Genetic Engineering

1. When it comes to the depiction of genetic engineering in Gattaca, there are multiple outcomes of the scientific procedure that are positive. The first positive outcome of genetic engineering in the movie was that it allows the parents of children to choose how they want their children to be. When having a child, in the first few months, parents do not know the gender or any of the traits, unless they are genetically tested to determine the phenotype of their offspring. With the genetic engineering the movie, Anton's parents were allowed to pick out exactly what they wanted their son to look like and also what they wanted his genetics to be. Secondly, the genetic engineering would diminish the chances of offspring being born with any diseases, conditions or disorders. Since scientists could take the genetic fault and fix it before the mother was even impregnated, there wouldn't be any more children with conditions and disorders that affect them their whole lifetime. In the movie, Vincent was born with a condition that affected his heart and caused him to have a very short life expectancy. On the contrary his brother, Anton, since he was genetically engineered, didn't have any disorders and was almost in perfect genetic and physical condition. Due to the fact that Vincent had a heart condition and his brother did not, his brother was accepted into Gattaca and Vincent was not (as himself). The last pro of genetic engineering shown in the movie was the fact that if a baby was genetically engineered, they could potentially do anything because their genetics would be perfect. The task of finding the correct person for a job would not be an issue anymore because specific people could be genetically engineered to be good for a certain activity or job. This would mean that people that want to do a certain job but don't have the correct body for it, wouldn't be deprived the job that they want. Seemingly, Vincent didn't have the correct genetic makeup to become an astronaut and he had to take the identity of Gerome. Therefore, Gattaca showed many of the pros of genetic engineering that in the cases of the characters, were very helpful.

2. However, although there are many pros and positive outcomes of genetic engineering, there are also many negative outcomes and cons. Firstly, one negative outcome of genetic engineering is that it creates competition and classification between those that are genetically engineered and those that are not. In the movie, Vincent was a "love child" and was born naturally without any genetic engineering whatsoever. This is the reason why Vincent had a heart condition that caused doctors to not allow him to be accepted into Gattaca. His brother, Anton, however was one-hundred percent genetically engineered and was almost genetically perfect. Because of this, Vincent was treated as an inferior to Anton his entire life due to their genetic differences. The second negative outcome of genetic engineering shown in the movie was the fact that only the rich could afford to have their