School of Social Sciences and Education

GED104 Cluster – Science, Technology and Society

Instructions and Guide Questions for Film Analysis 1 (FA 1)

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
      
BEFORE DO NOT
COMPLETING THIS REVIEW PLAGIARIZE!
ASSESSMENT, RESPOND TO THE ANSWER IN YOUR WORK
FOLLOW THE TYPE YOUR
PLEASE READ ALL OF REQUIREMENTS ESSAY BEFORE PLAGIARISM IS A
INSTRUCTIONS. ANSWERS WELL.
THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE TASK. FORM. SUBMITTING MAJOR OFFENSE
THOROUGHLY AND IT. THAT LEADS TO
CAREFULLY. EXPULSION.

Instructions: In a film analysis, you systematically evaluate a film’s effectiveness including

what it does well and what it does poorly. It can be used to discuss a science and technology
documentary film. You must review the film carefully and may need to look up terms or
concepts you are unfamiliar with or research related reading prior to writing your analysis.
Watch the film Gattaca found on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzG3I7nMEks.
Then, answer the following guide questions as concisely as possible.

Guide Questions:

1. If we were able to exclude the eccentric, the different, the misfits, and the weak, what would
happen to society?
 It will create a society that is seem too perfect that is it not. The society will be like a
prison that we will live, we must be strong, smart, beautiful, etc. that it will be the only
thing we will think and nothing more. It will suffocate us humans as we are not like that,
we are not perfect, but we wanted to do things we want, we want to be free.

2. Compare Jerome and Vincent. What were their strengths and their weaknesses? In what ways
were they the mirror image of each other?
 Since birth, Jerome and Vincent were opposite of each other based on what the society
made them be. Jerome was expected to be successful because of how perfect or near
perfect his genes were, he has a bright future ahead of him, and he can live long. While
Vincent is someone that is expected to live up to only 30 years of life, with many diseases
that will put him in danger, he is only expected to be nothing. The only thing that they
mirror image of each other is they both have a dream, Jerome wanted to become the best
swimmer while Vincent wanted to go to space.

3. Why is there such resistance to the new order imposed by this society, i.e., Vincent's girlfriend
- the test technician?
 It is because everyone in the film has their future already decided based on there genetic
makeup they were born. It limits those who are not fortunate based on the genes they
 have, like Vincent who have a bad gene, he is expected to live up to only 30 years and
have many medical issues that deemed him unfit to go to space, that is why his future is
already decided even if that future is not certain. The film shows us that it is up to us
individual to make our own future and not just what are our genes.

4. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in "Gattaca"?

 The society portrayed in the film is based on the genes of individual. If you have a near
perfect genes, your future will be bright. While those who don’t, will have a limited
future. It is also shown that people on the film is willing to alter the genes of their
offspring, so it come be near perfect, this mindset is wrong us they see those who have
inferior genes as nothing.

5. Wouldn't parents want to ensure that their child were perfect and had the attributes of physical
attractiveness, intelligence, and athletic prowess to be able to do whatever he or she wanted in
life? If so, why is the society portrayed in this film so devoid of happiness, vitality, and fun?
 Yes, parents want to ensure that their child have all the best thing in the world, and it is
okay. But as seen in the film, Vincent’s father sees him not fit to bear his name as he sees
Vincent as inferior and not worthy to his name. That is why Vincent grow discontent that
even his family see him as a failure. This is also why the film is devoid of happiness,
vitality, and fun as everyone wanted to keep being perfect or their children perfect as it is
the only thing they see.

6. Some critiques have countered the vision of this film by saying that our strengths are
inextricably combined with our weaknesses. Do you agree with this?
 Yes, I agree. Everyone have strengths and weaknesses; it is just up to us that we will do.
We can succumb to our weaknesses or use it to become our strength.

7. What limits should be placed on genetic engineering? Should it be allowed at all? Should it be
limited to the elimination of disease and physical imperfections? Why or why not?
 We cannot stop genetic engineering as many wanted to find cure on diseases or remove
imperfection, to me there is nothing wrong with it. It just that we should have boundaries
so to we don’t be a slave for our desire to become perfect. We should understand that we
are not above to everyone.

8. Should we permit people to make human clones of themselves? What about someone who
cannot have a child? Should we permit people to make human clones of other people?
 We should not make any clones whether it is for yourself or other. Human cloning still
has large margin of error that it could lead to many children with deformities or
anomalies that is it even better that they don’t live anymore. Even if we perfected the
 human cloning technologies, cloning of oneself or other is still not good because one way
or another we must tell the clone that they are clone. It will create a debate within the
clone if they are just a copy of genetic parent or not.

9. If you would permit human cloning, would the clones have all the rights of "natural" people?
 Yes, they should have. Whether they are clone, they are still human, they have freewill
thus should have all the rights of “natural” people.

10. Did this society, with its rigid requirements of genetic perfection, foster the ethical value of
respect for the differences among people?
 No. If it really respects differences among people, then why the need of perfection. As I
see it, if we are all perfect, then are we not just the same with each other?