The opening titles for Gattaca done by Imaginary Forces. Vincent Antonio scrubs himself every single day to get rid of his invalid self and replace it with the valid Jerome Eugene Morrow.
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Gore Vidal, and Alan Arkin.
The film presents a biopunk vision of a society driven by "new eugenics". Children of the middle and upper classes are "designer babies", genetically engineered in-vitro to be the optimal recombination of their parents' genetic material. A genetic registry database uses biometrics to instantly identify and classify those so created as "Valids" while those conceived by traditional means are derisively known as "faith births", "god children" and, more pejoratively, "In-Valids" (as in "invalid"). “In-valids” who try to enter the “valid” world (by contracting with “valids” to purchase their DNA through collection of blood, urine, hairs, dead skin flakes, etc…) are known as “borrowed ladders” and "de-gene-erates". While genetic discrimination is forbidden by law, in practice it is easy to profile one's genotype resulting in the Valids qualifying for professional employment while the In-Valids who are susceptible to disease are relegated to menial jobs.
The movie draws on concerns over technological developments which facilitate reprogenetics, and the possible consequences of such biotechnology for society. It also explores the theme of destiny, and the ways in which it can/does govern lives. Characters in Gattaca continually battle both with society and with themselves to find their place in the world, and who they are destined to be according to their genes.
15 Comments
Farhad2000Here are the quotes for clarity:
"Consider God's handiwork, who can straighten what He hath made crooked?"
- ECCLESIASTES 7:13
"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature. I think Mother wants us to."
- WILLARD GAYLIN
bizinichinow that i think about this movie, If I were forced to get rid of my dna like that everyday I would just get laser hair removal all over my body first of all (maybe not the hair and eyebrows, though, everything else goes) and then just buy some kinda dremmel machine with a comfortable plugin to scrub tha shit outta me real fast.
DeanoI always liked this film, the theme of a genetic underclass might not be too far away.
I worry about that combination shower/incinerator unit. I bet that never comes to market.
k8_fansays...In the world of GATTACA (the name is composed of the letters used in a DNA sequence - GATC), a system to destroy all body debris would be very useful. When DNA alone is used for identity (in the film, guards barely looked at his ID), swiping someone's DNA is as good as swiping their wallet and PINs. DNA analyzers are common in that world, and Ronco probably makes a home device to perform Polymerase Chain Reaction. An incinerator to get rid of all of one's loose hairs and skin flakes would be a very good idea.
bizinichiyea but if you do laser hair removal you got one less thing to worry about! if you're really serious you could kill every body hair everywhere
EDD*cinema
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jacobreckerThis is one of my favorite scifi movies. Like THX1138, it doesn't rely on any flashy CGI crap or really any special effects at all.
dagComment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)
^agreed it's great subtle sci-fi. Like a good black cocktail dress it will never look dated and out of style.
rougyI watched this just last weekend and was very pleasantly surprised. I had never heard of it before, but I would put it in league with "Donnie Darko" as far as the "makes you think" factor goes.
Did anybody else cry at the end?
I don't know why, but it really got to me.
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