Gene and Vincent
”This story is about the fight of the under dog.”
How are the themes of prejudice and courage developed in the film GATTACA?
Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol, is set in a future where science, and not religion, has taken over society. A new form of discrimination has arisen, called genoism, discrimination according to one’s genetic purity. The story follows a man named Vincent Freeman who was born as a god child this means he was genetically inferior to people born with the aid of technology. Vincent faces extreme genetic discrimination and prejudice, making it harder for his life long dream of being an astronaut. But we soon find that with courage and determination Vincent can rise up and live his dream despite being “disadvantaged”.
Vincent Freeman was born of a ‘faith birth’ also called a ‘God-child’. Throughout the film we find that this limits Vincent’s ability to reach his goal of working at Gattaca. Vincent is labelled as an “invalid” and “degenerate” considered less superior simply because he was born without the aid of technology. His parents had planned to call their first born child after their father Anton. When the doctors told them that he had a life expectancy of 30 and a 99% chance of heart deficiency his father decided to name him Vincent, this continued throughout his childhood and in to his adult life. Vincent was always being treated as second best because of his genetic makeup. As the film progresses we find Vincent proves to be just as capable as any other employee at Gattaca even though he was a “degenerate”. Vincent states “there is no gene for fate” meaning that even in this modern day, if a person is put down and considered less superior than someone they can achieve anything with hard work and determination.
We see signs of prejudice early in the film where as courage was shown more so toward the end. Signs of Prejudice were portrayed when Vincent decides to run away from home to pursue his dream. When Vincent went for his
How are the themes of prejudice and courage developed in the film GATTACA?
Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol, is set in a future where science, and not religion, has taken over society. A new form of discrimination has arisen, called genoism, discrimination according to one’s genetic purity. The story follows a man named Vincent Freeman who was born as a god child this means he was genetically inferior to people born with the aid of technology. Vincent faces extreme genetic discrimination and prejudice, making it harder for his life long dream of being an astronaut. But we soon find that with courage and determination Vincent can rise up and live his dream despite being “disadvantaged”.
Vincent Freeman was born of a ‘faith birth’ also called a ‘God-child’. Throughout the film we find that this limits Vincent’s ability to reach his goal of working at Gattaca. Vincent is labelled as an “invalid” and “degenerate” considered less superior simply because he was born without the aid of technology. His parents had planned to call their first born child after their father Anton. When the doctors told them that he had a life expectancy of 30 and a 99% chance of heart deficiency his father decided to name him Vincent, this continued throughout his childhood and in to his adult life. Vincent was always being treated as second best because of his genetic makeup. As the film progresses we find Vincent proves to be just as capable as any other employee at Gattaca even though he was a “degenerate”. Vincent states “there is no gene for fate” meaning that even in this modern day, if a person is put down and considered less superior than someone they can achieve anything with hard work and determination.
We see signs of prejudice early in the film where as courage was shown more so toward the end. Signs of Prejudice were portrayed when Vincent decides to run away from home to pursue his dream. When Vincent went for his