Gattaca

How does Niccol present the idea that it is the human spirit and not our DNA that ultimately determines our worth as humans?

In the film Gattaca, director Andrew Niccol presents clearly the idea that it is the Human Spirit and not DNA that determines our worth as humans. Characters such as Vincent, the company doctor, director Josef, Anton and even Irene portray this idea at different stages throughout the film. This unseen piece of ourselves is vital to defining who we are as people, it is the unique interaction of our faults and talents that make us who we are. DNA is the most important molecule in life, it contains the coded data that makes all forms of life what they are. With this in mind, however, we must also realise that is not DNA that controls our drive to achieve and ultimate destiny.

In a time where life began in a Petri dish, the future is depicted as a bleak and desolate place. Finally the human race gained what it always tried to achieve...perfection. Yet by gaining this they had also lost something so essential that we are barely human without it, the human spirit. Although it is impossible to lose such a thing throughout the film one cannot help but notice the absence of it by most if not all of the "Valids" at some stage during the film.

Vincent defeated all of the many barriers and obstacles that he confronted due to his inferior birth. Vincent beat his brother, the symbol of perfection, in their childhood game of chicken. This not only symbolized the small victory between he and his brother, but also the fact that if that was possible then anything was. Vincent also broke free of the life that had been mapped out for him, to not only strive to become a valid and work at Gattaca but to become an elite and travel to Titan. Freeman gave it all he had and then some as he said in the scene where he saved his brother for the second time.

"I don't save anything for the swim back"

Even though Vincent had imperfect DNA he still managed to overcome the limitations of his physical weakness by sheer determination and perseverance.

Niccol shows defiance to be an important element of the human spirit. If Vincent had not challenged what everybody thought was right and had continued cleaning, he never would have reached his dream. Vincent that the system was wrong and the fact that not one person believed that they could do better than it was predicted that they could do. Defiance is something that helps make up the human spirit, if we always did what the law or our community

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