Study Guide to Gattaca - Two Rivers Public School ….doc

Study Guide to GATTACA Director: Andrew NiccolScreenplay: Andrew NiccolStarring: Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, Gore VidalRelease date: 24 October 1997Running time: 106 minutes Key Concept Genetics, genetic engineering, determinism, freedom, identity, discrimination Summary As soon as Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is born, his DNA is analyzed and his future capabilities are predicted—including the fact that he has a 99% chance of dying of a heart disorder when he is 30 years old. As a result, he is doomed to a life of menial labor. However, he is determined to get to Gattaca Space Academy and join space missions. Through his sheer determination—and the use of someone else’s very superior DNA which he buys illegally—he manages to achieve his ambition. Advertising Taglines: “How do you hide when you are running from yourself?” “There is no gene for the human spirit.” Cultural significance Hardly a week passes without claims by scientists that they have isolated the gene for some particular disease or trait. Increasingly we are told that mental and emotional characteristics can be attributed to our DNA. Insurance companies want to increase genetic testing in order to identify high-risk applicants for life insurance. More and more we are being defined by our genetic make-up. Gattaca explores these issues. Biographical background Gattaca is New Zealander Andrew Niccol’s second major screenplay and was his debut as a director. He says, ‘My genes made me do it. I don’t know when I first thought of it, but you can open a newspaper today, and I’m certain that you’ll read something about a new gene, and it became inescapable for me as a story idea.’ He had earlier written the screenplay for The Truman Show. Overview The film opens with a text from the Bible – Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? It continues to tell how our civilization may, in the not too distant future, attempt to do this. This is a world i