Main Issues Depicted in Film Gattaca

Essay Question: The fulfillment of Vincent’s dream at the conclusion of the film provides the only hope in an otherwise bleak world. Discuss with specific references to elements of film. The film Gattaca is a dystopian film directed by Andrew Niccol which is released in 1997. The movie portrays a society not far from now where people have lost the hopes and believes on their own human fate and will. In this society, most people are the products of genetic engineering and their worth is measured only by their DNA contents.
The film also portray the life and relentless struggles that the main protagonist , Vincent Freeman faces to achieve his lifelong hopes and dreams in the society as the unaccepted kind in the society. Andrew Niccol applies myriad types of film techniques such as symbols along with the choice of characters to depict the fulfillment of hopes and dreams in the bleak society of the movie Gattaca. There are many uses of symbolism thorough out the film signifying hope and dreams.
Bars and glasses were the most common ones in the film Gattaca. Not only they signify hopes, they represent as both visible and invisible barriers. Bars are everywhere fro m the first scene of the film and in scenes where characters face struggle. Before becoming Jerome, The character Vincent Freeman works as a cleaner at Gattaca. Whenever he looks up through the windows, there are genetically enhanced employees ascending from the escalators inside the Gattaca Crop, always having glass barrier between them.

Everytime he looks up through skylights at Gattaca’s rockets rising, leaving him below, there is glass barrier above him. These glass barriers are imposed by genetic discrimination, depicting Vincent’s exclusion by the society’s prejudices; as an invalid degenerate kind in the world of Gattaca. In the first scene of the movie, “shadows criss-cross Vincent’s body like bars when he scrubs away his body materials, conveying a sense” that he is trapped in the cage.
But these barriers give him hope and motivations to reach to his goals. However, at the end of the movie, when he walks thought the gates there is no barrier between him and his goal. This shows that the struggles are all gone leaving him freely to achieve his dreams as degenerate God-Child like him. The conclusion scene of this is depicted by the scene the rocket is elevating towards the Great Titan which Vincent refers as “home”. The choices of the characters in the movie Gattaca have hopes in many different ways.
Using the character Vincent Freeman ,the inclusion as a protagonist, is essential to show the ideas presented in Gattaca, while he escapes the trap of genetic determinism proving that the importance of the whole genetic makeup in Gattaca is too much of over reaction. From his early childhood, Vincent knows that his “destiny was mapped out before”him . However He initially accepts the identity he got, he realizes that his potential is not written in his genes by a victory over his genetically modified brother , Anton on the game called “Chicken”.
His fulfillment of his dreams gives hopes to other characters in the movie. Irene’s potential is limited by the society because her genetic profile has a predisposition for heart problems. Since she is raised in the society in the Gattaca, she accepts her limitations and believes that she just have to live with it her whole life. She tries to be perfect but it wasn’t until she met Vincent that she let her hair down. Vincent gives her hopes by showing that he can overcome his genetic flaws. This realization transforms her.
Related essay: “Advantages and Disadvantages of Genetic Engineering”
While Trene is held back by her genetic makeup, Anton and Eugene are “unable to live up to the expectations created by their flawless genes”. “The expectations put upon the genetically enhanced to live up to their genetics are almost debilitating as the discrimination against the unenhanced”, suffering “under a different burden, that of perfection”. When Vincent saves Anton from drowning in the swimming game, he realizes that his brother is “not as strong as” the engineering promises which that incident gives him hope to start going for his dream as a “faith child”.
The burden of perfection is worse for Eugene, when he understands that, based on his genetic profile, he “was never meant to be one step down on the podium”. But Eugene comes to see that the invalid Vincent is “better at being” jerome than Eugene himself, showing him hopes to become satisfy with what he got. However Dr. Lamar’s presence stands as a figure who rebuts the societal segregation based on genetic makeup through science. A scene near the end of the film shows despite always knowing Vincent’s true identity,Dr. Lamar lets him board the rocket departing for
Titan. This is also because Vincent stands as hope for a son Dr. Lamar has, whom genetic makeup is not like what they promise. Film shots that Niccol uses in the film Gattaca represent hopes in some ways. There are extreme close up shots on the blood, skin, hair at least four times each during the course of the film to show how Gattaca’s society magnifies the importance of genetic materials. The scene of falling objects in slow motion featuring thunderous crashes of those objects emphasizes the weight of DNA materials that is placed on people in the Gattaca society.
These shots suggests that human beings are “valued less than their DNA”. This shows a little hope for the degenerates like Vincents how he has to have genetic ladder to get into the Crop. Another scene which is at the conclusion of the movie where the rocket which Vincent is taking is elevating shows a sense of hope to the one who are left behind. To show that the Director uses the long shot giving the emotional feeling of Vincent successfully overcoming all his genetic defects and reaching his lifelong goal.
Overall, the Film Gattaca is a very carefully planed movie unlike another movies. With the help of the rich techniques that Andrew Niccol uses, the message of the film is successfully sent to the audience. Since the movie is a dystopian film, The movie warns the audience by showing this society in the movie Gattaca. Addition, the movie depicted that with the power of the power of belief, will, and effort, a person can transform his life circumstances and over come his limitations.