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The film Gattaca is about a society that we are closer to becoming than we were, say, in 1997. If we are to manipulate/give preference to certain genes in order to cultivate what are perceived to be good or desirable traits and to eliminate undesirable traits, surely that has a net positive result for society, right? Would people be healthier, stronger, less criminal, more capable of dealing with the challenges of modern life?

If you were alive in such a world, would you prefer to be a “faith baby” or a baby whose genes have been modified? After all, look at the challenges faced by Vincent. Would you roll the dice and hope you’d be a “valid” as opposed to an “in-valid”? Or would you be willing to go the lengths Vincent did by “using” another person’s identity? And what are the risks of that?

In this post and after watching this very thought-provoking film, link its plot to what you know about (a) eugenics and (b) discrimination. How do the questions raised by the film echo questions about the justification for eugenics and its relationship to wholesale discrimination?

Please reference specific aspects of the film and respond with a thoughtful post about these questions and the ethics of the entire enterprise of genetic research and reproductive technologies.

Just two points of clarification: I am not related to Vincent Freeman; this is a fiction film and he’s an invented character. Also, this film dates from 1997 so it is somewhat dated, especially with respect to the outcomes of the Human Genome Project (HGP). Now that the HGP has largely been completed, the questions the film raises are even more urgent than they were in 1997.

One of the most undeniable facts about humans is that we will always separate ourselves into groups so that we can assert our superiority over others. It's visible everywhere, and while sometimes it's harmless, Attaca displays a version of this that is soon becoming reality. The really scary part about it is that there is a kernel of good to the whole idea. On paper, genetically removing bad traits sounds great, the only issue is what the word "bad" means. You don't get very far before you start arguing over what should and shouldn't be selected for.

Watching this movie reminded me a lot of Brave New World, which is a phenomenal book that covers a very similar subject. The only way the society functions in that book is enforcing a class system like the one in Attaca. It was even tested, in the book they describe an experiment where they populated an island with only "Alpha" citizens (The intellectuals) and immediately it deformed into chaos because nobody wanted to do blue-collar jobs and the basis of the society collapsed.

When we only screen to make people as "good" as possible, we end up in a world where we find we have to make people of lower class, and how do you choose who's going to do those jobs? In the movie it's simply if you're a designer baby or not, but imagine a version of it in the future where everyone is a designer baby.

If I was in the world of the film, I'd love to say I'd be noble and be an in-valid, but that would be disingenuous. It's clearly better to be a valid, and the lengths Vincent has to go through along with having to rely on other people covering for him to get close to what valids can achieve would leave most people not as fortunate as him stuck in the lower class their whole life.

It really depends on what is considered valid or in-valid. In the scene where Vincent's parents are considering choosing valid eggs, they discuss serious issues and non-life threatening "issues", such as pre-mature balding. Though we might not want to start balding early on, that is not a real issue enough to decide to have a baby who's genes are modified, and sightly poor eye-sight should not warrant being in-valid.

The people would probably be healthier and stronger, but I would not say they'd be more capable of dealing with challenges of modern life because of their superiority complexes. Vincent's brother, Anton, could not stand the fact that he had lost a single swimming competition with Vincent, while Vincent worked his whole life to win that one match. Vincent, a faith baby, was able to overcome the challenges of his modern life. I personally would prefer to know that my genes were chosen because I'd know I was given the best chance possible to have a successful life. If I was as passionate about something as Vincent was with space, I'd be willing to fake my identity because I'd hate to not be given any options except for low-level jobs. Obviously, I'd risk being caught and arrested, but what's the difference if I had to live my real life as an in-valid.

I would consider my genes and my partner's to see the possibility of serious health issues, such as Vincent's heart defect. Although he is able to overcome it, the 99% possibility of dying by early 30s is not something I would want to encounter as a parent. If my child did not have such serious issues, but non-life threatening issues, such as poor eyesight, I would consider the issues they'd face in adulthood. Vincent was not able to get any good jobs, but the second he was "valid" his interview was over.

In real life, eugenics is used to increase the population of "desirable" people, which are white, heterosexual, and able bodied. Disabled people now still struggle to function day to day because public structures do not keep their needs in mind and do offer solutions.

The job discrimination Vincent faced reminds me of the discrimination immigrant POC face and the case of employers throwing out resumes with "black" names.

While manipulating genes and cultivating a "perfect" population may promote more "positive" physical traits, it introduces far more damaging false biases. In "Gattaca," many characters, particularly Anton, believed that gene sequencing was final; a person's worth was determined solely by a sequence of nucleotides. Most genes are not fact, just a predisposition. Often, one can be predisposed to a trait, but it truly is the environment that leaves this trait dormant or forces its expression. For example, many carry the "alcoholic" gene, but childhood trauma and other social triggers are much more pertinent to the development of this disorder. In Gattaca, however, the genetic predisposition is law–one's entire life is determined just minutes after birth. There is no room for growth, and Vincent tells Irene, "They have got you looking so hard for any flaw that after a while, that's all that you see" (Gattaca 1:26:19). They completely invalidate the lives of "invalids," telling them nothing but their ensured inferiority, forcing most into "lesser" jobs. As a child, Vincent dreamed of going to space, but his parents tried to quash his ambition, telling him not to aspire to anything more than a cleaning job. In a society built on genetic manipulation, "invalids" are thought to be worthless. People as brilliant as Vincent are pushed down to janitorial work and their potential is disregarded because of their genes. Genetically perfect people, however, are placed on a false pedestal–despite being physically manipulated into perfection, Anton still loses twice to Vincent in their games of "chicken," needing to be saved by his "lesser" brother. Eliminating certain diseases would have a positive effect on society, but the overall impact of genetic manipulation would be far more detrimental due to the excessive mapping that would occur.

While I don't support the process, I would most likely reproduce using the genetic modifications. In a society like Gattaca, a "faith baby" is almost ensured a difficult and unrewarding life–not because of genetic inferiority, but because of the society in which it would grow up. Vincent remarks after being rejected from countless jobs that they now "have discrimination down to a science" (Gattaca 19:10). I wouldn't want to put my child through the difficulties of a "borrowed ladder," forcing them to commit fraud and lead a fake life. A "faith baby" would have to fight an uphill battle every day, and I would prioritize my child's success over my moral objections to the process.

Gattaca is based around similar principles to eugenics–the idea that certain genes code for a "better" person. There is no way to truly map the worth of a person, but both Gattaca and the pseudoscience of eugenics strive to do this. They try to define a person's characteristics, things shaped by one's environment, by what's in their cells. While people can be predisposed to certain traits, there is really no code for the "perfect" person, and to assign levels of superiority based on genes is to invalidate the existence of many capable people. In Gattaca, it seemed that racial and sexual discrimination had largely been eliminated, although there were a few references to parents' specific desire for a fair-skinned baby. They replace racism and sexism, however, with a new type of discrimination–genetic code. Both our society and Gattaca determine peoples' worth off non-consequential traits, falsely labeling certain groups as inferior and placing them in lower positions of society. The film questions this labeling, showing an "inferior" person reaching immense levels of success, proving his family and the system incorrect about his capabilities and potential. This is synonymous to the discrimination women have faced throughout time. They are told they cannot achieve as much as men, that they are physically incapable of "mens' jobs," but in the last centuries, women have shown this to be incorrect, proving their equality time and time again.

Genetic manipulation is unethical when taken to an extreme. It can be helpful in eliminating many fatal diseases, but will inevitably lead to a dystopian society like Gattaca. Initially, processes like CRISPR will show positive results, but will prove to be a pandora's box of discrimination; once we start going down this path, there is no end–there will always be a scientist who takes it too far. Understanding one's genes can be helpful, but we must always remember that one's true worth can never be sequenced.

Manipulating genes could be seen as effective in terms of physical traits, but someones gene sequence does not determine what they can and cannot do. In the movie "Gattaca" we see that some of the character believe that the life that's determine for you right after birth is the only life you can live. But this puts a limitation on those who are considered "invalids" and they can't fully live their lives like the "valids" can, they aren't able to truly fulfill their dreams.

I go back in forth on whether I'd want to have my child modified, and I don't support the process but I do realize that this could potentially put my child at a greater disadvantage. If the society would be anything that Gattaca my child could lose many opportunities based on their genetic makeup and I wouldn't want my child going through those difficulties.

Eugenics is this idea of "planned breeding" where someone's DNA could be genetically modified to make them "better", this idea is heavily portrayed in the film, Gattaca. We can see the two brothers Anon, genetically altered and considered valid, and Vincent, not genetically altered and considered "invalid", constantly fighting to see 'who is better'.For example they did swimming competitions that pushed them to their absolute limit just to prove a point, putting their lives in danger This is all because the parents were given the opportunity to "pick" their child, Anon, before he was even born.The "main" types of discrimination in today's society are race and gender, but in this film we don't really see much of that. Instead we see discrimination based on a persons cells and genetic makeup.

A society like in Gattaca is definitely a nuanced one. Objectively, the genetically edited "valid" people are more genetically fit, they are healthier, they are stronger, among other things. The "in-valid" babies, like Vincent, have no chance to move up in society, because of their energetic. This creates an incredibly restrictive system based on genetic "perfectness". This is a heavily flawed society, where your role in society is predetermined by things you cannot control. The second you are born, and even before hand, there is a specific path that you must follow.

In this society, no one wins. If you are a "valid" member of society, you have extreme amounts of pressure on you to be perfect at everything you do. You can see this with Jerome, who has kind of lost his will to live once he is crippled and is no longer "perfect". I feel like living as either class within this society would come with it's own kind of awful. If you are a member of the "in-valid", you are treated as a second class citizen, one who will never be anything and is never appreciated. If you aren't, you have to exceed at everything you do. There is constant pressure on you to do everything right, and if you aren't, you might as well be "in-valid". I would still definitely rather be "valid", because they are ultimately the ones who reap all of the benefits of this society. If I were to be an "in-valid", I definitely would not go to the lengths that Vincent did. It was a non-stop cycle of faking his life just to live in a society with more pressure to be perfect, as someone who is literally the opposite of perfect.

I feel like most of this film is a direct criticism of eugenics. The idea of "superior" people, and creating classes based on how "valid" you are is central to the society in the movie. This is also the way that the validation of eugenics affected our society in the 1900s. It created all kinds of gaps and divides within society that led to more discrimination. People started viewing each other as worse based on completely false "good" and "bad" genetics that had no basis in reality. There are no genes in people that make them more or less fit to be a member of society, and this is shown by the failures of a society where genetics determine everything.

If I was alive in a world built around genetic engineering, I would rather be a "faith baby". I think the world is a lot closer to this reality than we realize, but I don't think it would make people valid or invalid based on if their genes are edited. As a parent, I wouldn't genetically engineer my children either, especially if it's a newer method that hasn't been around long enough to see the potential side effects. I find it somewhat morally wrong, and a big part of having your own child is that it's YOUR, own child. Editing genes is basically taking a part of you away from your child. If I'm being honest, in the case of Gattaca, I would much rather be deemed valid, despite the moral issues it could arise. The invalid was often unemployed, and looked down upon, living a life of tragedy.

The unemployment issue the invalid faced, or in our society the "undesirable", can connect to colored, disabled, or past criminals being denied jobs. America isn't as straight up as Gattica is in terms of racism in the work field, but there are clearly biases during the hiring process for most companies.

I think living in a world of "perfect people", would bring more problems than it would solve. There are clearly undesirable jobs in America, that are practically designated for the "undesirable". If we lived in a perfect world, people would feel above themselves to be things such as garbage men, custodians, or cashiers. Although everyone should have equal opportunity, I believe it is important to have a class system, where different amounts of money are being made and undesirable jobs are being filled. If everyone was on the same playing field, society wouldn't function properly and more conflict would be created than solved.

Similar to Vincent, people born with severe disabilities live in difficulty and unemployment. As Vincent was suspected of murder, the criminal system looked only at the invalid, just as the murder case from class yesterday only looked at black men, when the murderer was the "victim".

There were many scary similarities between Gattica and the real world, and I beleive we are much closer to this reality than most think.

After watching Gattaca, I think that manipulating genes could be a good idea, with the right intentions. However, it can be taken out of context, and this could turn into discrimination. People could start interpreting good/desirable traits in different ways, which is very dangerous. I think that if we manipulate genes that relate to illnesses, this could be a good thing, as people will generally be healthier and stronger. But . I think I would have preferred to be a "faith baby" or "in-valid". Just because someone is genetically more "desirable", doesn't mean he should get an advantage in society. Vincent faced enormous challenges, and made incredible sacrifices while trying to get in to Gattaca. He got lenses, shaved his own body hair off, replacing his vials of blood with Jerome's, just for a chance to get to go to space. He was born with an unavoidable heart condition, but nothing is ever guaranteed. He even exceeded his life expectancy by a lot. I think that if you cut down the gene qualifications so much, there will be almost no one left for Gattaca. Even Jerome, with the "most perfect" genes, had no desire to go to space. Vincent constantly was putting his identity at risk, especially while getting his blood taken, oral swabs, or even when Anton had to do a home visit, because of an investigation into the directors death.

(a) At the end, it was surprising to see that the doctor still let Vincent go to space, after finding out his real identity, not fake Jerome. Also, after Irene found out about Vincent, at first she was angry, but more about him lying to her. I think these events show that even during times like these, where there is "mass hysteria" about in-valids, there were still good people, who had empathy for others, even "in-valids".

(b) Most of the people in Gattaca were white, as well as male. In the whole film, the only female we learn about is Irene. I think this shows what that society thinks of as "superior people". Even though, like in the documentary about the Genome Project we watched, there is no genetic difference between a person of color and a white person. Could the officials at Gattaca be factoring in more than just genes? Gender, race, sexual orientation, etc.?

I actually don't agree with genetic modification pretty much at all and I think the message of Gattaca would support my opinion. Here are some points against it:
- Genetic modification would be expensive, basically something only rich and wealthy people can obtain. So the upper class population would grow and be more genetically fit than the lower class. They might live longer, become almost inhuman, the elite would become godlike. Can you imagine a society like this? The lower class already has a harder time obtaining food, housing, and healthcare. Many of them suffer from chronic illness, disability, or other problems that would be alleviated at least slightly if they were upper class.
- Humans are imperfect by design. We should already know the dangers of simulating evolution. Look at some of the dogs we've bred into existence. Is breeding pugs even ethical? Can you really trust every parent to worry about the well being of their child or would they rather focus on beauty? Would they project who they wished they were onto their child? Could their child even live its own life? For the first few generations, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, but as genetic modification becomes more normalized what would the human race look like?
- Then of course there is the issue of severe ableism raised in Gattaca. When the slightest imperfection will label you an in-valid, what is to become of people like Jerome, who are physically disabled? Are they to become more undesirable, more overlooked, than they already are? A society which is built around how much someone can contribute is inherently ableist. Humans would become machines meant for one purpose. No free will, no creativity, no exceptions. Why contribute resources to a broken machine? If your goal is for all of society to eventually become "valid", why even keep the "in-valids" alive? What determines who will be born valid and invalid? Parents, wealth? Not pure chance. These genetically modified kids wouldn't even have a chance to try. Obviously there is very little empathy in Gattaca, humanity has been dehumanized.

For these reasons I think the world of Gattaca is unfortunately very realistic and an intelligent prediction of what will most likely happen should humanity open genetic modification to the public. Who would you be if your parents chose every detail of who you are? Yes, obviously cancer is bad, but do you really think parents would leave genetic modification at that? What about kids with ADHD, Autism, down syndrome, dwarfism, other "disabilities" from birth? If you could prevent your child from having one of those, would you? Why shouldn't other parents? Do these people not deserve to exist? Yes their lives are harder, but who are you to decide if that means their lives aren't worth living? Genetic modification is basically saying "there will be no more autistic people" when you get down to it. And even if a few people choose not to modify their kids and those kids, by some small chance, end up being autistic, would the government really do much to help such a small minority? Think of the long term implications.

The society in Gattaca created its own moral dilemmas by design. In that situation, like Vincent, I would be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals. And I am aware of the risks. The risks wouldn't exist if everyone decided genetic modification was bad from the start.