GATTACA THEMES:

The dangers of genetic engineering and scientific experimentation:

“I would hate for anyone to look at my film and think it is advocating that you never tamper with genes, because there have been and will be many positive things to come out of this kind of science in terms of curing diseases. But the problem is that blurred line between health and enhancement. How far do you go? Do you consider short-sightedness a disease? Premature balding? Crooked teeth? Where do you draw the line?” -Andrew Niccol

Science fiction is not so much about current state technology as about what might be. It often works too by exaggerating a trend to the point where it is obviously intolerable, as with the film’s depiction of a society ruled by ‘genoism’, and thereby inviting debate about what are real contemporary issues potential problems.

Contextual links:
· 1962 discovery of DNA
· 1969 onwards- identification of which genes define the characteristics of all organisms
· 1970 the synthesis of genes
· 1976 the beginning of true genetic engineering
· 1984 genetic fingerprinting
· 1988 genetic modification of animals
· 1994 development of genetically modified food
· 1997 Dolly the sheep
· 1998 stem cell research and other types of gene research

The name GATTACA comes from the four different nitrogen elements- guanine, adenine, thymine and cystosine. The society is a society which is based on genetic perfection. In the title sequence these letters are bolded- a subtle clue to this idea.

Gattaca is really pointing us towards what is both a new and old controversy:

· The Human Genome Project which looked at finding the genetic profiles of common diseases (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s etc.) and the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1997.

What fears did this awaken in people?

The understanding of how fast technology can take us into unchartered territory. What would happen if we took things too far?

It’s important to note that these were not new fears:
· Hitler’s Aryan race
· Multiple warnings in literature ie) Frankenstein, Brave New World

What do we make of this then?

It seems that people worry about ‘interfering with nature’ as Vincent’s parents significantly do in Scene 10 of the film.

‘ Humans are discovering a God-like power to alter the world but may not have the moral understanding or prescience to see where such tinkering might take us.’
-The producers of Gattaca


























Genres
Science fiction: speculative fiction pushes an important and disturbing idea (such as genetic engineering) to its logical conclusion. This genre can be used to make quite insightful and moving comments on the nature of the world and of human potential.

However is also:
Mystery, detective, drama, thriller and a romance

Why have all of these genres together? -Because it drives the story. A good science fiction idea has little or no narrative energy in its own right.

Motifs:
· Vincent cleaning himself, shaves, or sloughs of skin
· Repeated shots of blood and urine samples
· Hair

These motifs all underline the theme of the body as the identifier and the betrayer in this society.

· Water scenes

These represent moments of struggle and triumph over nature (represented at a subliminal level by the sea).

Doubles:
· Vincent and Eugene
· Vincent and Anton

Despite apparent differences, they are equally ‘valid’ as human beings.


Style:
The film has a ‘retro’ look which draws on the Cold War iconography of the 50s. There are images of totalitarianism and allusions to Nazi war images. The sets also carry impressions of sterility (coldly scientific). The large spaces are uncluttered and well-lit. It is cavernous and devoid of much colour.

Lighting and colour:
The palette of the film is primarily green and blue/grey. Often the film appropriates sepia. It is visually a ‘cold’ film. This reflects the director’s desire to establish the idea of a society that, in its desire to be ‘perfect’, has squeezed all humanity out. It has become as sterile as a laboratory.

Green filters: There are floods of green in the film (filters were used throughout the film). The green is largely naturalistic, but on occasions has a more symbolic function, coding moments of threat and tension. Murky colours of brown and green contribute mood to the ‘noir’ sequences.

Gold filters: In contrast to this dark lighting there are several scenes bathed in golden light. (Vincent’s ambition of going to the stars, the mirror farm scene, the nightclub scene, etc) These scenes show warmth, excitement and for this film, visual richness.