Symbolism In Gattaca

7. Analyse how symbolism was used to represent a theme in the visual or oral text? Intro ● ● ● ● ●

DNA EVIDENCE BARS(trapped) Staircase Costuming Colour lighting (blue = sterile, inferior)

Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol is a film set in the not so distant future. It follows Vincent Freeman a boy whose fate was written before he took his first breath, he was born in a world where your DNA is everything but unfortunately there is no gene for determination. Vincent tries to rewrite his fate throughout the text in an attempt to achieve his dream and journey into space. Throughout the film Niccol uses symbolism effectively to represent DNA and inferiority and the idea that you can overcome your own destiny to achieve dream. Vincent’s character throughout the film is constantly hiding every piece of skin or hair as he tries to hide
Throughout the film different shades of lighting are used to represent different emotions and used to make the world of Gattaca uncomfortable. The first example of this in the film is the sepia/yellow tinge in the scene where we see Vincent and Anton’s childhood, this effect was symbolic and this emphasised Vincent’s narration throughout the film because he was telling a story of the past which was shown. Another Colour used in the film was blue. In my scenes involving Jerome’s apartment or Vincent’s genetic inferiority everything in the shot had a blue tinge. This colour was used to create an alienated affect and emphasise dystopic tones. This had a massive effect throughout the film, most importantly for Jerome. The audience was consistently concerned for Jerome and almost expected him to do something outrageous due to his constant isolation. His isolation is shown as problem through Jerome’s excessive drinking problem. This is another example of how in the future there is no way to stop binge drinking and inferiority will still occur through things we won’t be able to control. Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca is a pessimistic view of how genetic modification will alter our world. Symbolism played a vital role using camera angles, lighting and props to perceive the idea of inferiority through genetics. This makes us realize how the future will limit us and our options will become less broad. Gattaca shows us of a world where our future will be decided and perseverance and determination