human race with superior height, appearance, eyesight, intelligence, and health. The ability to have a child that you can’t have 1,000 times through natural processes is truly remarkable.
When the movie was released in 1997, you might think that this idea was just science fiction. But in fact, the technology has advanced to the point where it can be commercialized, and in 2007, a couple in the United Kingdom created 11 embryos and used genetic testing to select and implant the one without the breast cancer gene. Of course, this wasn’t done at the fertilized egg stage like in the movie, but it does suggest that this kind of genetic engineering isn’t just a far-off possibility. On the surface, these technologies that can create a superior human race are justified, but are they?
In the world of the movie “Gattaca,” it is not difficult for parents to manipulate their children’s genes, so those with superior genes are naturally superior to those without, and society begins to judge people based solely on their genes. Companies and even schools, where children are supposed to be cared for, discriminate by dividing people into INVALIDs (those with inferior genes) and VALIDs (those with superior genes, either naturally or through manipulation). Vincent, the film’s protagonist, is an INVALID who, from an early age, disguises himself as Jerome Murrow, a man with other superior genes, in order to realize his dreams in this genetically controlled society. After many twists and turns, Vincent ends up fulfilling his dream of becoming an astronaut and traveling to Saturn’s moon Titan.
Now, let’s get back to our first question. Is this kind of genetic manipulation justified, and the answer to that question is a resounding “no”. On the one hand, the movie depicts Vincent hiding his true identity and becoming an astronaut under false pretenses, but on the other hand, it depicts a society where people are discriminated against based on their genes and makes the audience think critically about whether this is a happy world. In the movie, many INVALIDs try to apply to the company but are rejected simply because their genes are inferior. The movie also shows another side of genetic discrimination by showing a famous pianist with 12 fingers, even though he was not directly genetically engineered. Perhaps by genetically engineering a pianist with 12 fingers, which is advantageous for playing the piano, the parents have determined their child’s future. Children born naturally are looked down upon by society because of their genes, regardless of whether they have made any effort to earn it or not, while children born through genetic manipulation are forced to live in a world where they are more or less forced to play the role that their parents want them to play or that society wants them to play.
In Kataka’s world, the new standard of genetics is perhaps a natural and very productive standard from the perspective of a company or society. From a macro perspective, no society in the world is left out and wants people with superior talents, and from a micro perspective, all human beings, to varying degrees, basically want to be better, more attractive, or healthier than others, so a VALID human race built around these desires will make society more productive and progressive on average. For this reason, is a society with a genetically superior workforce a positive thing?
I have to disagree with this position. The bright side always comes with a dark side. The benefits of genetic manipulation, even with the best of intentions, are inevitably tied to money and do not naturally benefit humanity as a whole, which means that no matter how generalized these technologies become, there will always be children who benefit from them and children who do not, which naturally leads to discrimination. The problem with this discrimination is that we don’t see people as individuals, and we judge them solely by their genes. The problem with this discrimination is that people are judged solely by their genes and not by the life they have lived.
Such a society not only ignores human dignity, but also ignores the dignity of life. Human dignity means that a person is worthy of existence and their personhood should be respected simply because they are human. A gene-based class society judges a person’s value based solely on their genes and evaluates them as a commodity rather than a person. It is also a world that ignores nurture and emphasizes only innate nature in relation to the controversial question of whether a person is influenced by nature or nurture, and in some ways sees only one side. As a proof of this, Vincent in the movie is INVALID, but he becomes the most outstanding employee of the company through Pina’s efforts. In addition to the genes we are born with, we can also be recognized for our acquired efforts as we grow up. However, the movie presents a pathological view of judging people based solely on what they are born with.
While Kataka focuses on the injustices faced by INVALIDs, it also shows to some extent the suffering of VALID humans who live a life determined by their parents or forced by society. We see this in the scene where Jerome Murrow, who lends his identity to Vincent, says that he has very good genes, but he hasn’t been able to perform as well as he should, so he has been living under pressure. Also, as in the case of the pianist, there is no guarantee that a child born to do a certain job will be happy. Humans have free will. We have the ability to make choices about our destiny. However, these genetically engineered people may not even know what they want to do, and they may be forced by society to do what is already predetermined or advantageous for them. Just as technology can provide people with convenience but not happiness, even these engineered humans show that Kataka’s society cannot provide happiness.
Genetic manipulation isn’t as bad as Gattaca’s society. While the movie only portrays the extremes of such manipulation, genetic modification can give a child from a chronically ill family a chance to be cured of the disease, or a genetically engineered bone marrow transplant to cure leukemia and return to health. If we look at genetic modification as an extension of living longer by treating these previously untreatable diseases, it is clear that it is a technology that could be beneficial in that it could provide a world where future generations do not suffer from congenital diseases. It seems that the movie Kataka wanted to show that this seemingly beneficial technology can also be misused and have negative consequences. Let’s go back to the beginning, the conclusion of the movie. “Who dares to straighten the crooked world that God made?” The “crooked” in this phrase corresponds to genetically unfavorable or defective genes in the movie. By removing these genes through genetic manipulation, Kataka shows a world in which humans straighten the bent parts of God’s creation, but they never seem to be happy. Through the biblical passage, the movie suggests that humanity’s manipulation of genes will eventually lead to a society that does not bring happiness to anyone. The advice is to recognize the bent shape that God gave us and accept this flawed world as it is.