Questions
5. Compare Anton and Vincent, the two brothers. How was Vincent able to beat Anton in swimming despite Vincent's weak heart?
I think that the largest difference between the two of them, and the reason that Vincent won, is that Vincent was always striving to be better despite knowing that he wasn't meant to be. Anton had always thought that he was better because he had a better genetic structure but as the movie shows that even if you are great at something you still need hard work. Throughout the movie it constantly shows Vincent working hard and sacrificing his entire identity just to achieve his life goal. It never shows Anton as working hard or being really dedicated and that's why he lost in swimming.
7. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in GATTACA?
I personally think that the society in GATTACA isn't that bad. One of the major points of the movie is that people discriminate against Vincent because he wasn't made to be an astronaut which once you think about it makes sense. He says at one point that his heart condition is preventing him from going into space, this makes COMPLETE sense. Why would they allow someone with a heart condition to go into space and potentially endanger the entire mission? If people discriminate against people who are not genetically modified then why bring this upon your child? Just make them genetically modified to give them a better life. One thing that I do think is wrong with the society is that your entire life is planned out for you, you don't really have much of a choice as to what you are going to be when you grow up. For example, if your parents try to make you really balanced and pretty good at a lot of things then you won't be able to get a job because other people are designed specifically for that job. Other than that I think that the society isn't that bad.
13. Soon, life insurance companies, health insurance companies, employers, and the government will have the tools to predict our future health. Is this too much information for them to have? Is there a way to stop it?
If this is in our future then it is terrible and we will have a horrible future. The entire point for health and life insurance companies is to pay your medical bills if you are sick but they don't give it to people who are already sick. That means that if they gave you a 70% chance for cancer then there is no way you will be getting health or life insurance which means that since you'll probably get cancer you better be rich. This is already bad in the United States and free healthcare has been a huge debate for a long time. Imagine what it would be like in this kind of a future without free healthcare. That basically means that the only people health insurance companies would be giving health insurance to would be people who don't really need it that much. It is ridiculous to think that someone with a 70% chance for cancer won't get health insurance but somebody with a 1% chance will get health insurance. This is a good example of why this is too much information for them to have. Already they deny people with histories of diseases so imagine how much worse it would get. I don't really know if there is a way to stop it but I think that this could be considered an invasion of privacy for them to know that.
Reflection
I thought that GATTACA was a really great movie and had a clear illustration of a world that may not be too far off. I think that of all dystopian universes this one is probably closest and in my opinion is already happening to us. I think that the first step towards this was mapping the human genome. Once we understood the human genome and we started to understand genetic diseases and where there were errors it opened up huge possibilities. This could mean anything from preventing diseases, finding diseases, and who knows even intentionally giving babies diseases. If you think about it this would make a terrible world. Although I think that the GATTACA world wasn't that bad I think that they left out lots of things that are in the world. All that GATTACA shows is one man's quest to become something he wasn't supposed to be against insurmountable odds.
Comparing GATTACA and Cracking the Code of Life
I think that GATTACA and cracking the code of life weren't very similar at all. Yes there are the obvious reasons like one is real and one is fiction but I think that there is a deeper reason. I think that they are different because the two movies use genetics for two totally different things. In cracking the code of life genetics are being used to find and cure diseases while genetics in GATTACA are used to trim the edges of society to make sure that all the pieces fit together to create a perfect society. GATTACA really made me think about the problems in a society like that as in the potential problems that are created and if old ones remain or if they're solved. In cracking the code of life the whole time I was thinking about how it could lead to a GATTACA society. Even though I hadn't seen GATTACA yet I was sort of thinking about it during Cracking the Code of Life.
5. Compare Anton and Vincent, the two brothers. How was Vincent able to beat Anton in swimming despite Vincent's weak heart?
I think that the largest difference between the two of them, and the reason that Vincent won, is that Vincent was always striving to be better despite knowing that he wasn't meant to be. Anton had always thought that he was better because he had a better genetic structure but as the movie shows that even if you are great at something you still need hard work. Throughout the movie it constantly shows Vincent working hard and sacrificing his entire identity just to achieve his life goal. It never shows Anton as working hard or being really dedicated and that's why he lost in swimming.
7. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in GATTACA?
I personally think that the society in GATTACA isn't that bad. One of the major points of the movie is that people discriminate against Vincent because he wasn't made to be an astronaut which once you think about it makes sense. He says at one point that his heart condition is preventing him from going into space, this makes COMPLETE sense. Why would they allow someone with a heart condition to go into space and potentially endanger the entire mission? If people discriminate against people who are not genetically modified then why bring this upon your child? Just make them genetically modified to give them a better life. One thing that I do think is wrong with the society is that your entire life is planned out for you, you don't really have much of a choice as to what you are going to be when you grow up. For example, if your parents try to make you really balanced and pretty good at a lot of things then you won't be able to get a job because other people are designed specifically for that job. Other than that I think that the society isn't that bad.
13. Soon, life insurance companies, health insurance companies, employers, and the government will have the tools to predict our future health. Is this too much information for them to have? Is there a way to stop it?
If this is in our future then it is terrible and we will have a horrible future. The entire point for health and life insurance companies is to pay your medical bills if you are sick but they don't give it to people who are already sick. That means that if they gave you a 70% chance for cancer then there is no way you will be getting health or life insurance which means that since you'll probably get cancer you better be rich. This is already bad in the United States and free healthcare has been a huge debate for a long time. Imagine what it would be like in this kind of a future without free healthcare. That basically means that the only people health insurance companies would be giving health insurance to would be people who don't really need it that much. It is ridiculous to think that someone with a 70% chance for cancer won't get health insurance but somebody with a 1% chance will get health insurance. This is a good example of why this is too much information for them to have. Already they deny people with histories of diseases so imagine how much worse it would get. I don't really know if there is a way to stop it but I think that this could be considered an invasion of privacy for them to know that.
Reflection
I thought that GATTACA was a really great movie and had a clear illustration of a world that may not be too far off. I think that of all dystopian universes this one is probably closest and in my opinion is already happening to us. I think that the first step towards this was mapping the human genome. Once we understood the human genome and we started to understand genetic diseases and where there were errors it opened up huge possibilities. This could mean anything from preventing diseases, finding diseases, and who knows even intentionally giving babies diseases. If you think about it this would make a terrible world. Although I think that the GATTACA world wasn't that bad I think that they left out lots of things that are in the world. All that GATTACA shows is one man's quest to become something he wasn't supposed to be against insurmountable odds.
Comparing GATTACA and Cracking the Code of Life
I think that GATTACA and cracking the code of life weren't very similar at all. Yes there are the obvious reasons like one is real and one is fiction but I think that there is a deeper reason. I think that they are different because the two movies use genetics for two totally different things. In cracking the code of life genetics are being used to find and cure diseases while genetics in GATTACA are used to trim the edges of society to make sure that all the pieces fit together to create a perfect society. GATTACA really made me think about the problems in a society like that as in the potential problems that are created and if old ones remain or if they're solved. In cracking the code of life the whole time I was thinking about how it could lead to a GATTACA society. Even though I hadn't seen GATTACA yet I was sort of thinking about it during Cracking the Code of Life.
Luka this is a very insightful and well-written reflection of the movie. Very easy to read and you were clear in your opinions and gave thoughtful ones based on various ideas. Great work!
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