Go, Neil Kendrick C.

4B6

Imagine a world, wherein statuses and classes are determined by one’s own
gene. A world wherein you can make a perfect child who has perfect health, high IQ,
and a long life span using only a test tube; that world can be found in the movie,
“Gattaca”. “Gattaca” is a 1997 sci-fi film directed by Andrew Niccol which includes
known actors/ actresses such as Ethan Hawke who plays the main character,
Vincent Freeman, and Uma Thurman who plays Vincent Freeman’s love partner,
Irene Cassini. The movie revolves on the idea of a society that categorizes men
according to their genetic makeup. The main character, Vincent Freeman, has an
ultimate dream of traveling the stars; however due to his conditions of being
naturally born, having a low IQ, and having a heart disease, he is less suitable, and
has become on of the underclass of humans. Beginning at his childhood, the movie
exhibits the differences between Vincent, and his brother Anton, who is a lab baby
with the perfect genes for success. Anton is admired and respected by his parents ,
while Vincent is kept at home and pitied. Determined to revolt against the
prescribed future given to him by the society, he seeks the help of a DNA broker
named, Tony Shaloub, who sells fake identities to those genetically inferior people.
Tony sets Vincent a partnership with Jerome Law, who is genetically perfect but was
crippled during a accident. During his stay in Gattaca, he passes all his tests, watches
the rockets, and fell in love with his co-worker, Irene. All things went well for
Vincent, until his boss (Vidal) was murdered and an eyelash of an in-valid was found
in Gattaca’s lair.

Gattaca is a possible scenario in the future wherein we are judged not by our
race, color, status, or ethnicity, but through our genes. There already have been real
life breakthroughs in genetic engineering nowadays. One of the main topics that the
movie revolves around is the use of genetic engineering in the in-vitro insemination
of eggs. Today, parents can choose the gender and the eye color of their child
through the procedure known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). In the
process, the doctors fertilize multiple ova, and then test the DNA of the resulting
embryos. Another breakthrough in genetic engineering is the alteration of the
embryonic DNA using CSPAR-CAS9 where in removes an invading bacteriophage
gene in the genomes of an embryo. Moreover, companies such as 23AndMe, and
AncestryDNA can already sequence a person’s DNA sequence using your genome, all
you need is to pay the fee, put your spit in a small vial, then send in a sample. Genes
can be a factor in deciding our status in the near future. People like Lily Collins, who
is the daughter of famous singer Phil Collins, and Liv Tyler, the daughter of famous
singer Steven Tyler shows that good genes can lead you to fame and fortune in life.
Sources :

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/gattaca/review/
https://nerdist.com/20-year-anniversary-gattaca-genetics/