Event 2: Gattaca Watch Party

Taken from imdb

  

 For my second event, I attended the watch party for the movie Gattaca. As a major in the life sciences, genetics has always been an area of particular interest for me, and so Gattaca has always been one of my favorite movies since I first saw it in my high school biology class. Though I'd already watched the movie, seeing people's first reactions to it was fun. The fact that what's in the movie, and more, is already potentially achievable with our current technology,as demonstrated by the Chinese scientist who used CRISPR to modify human embryos, and the current practice of allowing IVF users to choose the gender of their baby, is disturbing(though we still have a way to go before we understand the genetics of something as abstract as intelligence). 

He Jiankui, scientist responsible for controversial CRISPR experiments with human embryos Taken from NPR

Human Embryo Taken from Scientific American

    Of course, people should be concerned about the abuse of genetic manipulation technology-- see history for all the crimes commited in the name of improving the human race. However, in my opinion "We shouldn't genetically modify humans", while perhaps the most obvious message to take away from the film, is a oversimplified, knee-jerk reaction. Even today, society is filled with things that give certain people advantages that could be termed unfair-- education, wealth, race. How different is the favoring of people for their genetics from what society does now, which is in essence favoring people for the environment in which they grew up?

    The first time I watched Gattaca, I was entranced by its dystopic vision of a genetically stratified society and cheered the bravery and spirit of Vincent in his successful defiance of the system. However, this time, watching the movie with more thoughtful eyes, I started to become uncomfortable. In Gattaca, despite his "inferior" genetics, Vincent is capable of more than his "valid" brother, and passes among other "valids" without notice. The lesson we're supposed to take from this is that genes don't mean everything, and thus treating people as if they're inferior based on their genetics is wrong, because they might actually not be inferior. Intentionally or not, this framing of this issue implies the problem isn't that the society in Gattaca oppresses those that it considers inferior, the problem is that the way Gattaca's society determines inferiority is unsound, and we ought to return to the proper way to determine inferiority-- the ability to do work that generates profit on the free market.

  

   References:

Cyranoski, David. “The CRISPR-Baby Scandal: What's next for Human Gene-Editing.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 26 Feb. 2019, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00673-1. 

Farr, Christina. “Some Families Are Paying Thousands of Dollars to Choose Their Baby's Sex.” CNBC, CNBC, 4 Aug. 2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/08/04/fertility-clinics-advertise-gender-selection-ethical-wuandary.html.

“Is Intelligence Determined by Genetics?: MedlinePlus Genetics.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 17 Sept. 2020, medlineplus.gov/genetics/understanding/traits/intelligence/.

“Gattaca.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca. 

Vidyasagar, Aparna. “What Is CRISPR?” LiveScience, Purch, 21 Apr. 2018, www.livescience.com/58790-crispr-explained.html.

Image Credits:

“Gattaca.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/.

Schmitz, Rob. “Gene-Editing Scientist's 'Actions Are A Product Of Modern China'.” NPR, NPR, 5 Feb. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/02/05/690828991/gene-editing-scientists-actions-are-a-product-of-modern-china.

Weintraub, Karen. “Ethical Guidelines on Lab-Grown Embryos Beg for Revamping, Scientists Say.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/ethical-guidelines-on-lab-grown-embryos-beg-for-revamping-scientists-say/.