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Was Vincent’s conception ‘natural’ in a way that Anton’swas not? Suppose the parents sought only to avoid life-threateninggenetic birth defects. Would this change anything? What do youthink about correcting for myopia, or height? Skin or hair color?What does it mean to say that the child is “still them, just thevery best of them”?
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Did Vincent’s parents have to treat him the way theydid? How might this have factored into his sense ofhimself?
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Why, specifically, do you think Vincent’s parents optedto be more selective with the genetic makeup of their second child,Anton? What would you do?
Jerome Morrow
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Do the winding stairs in Jerome’s apartment remind youof anything? What about his middle name—‘Eugene’?
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Is Jerome as a person a match for Jerome as a set ofgenes? Why (or why not) is this significant?
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What do you think of Jerome’s gradual change of attitudetoward Vincent? What, exactly, do you think is happening here? Isthere a lesson for all of us? For this last question, thinkcarefully about parallels to our current society that the movie maybe trying to reference.
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Why does Jerome do what he does near the end of thefilm? What might he feel as though he has lost? (Hint: it wouldseem to be something more than the use of his legs.)
Blood Salesman
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Does the blood salesman engage in an immoral business?Is this kind of enterprise a contribution or a loss to society as awhole? Does this make you think about parents paying for theirchildren to be accepted into elite colleges anduniversities?
Gattaca
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What is ‘genetic determinism’? What are its benefits andwhat are its costs?
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What if we could restrict, by genetic testing, the mostimportant positions in our society to the very best of us (again,by genetic testing). Should we do so?
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What, if anything, might be a contemporary parallel tothe screening of Vincent’s DNA during his interview at Gattaca? Forthe parallels you select, are they as strong a prediction forsuccess as one’s genetic code?
Irene Cassini
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Do you notice the parallel between Irene’s experience asa women in Gattaca and the relation between those with better andworse genetic structures?
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What is Irene’s perspective on the privileges affordedto the genetically enhanced? How does her own condition affectthis? Do you think her view changes when she learns aboutJerome?
Anton Freeman
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Is Anton’s concern for Vincent’s well-being legitimate?If not, what might be driving his aim to keep Vincent from joiningthe mission?
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Since Anton is genetically superior to Vincent, what, ifanything, can we look at to consider which is the better person? Isthis a challenge to ‘genetic determinism’? If so, how?
Final Questions
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How long do you think Dr. Lamar knew or at leastsuspected that ‘Jerome’ was a borrowed ladder? Why didn’t he tellanyone? Would you?
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Just how far do you think we are, at present, from the‘not-too-distant’ future in which the film takes place? Are thereany groups we currently regard, perhaps unintentionally, as akin to‘de-gene-erates’?
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Does the promise of science make us more or lessinclined to indulge in these prejudices? If it is an open question,what variables other than science influence theoutcome?
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Who is ‘Vincent’ and who is ‘Jerome’? Is there a sensein which their identities, in a real sense, combine? Is somethinglost?
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Granting that this is a film, does it, nevertheless,change your attitude on genetic manipulation? Citing specificparallels between the film and contemporary society, why or whynot?
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Following the last, Gattaca clearly intends to exposeproblems with genetic manipulation. But what does it leave out?What does the film get wrong? Suppose you were a supporter ofgenetic manipulation. How might you react to the film?
