Intro
GATTACA is a sci-fi film that covers the topic of eugenics. In this future society, embryos are genetically modified to give babies only the best genes from both parents. The movie follows Vincent Anton Freeman is a natural born person, free of genetic editing. This leaves him with a high risk of a heart condition. Because of his "inferior" genetics, he is labeled as an "in-valid" or one who is unfit on a genetic level to be apart of the space program, GATTACA. His dream is to venture into the final frontier of space but is unable to attain his dream because of the probability of his heart condition. Vincent is a man ambition though so he decides to take on the identity of a man named Jerome Jarre who is genetically superior in every way Jerome broke his back which left him wheelchair bound. Jerome decides to sell his identity to Vincent by a black market dealer since he has no use for his body anymore. Vincentt's road to becoming Jerome is an arduous one. He has surgery that lengthens his height, has to learn to write with this right hand and thoroughly cleans his skin every single morning so as to not leave any genetic traces of his in-valid genetics at the company that could out him. He also uses the blood of Jerome in finger pricks to bypass security checks and Jerome's urine to bypass physicals given by Dr. Lamar. After many twists and turns including a murder investigation, Vincent is reunited with his genetically superior brother, Anton who is now a detective working the homicide case at GATTACA. When they were younger Vincent beat Anton in a swimming competition even though, Anton should've won because of his genetic advantages. This introduces the theme of fate into the movie. We see Vincent, a left handed ADD kid who should have a heart condition is the top employee at GATTACA and is due to leave for the moon Titan in a week. After many events we see Jerome getting his real urine tested by Dr. Lamar mere minutes before he is supposed to leave for Titan. Dr. Lamar tells Vincent about his son, who is genetically inferior and wished he had a role model to look up to. That no matter what hand your dealt, you can overcome any obstacle. Because Vincent doesn't have Jerome's urine, he has to test his own. Dr. Lamar remarks during the testing that his son is "not everything they promised" but then says "but then again who knows what he could do." It is revealed that Dr. Lamar knew Vincent was in-valid the whole time but was inspired by him because he reminds him of his son. Dr. Lamar changes his test to valid and allows Vincent to achieve his dream of space travel.
Fact or Fiction?
I think that additional science is needed to explain the film. We can already sequence DNA as I have when I spit into a vial for 23andme. But to efficiently identify someone from urine is something that we can't due just yet. The lack of DNA in urine provides a poor and inefficient way to use in identification according to Amy Smuts in her article "DNA from Urine as a Potential Source of Identification" [https://www.promega.com/-/media/files/resources/conference-proceedings/ishi-10/poster-abstracts/38smuts.pdf?la=en]. We already have a window into the future of editing genomes with efficiency but we aren't there yet. Deleting and replacing faulty genes with desirable ones using the CRISPR-CAS9 has already been done to embryos in 2015 by Chinese researchers. [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13238-015-0153-5/fulltext.html] But we are still unable to delete any and every gene at will to replace with only the most successful genes given by both parents. There's also the case for the 12 fingered pianist being genetically engineered to play the song that requires 12 fingers. Scientists have already engineered mice to process a protein that glows under flourescnet light so being able to genetically engineer a human to add a couple fingers can't be far off. I would be willing to bet in 50 years that we will see more Captain America type humans being made in order to limit unwanted genetic disorders.
Personal Reaction
I personally didn't agree with the ethics of choosing people on a purely genetic basis. As we see in the movie, Vincent beats his genetically superior brother in a swimming race twice which shouldn't be possible. This just goes to show that a being as complicated as a human shouldn't be limited to the information prescribed to them at birth. I see this discrimination happening at very low levels already. A 6'6" baskeball player is usually going to be preferred over a 6'1" basketball player. Because of the increased height which is purely genetic as the saying goes "you can't teach height". However there are many Vincent's in basketball who have the skillset to overcome genetic hurdles such as Chris Paul (6'0") and Allen Iverson (6'0") or Muggsy Bogues (5'3"). These men carved out Hall of Fame careers in the NBA by dominating other players who are 6-8 inches taller than them. This goes to show that just because a person is genetically superior doesn't mean they are superior in skill or ambition. A man who is gifted with a photographic memory but doesn't work will never best a man with moderate intelligence who works his butt off. This movie also gives me hope in that even a wreck like me can succeed as a doctor if I work hard enough. Great movie. Loved the helix staircase that represented DNA. 11 Adenines out of 10 Thymines.
