Running head: TO ENGINEER MAN 1

To Engineer Man
Kiel Hawkins
Devry University
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A Discussion of the Morality and Ethics of the Perfection of Man

Perfection, for the last few centuries, man has strived for this to become a reality.

Perfection of mind, of form and of spirit, we as a species have learned to strive for

something more than the day to day drudgery of life. The United States in particular is

well known for this mentality, as everyone has heard of the American Dream. This

dream plants itself firmly in our collective societal psyche and whispers to us at night

that we can be more, we can be better, we can make a life for ourselves that was more

than we had the day before. Through exercise, schooling, church, we aim to better

ourselves and want our children to have all the things in life that we did not, a better life.

The Andrew Niccol film Gattaca, takes this idea of mans search for perfection and takes

it to the next logical level using science. Here, we have a world where you can choose

your children, complete with the color of eyes, level of intelligence, athletic ability and a

host of other traits before they are even conceived. This seems to breed a world where

people are segregated into groups of either valid or invalid, where the invalid are seen

as second class citizens and not hired for jobs due to their perceived genetic inferiority.

This paper will attempt to discuss the various elements of the movie, including the

position that Niccol took on the issue, the symbolism of the swimming scenes between

brothers, the character Irenes view of her situation as engineered but flawed and the

overall morality of genetic engineering.

Niccol has an interesting take on genetic engineering. Typically in a movie about

genetic engineering and its dangers, we are left we characters that must fend off some

abomination of nature that has gotten out of control. In a way, Niccol has taken that
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theme and stood it on its head, but the abomination is ourselves. This is shown in many

scenes where we see the search for perfection causing characters to lose who they are.

Vincents father refused to allow his son to have his first name when he is born due to

his obvious imperfection, but extends that right to his second born engineered son. We

it again in how Vincent the invalids parents treat him after their valid son Anton is born

and being measured for height when they make a fuss over the later while the former is

forgotten to the point that he erases his own name from the pole. Over and over again

in the movie we see people being treated as if they had no value all because their

parents chose not to build them using genetic Legos. The sad part about all this is the

lives that lead an engineered life are devoid of real life. They are like statues walking

around pretending to be alive, so assured of their place in life or limits that they never

strive for something better. Niccol shows us the value of people in Vincent, who strives

for the unattainable dream and succeeds regardless of where he came from.

This leads into a discussion about the rivalry between Vincent and his brother

Anton. Vincent being the older brother was always viewed and treated by his parents as

broken somehow, while Anton was provided the praise and love. This I believe deeply

wounded Vincent, but also motivated him to refuse what life had provided. We see his

character become more and more determined to succeed in spite of voices telling him

its impossible.
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References

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lived: How characters of fiction, myth, legends, television, and movies have shaped our

society, changed our behavior, and set the course of history (pp. 239-241). New York:

Harper.
Williams, C., Dudzinski, L., Borowski, S., & Juhasz, A. (2005, March 1). Realizing "2001: A

Space Odyssey": Piloted Spherical Torus Nuclear Fusion Propulsion. Retrieved March

30, 2015, from http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20050160960.pdf