Gattaca

"Consider God's handiwork: who can straighten what he hath made crooked?" (Ecclesiastes 7:13). Such is the opening quote and the thesis of director Andrew Nichol's film Gattaca (1997). Although the film is based on the lives of genetically engineered human beings and the effects that such have on the "invalids", that is those who are "God-children", it deeply criticises the values of a society of "valids" through its satirical tone and the use of film noir techniques. Gattaca not only supports the belief that nature, despite its flaws, is preferable to a supposed error-free genetically engineered existence, but it also advocates that nobody should "tamper with" what "[God] has made crooked." Through the medium of the film, director Nichols
Take, for example, Director Josef, a "valid" member of society with "not a violent bone in [his] body." The brutal murder of a colleague for the sake of a project is not what one would expect from a seemingly perfect, genetically engineered human being. It is in this that Nichols displays for viewers how "validity" in terms of a "genetic quotient" is independent of validity as a human being. Nichols encourages us to consider the disadvantages of having such a motivated, success-driven elite class, through Director Josef's "invalidity" as a human being, which is demonstrated through his murderous streak. The same message can also be applied to Eugene's case, in the juxtaposition of his genetic "validity" and his disabled body. No matter how impressive Eugene's "genetic quotient" is, he will never be accepted in the valid world, due to his confinement to a wheelchair and his cynical attitude towards the life that he tragically ends. Niccol proves, through the fact that Vincent, the "invalid", has to pose as Jerome for Eugene's "genetic quotient" to be of any use, that one must actually be a seemingly "invalid" "God-child". This implies that one must humanise to escape the error and "invalidity" of the genetically engineered