This is one of the smartest and most provocative of science fiction films, a thriller with ideas. Its hero is a man who challenges the system. Vincent (Ethan Hawke) was born in the old-fashioned way, and his genetic tests show he has bad eyesight, heart problems and a life expectancy of about 30 years. He is an "In-Valid," and works as a cleaner in a space center.
Everybody will live longer, look better and be healthier in the Gattacan world. But will it be as much fun? Will parents order children who are rebellious, ungainly, eccentric, creative, or a lot smarter than their parents are? There's a concert pianist in "Gattaca" who has 12 fingers. Don't you sometimes have the feeling you were born just in time?
Answer one of the following after viewing Gataca. Remember your response must be at least 4 sentences and use appropriate language. Also, remember to type your name after your response.
ReplyDelete• Do you identify with Vincent and, through him, the other In-Valids, for whom the world of Gattaca is not very good?
• Do you identify with the beautiful and successful Valids and find the world of Gattaca a good place for anyone not a loser like Vincent?
• Do you find anything wrong with the attempt to have perfect children?
• Given the chance to have near-perfect children, would you have the eggs and sperm for your kid modified to achieve such vast improvements?
• Given the chance to have yourself genetically retrofitted, would you do so?
• A question asked in a survey of Olympic-class athletes (approximately; I'm quoting from memory): If you could take a drug that would assure you a gold medal at the next Olympiad, but would probably kill you within ten years, would you take the drug?
yea I see something wrong with tyin to have perfect children because there is not one that can be perfect and should not think that there better then anyone if u are teaching your child to act like there perfect then thier not going give anyone else a chance.Also they will look down on others witch should not happen
ReplyDeleteI feel that selectivly choosing you're child's atributes is wrong. If humans were meant to be "perfect" we would be. It would take away people's individuality. There is also a issue with people's image of perfection. People have different perseptions of what is considered perfect. Someone may see their child as perfect where as someone else may see it has adverage or below their standards. -Isaac Smith
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that making our kids the exact way we want them would be the best way to go about things. One thing that stuck out to me was that a pianist was born with 12 fingers! I'm sure that means they're the perfect pianist but i'm a pianist and it comes with its own challenges like, my hands being too small. With early deaths and life-changing diseases, creativity and mental challenges, we all learn to be different people and even if we don't have any of these problems or quirks we change ourselves living around these people. I think that genetic engineering is a negative development to our world.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that "making children" is supposed to actually be like it is portrayed in the movie.Birth and death should be natural.You can't pick how your child will turn out.If we did that,nobody would be their own person.Everyone would just be what their parents wanted.Trying to engineer and modify your own children is just wrong.
ReplyDelete-Nick
As for the first question, I think the world of Gattaca would be very convenient if you were a Valid but to be an In-Valid you would live a life full of rejection. I dont think it would be right to discriminate against someone because of their genes but i do think there should be some health requirements to certain jobs. I understand why Victor changed his identity honestly he had nothing to lose, why not try to live the life he'd always wanted
ReplyDeleteI don't find anything wrong with wanting a perfect child. That is what every parent wants yet some like their kids for the imperfections too. without imperfections we would never try had and never push our self to the limits and beyond. so there are ups and downs for this view but i see no harm in wanting a perfect child.
ReplyDeleteBrianne McCain
i think its wrong to mess with genitics. the reason is because, if kids are perfect they are missing the whole life experience. The children need to learn from their mistakes and become their own unique person in their own ways......
ReplyDeleteI definately think that i was born just in time i like myself just the way that i am. I dont think its right for an individual to change their genetics just because they want to,only if they have a real problem with the way they look. they should just be blessed that they are even living.
ReplyDeleteI think theres somthing wrong with having perfect children. Because every child deserves a childhood they can remember. Not just the good things but also the bad. You can not preciate sunshine without any rain.So thats what i think about the situation.
ReplyDeleteRidge(Black Sheep)
Yes i think there is a problem with parents wanting their children to be perfect. Parent need to realize nobody is perfect no matter how hard they try to make them to be.kids need to be kids not robots. Let them live their life the way its ment to be lived.
ReplyDeleteyes i think there is a problem with parents wanting their children to be perfect. No one on the face of the each is perfect. Everyone makes mistake so that makes no one perfect. Some parents just need to realize they wont get perfect children.
ReplyDeleteGiven the chance to change some of my traits through genetic retrofitting I would because of certain problems with my eyes and back. My family has a more then likely chance to develope scoliosis meaning that later on in life my spine may curve. Also my poor eyesite causes me to miss out on certain oppertunitys with my friends.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Smith
I think that having a perfect child is wrong becasue a child is unique in everyway. As growing up while being perfect u may do something wrong. For doing something wrong ur dad might punish you or spank you because of your wrong doing. It might even become so emotional that you commite suiside. That is what it think why a child should not be perfect
ReplyDeleteNick Engel
perfect children, i dont know about all of that. Why are you going to try to have perfect children? nobody's perfect and nobody will ever be so there's no point in trying to be. personally, i would be happy whenever i have kids if they just came out healthy. theres too much technology into babies and pretty much everything to the point where if something ever went wrong with one thing in technology the world wouldnt be able to function. i thinks it crazy that people want to make perfect babies.
ReplyDelete-Trevin-
What i found wrong with the attempt of trying to be the perfect child is that everyone cant be perfect. We have problems of our on and no one can make everyone happy.Even if u are perfect someone would have something bad to say about it.
ReplyDeleteDamien Womack
As for the Gold medal question, I would rather live for longer then ten years, then have a small medal that I could show off. Gattica was confusing to me, but I see the "Valid" and "In-Valid" As sort of a communist community. People are labeled the same, and those who are different are frowned upon.
ReplyDeleteDO i find anything wrong with the attempt to have perfect children ?
ReplyDeleteYes i do find it wrong. Genetically modifying the attributes of your child is wrong in many ways. First of all, what your child gets is genetic, and you should not mess with nature. A person's traits should be given to them naturally, not by going in and genetically modifying them.
What i found wrong with the attempt of trying to be the perfect child is that everyone cant be perfect. We have problems of our on and no one can make everyone happy.Even if u are perfect someone would have something bad to say about it
ReplyDelete-Jazmin
yes i think there is a problem with parents wanting their children to be perfect. No one on the face of the each is perfect. Everyone makes mistake so that makes no one perfect. Some parents just need to realize they wont get perfect children
ReplyDelete-Brooke
Do I find anything wrong with the attempt to have perfect children?
ReplyDeleteYes I think that you shouldn't try to "make" your own child the way you want them to be. Your child should be able to have their own personality not one that you want them to have. It's not fair to the child to be discrimminated against like Vinncent did when his father changed his name cause he had a problem. They should be who they want to be and do what they want to do.
Dylan Foy
The sacrifices made for having perfect genetics are not worth the honest abilities given to them in a natural birth. They shouldnt worry so much about being perfect. Instead they should worry about progress in a genetically untouched way
ReplyDeleteIf you really think about it you could understand why parents would want their children to be engineered so that they wont have any complications or dieases that would set them apart.Parents wouldn't have to deal with the grief that comes with losing their child or if they have some type of deadly disease. They would have assurance that they will have a long future and will outlive them. Engineering your children may be wrong but you can see why they would chose that and not leave it up to God.
ReplyDeletethere is no such thing as the perfect child. vincent is a good charater! an jerome is good charater also i like how he still has confident in himslef!
ReplyDeleteI find it wrong to try to attempt to make your children perfect because, your not allowing them to express themselves or try and experience new things. I don't think anybody should try and force perfection just let children be themselves just not be out of control.
ReplyDelete-->Kenzie Englert
Attempting to have perfect children is near impossible and not at all fair to the child. Without those quirks or diffrences there is no individual there is only the mass.Perfect is merely a perspective not an actual thing. What one person may believe perfect to be maybe nothing at all like your idea of it.
ReplyDeleteTo create the perfect child is stupid in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWe shouldn't make our child the perfect child ever! Trying to make our child perfect, the way that we wanted to be growing up but weren't. My friend's mom is trying to make her daughter perfect. Saying that every guy who looks in her general direction is "checking her out". But they could be looking at someone else or something else. My friend's mom was a "tom-boy" and had the body like a boy. So I'm guessing that that's why her mother wants her to dress slutty, walk around the school like she owns it, always have a boyfriend no matter what. The worst part is that her mother is so involved with her daughter's relationship that it actually destroyes her relationship. Again, her mother is living her life through her daughter. Trying to make her the "perfect child". I've noticed that it's destroying my friends life...
Natalie Phillips
if i could start my life over i would. i would love to be 3 again. i could run around and do anything. and when i would start school i would actually try hard.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou Cant Have A Perfect Child, B/C There's No Way That Your Child Can Be Good At Everything And If Your Child Wasn't Perfect You Should Still Love And Care For Them.
ReplyDelete--Jasmine B.
Trying to make a child perfect is so wrong. Schild shouldnt be perfect, its not logical. Why have a perfect child? Yeah they wouldnt get into trouble but they wouldnt have any learning experience, so they couldnt grow mentally. If a child was made perfect by there parents then it wouldnt be unique in its own special way but unique in how the parents want them to be. Making a perfect child is the worst thing you can do!:P
ReplyDeleteFor the last question about the drug that would make me win an olympic medal: No i wouldn't take it. That would be 1) Cheating and 2) totally not worth it. I personally wouldn't want to possibly throw my life away for a shiny gold necklace. And if I get caught with the drug, I have to pay a fine of some sort and give the medal to the next guy. Definitely not worth it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if I win something, I only feel good if I beat the other guy fair and square. Otherwise, for the rest of my life I would have to deal with the fact that I cheated.
-Luke
I dont think there is anything wrong with trying to have perfect children, but i would not be a person to try it... i already have a son and from experience there isnt anything i would want to change about him. i believe that when two people want a child that that child should be born naturally with out any altercations. To me the perfect child is one made from love and love only...
ReplyDeleteChristy Herron =)
Well i don't think their is anything wrong with an attempt to have a perfect child. But you also have to remember that nobody is perfect. God wasn't even perfect so why make the attempt to have a perfect child. Yes you can have a GOOD child but PERFECT just isn't where its at. With that being said nobody should think their child is perfect or even want them to be because everybody makes mistakes. Plus everything that glitters ain't gold. If you think you have a perfect child 10 times out of 10 they done did something wrong in life.
ReplyDeleteLa'Presha Brown
Trying to have the perfect child is kinda lame and wrong. You rob that child of the genetics and the experiences that go along with those that it was meant to have. Everybody is the way they are for a reason. No one is perfect and no one should be, because then we wouldn't make mistakes and learn.
ReplyDeletei would not do anything to egss and sperm to have a "perfetc child". i feel that childern should come out and be raised in the way that they wanna be.. i wouldnt have control over what my child will be or who they will be but i will support them in evry decision that they make and raise that child no different than i was raised.
ReplyDeleteI think that choosing our children's traits may seem ideal, but in the end, it is unethical. Every child should be given the opportunity to be themselves. If parent's decide how they are going to act when they are older, they won't have that opportunity. It's not fair to the child.
ReplyDeleteCarly Tindall
I think all parents would love to have a perfect child but there's truthfully no such thing. but i would never , myself or encourage anyone else to genetically change their genes.
ReplyDeleteBecause just like in the movie there will eventually be consequeces, like Vincent almost lost his dream career and in real like you would probably be faced with losing so much more.
It think no parent should want the perfect child. To have a child live up to certain standared thats are "Perfect". Everyone has different things they consider perfect. Some want beauty others want good in sports. So what really is perfect. Every human makes mistakes and evry human fails and strives at something.
ReplyDeleteI don’t see anything wrong with parents wanting to have the perfect child, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You should accept your child just the way that they are. I believe that it shouldn’t matter, and that’s not setting an example for your peers or children. Why have the perfect child to love, when you can have a normal child that’s as smart as the perfect one. After all everyone has to learn from their mistakes. Anyone can achieve all things as long as they have faith and put their mind to it. -Ashley Brown "STRiid3"
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with attempting to have the perfect children. Most parents always want the best for their children and if parents think they're children want to be perfect they should try it. sur theres a couple of things that seem wrong with it but think about it, if your child could have a better life than you had wouldn't you do it?
ReplyDelete-Jesus-
I personally think that every thing is pretty good the way it is. I think just having the gift of life is better then anyone can ask for. Scientist making people have 12 fingers or watever else that thing was talkin about I think is just kinda f$%&ked up but that's just my opinion. I think the way ur born the way u live and what you look like is all for a reason and shouldn't be interfered with. So that's about all I got to say... about that
ReplyDeleteIf i was given a drug that would allow me to win the Olympics but would kill me within ten years, I would NOT do it. While winning the olympics would be a great acheivement and you wwould be remembered throughout histy, whose to say that you wouldn't do other extraordinary things throughout your life. If this drug is going to kill you, you wouldn't have the oppurtunity to do anything else worth remembereing. In my opinion I would want my life to be worth more that a medal that I couldn't even win on my own.
ReplyDeleteTo be given the chance for a perfect child... That almost seems foolish, does it not. One of the main things that I've noticed about human nature is that we are all built on our mistakes and flaws. Through these flaws and mistakes, we take steps to find who and what we will become in life. Whether it be the challenge of heart problems, cancer or just being socially awkward, without these flaws and imperfections, we cease to be human.
ReplyDeleteLooking at it from a 'perfect' angle, look at what you must constantly do to live up to your 'potential'. Since birth, you would be expected to exceed all around you and your job is basically choosen for you.
What a waste of discovery...
~Julie L.
no i dont find anything wrong with trying to have a perfect child it's just when they didn't have a perfect child they kind of put it to the side like it's nothing because it wasn't perfect and when they did have a perfect child the child they have first was looked down upon because it wasn't perfect like the other child
ReplyDeleteTre.
(( I let Tre use my email to complete this assignment. I hope you don't mind that this is under my name. 8)...Julie Lineberry))
I think that being genetically engineer isn't human cause being human is being flawed cause our very flaws is what makes us who we are and with out flaws then we are nothing but a robot made In some weirdos image of perfect. What I think is that we are lucky to have life period much less a perfect life.so I'm fine with just being me and I love my flaws cause that's what makes us human and I am happy with that so piece out.
ReplyDeleteTrying to make a perfect child... Not possible, and even if so life wouldnt be the same. Everybody has problems and everybody makes mistakes, thats why we learn from our mistakes and make life better. No one's perfect and thats okay!!! :)
ReplyDeleteMost people feel that they may or may not have been born at the right time., but me myself feel like that i was born at the right time. During the time that i have grown up ive learn that you cant be perfect but that you are perfectly imperfect & i wouldnt want it any other way!
ReplyDeleteIf humans were meant to be perfect they would be. It would take away people's individuality. There is also a problem with people's image of perfection. People have different ideas of what is considered perfect. Some may see their child as perfect and others may see them as adverage or below their standards.
ReplyDelete