Out of all the scientific ideas we've viewed in the dystopian films viewed this semester, the genetic engineering in Gattaca just might be the closest to being actually possible in the real world we live in today. After all, many of the themes involved in dystopian cinema pull from real life matters, ideas, and situations, and Gattaca is no exception. The film was released in 1997, 5 years before the Human Genome was successfully sequenced. From then until now, the methods of doing so have been becoming more accessible, and costs less on a yearly basis. As our understanding of DNA increases, the idea of genetically engineering children in the womb becomes even more of a real possibility, one that may be achievable within the lifetime of the current generation.
The main character in the film, however, is not a child born through the scientific feats of genetic engineering. According to society, his natural birth seals his sub-par fate. In this scientifically advanced world, class is set based purely upon genes, and unfortunately for our protagonist Vincent, he is dealt a less that preferable hand. With "defects" such as myopia, and the more serious predisposition for heart failure, Vincent's future is very limited, and it's difficult for him to be accepted as a regular member of society as an "invalid". Due to the issues with Vincent, when his parents decide to have a second child, they choose to go the route of genetic engineering. Growing up as boys, they obviously have their instinctual brotherly rivalry, however in this case it's fueled by their genetic variance as well as pure instincts. As kids, they play a very symbolic game of "chicken", where the object is to swim as far out as you can, and the first to turn back for land loses.
Setting the tone for the rest of the film, Vincent finally defeats his brother Anton. As it turns out, a person with a more perfect set of genes is not superior in every aspect of life over somebody with "inferior" genes. Unfortunately this is not the way the Gattaca agency sees things, which is the only way that Vincent can achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut and going to space. Luckily for him, a process exists in which an invalid can assume the identity of somebody with a more perfect gene profile, and this is exactly what he does to assume the identity of Jerome Morrow. As Jerome, being accepted into Gattaca was as easy as taking a DNA test (with somebody else's DNA, of course).
The dystopia in Gattaca exists within society's discrimination towards people with "lesser" genes, even though time and time again it is proven that a more superior genetic basis does not always lead to superior outcomes. This is seen when Vincent beats his genetically advanced brother in their game of chicken, and even ends up having to save his life. Also, even though he doesn't meet Gattaca's strict gene policy, he still climbs the ranks and is able to achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut with a mission to Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. He will only be able to carry out this mission, of course, if he is not discovered as being what they call a "de-gene-erate". It honestly surprises me how much of a persons merit, character, and ability society places on a preferable gene setup, when in many life situations, it makes absolutely no difference. This is solidified in the film's ending, when doctor Lamar reveals he's known about Vincent's lies all along, but let it slip by. He has a son with genetic defects of his own, allowing him to look past the social stigma, and see that those types of people can have the same amount of potential as those with genetically engineered beginnings.
As we've seen before in previous dystopian films, there can often be a fine line between utopia and dystopia, or there even might exist right alongside each other. The Truman Show is a case where it's truly all a matter of perspective. As far as our protagonist Truman Burbank knows, his life is an absolute utopia. The cheerful suburban neighborhood, white picket fences, lovely polite neighbors, and nice people all over town kind of utopia.
In Truman's "utopian" life, he is safe and secure, and everything literally revolves around him. This is good enough for him for roughly about 10,000 days, where a string of odd occurrences causes him to question his "perfect" existence. When starting to act upon his suspicions, he remembers a red sweater he got from a girl named Lauren, whom he met at a library. She, like everybody else around Truman, was and actor, and was not supposed to interact with Truman unless the show called for it. Even though she was not allowed to, she gave in after Truman pursued her, and they ran together to a beach where she tried her best to quickly blurt out the truth to Truman so that he would know that everything he sees, everything that goes on around him is fabricated, and just for him. The next day, Truman won't give up until he finds answers, and begins his quest to find the truth.
In today's modern society, there are very few things that can be kept private anymore, Mix that with the ever-growing desire to become a celebrity, and you get room in the media world for people such as "reality stars" and the like. People who are completely willing to let camera crews into their life and film their every waking moment. If there is a real life parallel to draw from the themes expressed in The Truman Show, that is where it would exist. However there are two very distinct differences, in that Truman did not choose this life. He was chosen as an infant to be the star of this show, and was brought up inside of it his entire life. Also, Truman of course does not know that he is even on a television show, as everything that happens around him is presented to him as the real goings-on of everyday life. This is where the film turns to a dystopia. Every part of Truman's life is a manufactured lie. He has no real relationships, and no genuine accomplishments. Unbeknownst to him, he also has absolutely no privacy at any moment, and hasn't since the day the show began when he was just a baby. They even killed off Truman's father by having him drown, thus creating his fear of open waters, and circumventing his ability to escape. This, however, proves to be the final challenge Truman faces. At the end of the film, he finally makes it to the edge of the studio. After one final please from the shows director to keep Truman there, using common tactic of fear, Truman gives a final farewell in the form of his infamous line pictured above, "In case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight", and takes his last triumphant steps out into the real world.
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