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Paulo Jorge da Rocha Pereira

GATTACA Worksheet
There is no gene for the human spirit
1. What is the significance of the letters that are highlighted at the beginning credits of the movie? (Hint: they are the same letters in the title of the movie) The four letters that are highlighted are the same which make up the genetic coding: G, T, C and A. 2. What does Jerome (Vincent) place on the comb at his workstation? Vincent places a hair on the comb at his workstation. 3. They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of. What? The word that is missing in the sentence is happiness. 4. Why do you think Vincents father decided to name him Vincent Anton rather that Anton? The father thought his son was not worthy of the name Anton, then put the name of Vincent Anton. 5. What is Jeromes (Vincents) life expectancy? The life expectancy of Vincent is 30.2 years old. 6. List two ways that the society portrayed in the movie routinely reads a persons genetic profile. Some of the ways that the society portrayed uses to read the genetic profile were: - Door handle; - Handshake; - And the saliva from the application form.

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Paulo Jorge da Rocha Pereira

7. What is the name given to discriminating against people because of their genetic profile? The name given was Genoism. 8. What major surgery did Vincent have to enhance his genetic imperfections? The surgery that Vincent has been done was increasing the length of the legs in 5 cm. 9. Vincent has the burden of genetic inferiority (bad genes), whereas Jerome Eugene has the burden of expected perfection (always perfect). a. Which burden do you think would be worse? b. Why? Is difficult to say which is the worst of the two. After all, I think the worst is the burden of genetic inferiority because in the case of the film it prevents the invalids from having access to everything and equal opportunities. 10. Discuss at least THREE preparations Vincent had to do every day to pass as Jerome Morrow at GATTACA. Three of the preparations Vincent had to do every day were; dispose of all loose skin; take Jerome nails, hair and urine for the substance tests and take Jerome blood for the security checks. 11. What color is Jeromes medal? Jeromes medal is silver. 12. When Jerome (Vincent) and Irene go to a concert, what is unusual about the piano player? The unusual feature of the pianist is that he as 6 fingers on each hand. 13. What does Irene leave behind at the club where she and Jerome are dancing? Irene leaves a pill box at the club where they were dancing. 14. Who killed the mission director? It was the director of Gattaca who killed the director of the mission. 15. Who does the detective leading the murder investigation turn out to be? The detective leading the murder investigation was the brother of Vincent.

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Paulo Jorge da Rocha Pereira

16. Why does Eugene think that he got the better end of the deal? Eugene thinks that had the best part of the agreement because he borrowed the body and Vincent lent dream. 17. When Anton asks Vincent, How are you doing this? how does Vincent answer? Vincent answered I never saved anything for the swim back. 18. Why do you think Lamars son was a big fan of Vincent? (Hint: Lamar is the doctor who does the urine tests at GATTACA? The doctor suggests in the film that his son is also an invalid, since it says that the child could never apply for Gattaca and is not what they promised, but would love to be able to circumvent the security as Vincent das done, and for this reason it would be his big fun. 19. In the film, a person could have a potential romantic partner sequenced. Discuss the positive and negative aspects of having this technology available to prospective mates. The positives aspects would be to know in advance all the problems that our partner may have (health, drugs, etc.), but I think the negative aspects overlap the positive ones, when doing these tests we are telling our partner that we dont trust him and I think from this point we create a relationship without what I think is their foundation, trust. 20. The technology to do what was done in the movie, will definitely be possible within the next fifty years. Do you think that Vincents world could even tually happen in Portugal? Why? I think it could happen because the technology would be available to everyone, but I think we are a conservative people and I think that this technology would not be very well accepted. Therefore, I think this technology would not have much success in Portugal. 21. During a scene in GATTACA, Vincents parents visited a doctor who specialized in child conception to select for the best traits for his future brother. They hoped that his brother would have the best possible chances for a successful life. Some of the traits mentioned in GATTACA included intelligence, height and any possibility of inheritable diseases. If you decided to have a child one day and are given the opportunity to select for special traits, would you do so? Explain why or why not. No, this is a very delicate matter and that has to do with our ethics and I think on some issues we should let nature take its course. And we should not use this technology to choose the sex, eye color and other physical characteristics.

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Paulo Jorge da Rocha Pereira

22. Wouldn't every parent want to ensure that his or her child was perfect and had the attributes of physical attractiveness, intelligence and athletic prowess to be able to do whatever he or she wanted in life? If so, why is the society portrayed in this film so devoid of happiness, vitality and fun? The film depicts a society of "perfect" people, everyone people knows what to expect from your life. When dies. What is the cause of death, etc. This makes life very predictable and monotonous; I think this will be the cause of the lack of happiness, vitality and fun. 23. You are an employer and know from genetic testing that the most qualified applicant for the job has a 70% chance of developing Multiple Sclerosis in one year's time. Would you hire this person? Why or why not? Of course I hired this person, that it might develop a disease in the future should not be cause for non-selection of that person. All people should have equal opportunities regardless of their physical condition, health or skin color. 24. What would you say to a friend who believed himself or herself to be solely a product of their DNA and with no true freedom? I would say that we can be a product of our DNA, but we still have the ability to decide what to do with our lives and change what we cannot find the right one. The fate of our life is still in our hands. 25. Cloning is a process in which you make a genetically identical organism. People say that this could be cool; others say it is messing with Mother Nature. If you had the opportunity to clone yourself, would you do it and why? I do not cloned myself, I didnt want have a similar person to me, I think that diversity is the best in our society. I cannot see any reason that take me to say that hi should be cloned. I agree you shouldnt intrude with nature. 26. If a couple had a baby who died and could not have any more babies, but had the opportunity to clone their baby, should they be allowed to clone it? No. Im against cloning, there are thousands of childs waiting to be adopted. I think adoption would be the best choice for this couple. 27. Stem cell research is another ethical issue. Stem cells are cells from an early embryo that can become any type of cell like a heart, lung, liver, or skin cell. The reason people are researching these cells are because you can actually grow new tissues and organs to replace damaged ones. For instance, it may be possible to grow a new set of lungs for someone dying of lung cancer. The ethical issue with this type of research is that in order to get this type of stem cells you have to destroy an embryo so it will never grow into a person. Do you think this research should be done? Why or why not? Of course, since its use was exclusively for the treatment of illness or other incapacity. If with the stem cells we can achieve a cure or treatment for some of the biggest killers diseases today, I think we must continue with the investigation.

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Paulo Jorge da Rocha Pereira

28. Vincent chose to live his life by the optimistic 1%. a. What would you try to accomplish if you knew at what age you might die? b. How would you live your life if you had such information? a. I do not try to change anything or do anything special, we all know that our life has a beginning and an end and we must live it the best we can without being worried about their final. b. This information would make life ceased to have the charm of being unpredictable and it becomes boring. 29. Read the summary below inserting the words from the box provided below. Jupiters imperfect health, genes The 1997 film GATTACA is a science fiction film set in the not-too-distant future. This is a world where embryos are screened before they are implanted in their mothers to ensure perfect genes and wellbeing. Each babys life expectancy and disease likelihood are tested and determined at birth. Society no longer discriminates on the basis of religion, race or gender, but on your health. Vincent, however, is a genetically imperfect (In-valid) person in a genetically perfect world. He was born with a heart defect dooming him as likely to die aged about 30 and is myopic (shortsighted), meaning he can work as nothing more than a cleaner. But Vincent dreams of travelling to Jupiters moon Titan, so he assumes the identity of Jerome, a crippled athlete, who has genes that will allow him to achieve his dream of space travel. With Jeromes identity, Vincent can work at the aerospace company Gattaca and pass their daily gene tests by using samples of Jeromes hair, blood and urine. Things become more complicated, however, when the Titan mission controller is found murdered shortly before the launch. Vincents own DNA is found at the scene in one hair as an Invalid he had no reason to be there, making him the prime suspect. Will Vincent make it to Titan or be arrested for murder? science urine embryos