Surpassing our genes: The subversive post-human message of 'Gattaca'
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.12.20673Keywords:
bioethics, genetics, rhetoric, film criticism, science fiction
Abstract
The movie Gattaca is often referenced in public debates about the societal dangers of human gene editing. In the public imaginary, its message is clear: the dystopian future it portrays stands as a warning against the societal acceptance of genetic perfectionism and genetic discrimination. This article argues that such a reading misses a deeper message of this cinematic text. Rather than offer a bioethics lesson against the use of genetics to make better human babies, in our opinion, the film actually argues that such genetic tampering is unlikely to succeed, but that the genetic engineering of a superior post-human individual is both possible and desirable.
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Author Biographies
Emily Klein, University of Washington, Seattle (USA).
Leah Ceccarelli, University of Washington, Seattle (USA).
References
Agar, N. (2005). Liberal eugenics: In defense of human enhancement. Blackwell.
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Evans, J. (2018, 27 November). The road to enhancement, via human gene editing, is paved with good intentions. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-road-to-enhancement-via-human-gene-editing-is-paved-with-good-intentions-107677
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Lynch, J. (2019). Bioethics and Brave New World: Science fiction and public articulation of bioethics. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, 2(1), 33–59. https://doi.org/10.5744/rhm.2019.1002
Maslin, J. A. (1997, October 24). Film Review. The next bigotry: Privilege by genetic perfection. The New York Times, E18.
Niccol, A. (Director). (1997). Gattaca [Motion picture]. Columbia Pictures.
Von Burg, R. (2010). Cinematic genetics: GATTACA, Essentially Yours, and the rhetoric of genetic determinism. Southern Communication Journal, 75(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10417940902896839
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