gattaca quotes Flashcards
1M
Dystopia - the uniformity found in Gattaca: discrimination
1 q
“they used to say that a child conceived in love has a far greater chance of happiness. They don’t say that anymore”.
1E1
The use of sound also focuses the audience’s attention on these factors. The echoes of voices and footsteps throughout the film, as if the characters live in a world that is hollow, distant and lacking in warmth and humanity. The reverberation of sound adds to our understanding of the world Niccol creates, the echoes placing emphasis on the cold distance that characterises Gattaca and its workers.
1E2
Thus this uniformity ensures that people understand that there is no room for insubordination, only order and discipline; the uniforms support this society’s social structure by ensuring that everyone knows where their place is and how they should behave. The restrictive way uniform functions within Gattaca ensures that employees do not think for themselves but rather as a unit thus distributing responsibility and reducing the feeling of wanting to analyse or critique the societal norms they are living by.
2Q
“the best test scores wasn’t going to matter unless I had the blood test to go with it.”
2M
People have become so obsessed with the ‘perfect human’ that they have become so devoid of imperfections that they have lost a big part of their humanity.
2E
These interiors are filmed in cold blues, muted dark colours, and stark whites acting as contrast. The use of colour in these sequences serves to emphasise the clinical lack of warmth at Gattaca. It has no sense of humanity, but rather the cold efficiency of a machine. Indeed, the obvious segregation of the workers at their stations, the lack of interaction between them, and their robotic entry into the facility itself, all work to reinforce this vision of the future.
3M
Vincent’s ultimate victory of humanity’s triumph over science. Journey of willpower and determination shows human warmth. Human relationships also fulfil human warmth.
3Q1
“there is no gene for the human spirit”
3Q2
Vincent’s bold declaration that despite his genetic makeup, he is “as good as any, and better than most.” Vincent is motivated by passion and drive, and his success despite every adversity emphasises the strength of the human spirit.
3E
The exterior sequences, however, show a marked difference from those within Gattaca itself. It is in these sequences that occur outside the confines of Gattaca that we find greater warmth and humanity. The exterior settings are filmed in a warm golden glow, similar to the lighting emanating from a sunset. It achieves the effect of appearing both futuristic, almost post-apocalyptic, whilst simultaneously reinforcing the existence of the natural elements. Consider the significance of the journey Irene and Vincent take to watch the sunrise, the depth of colour as the sun reflects off a multitude of surfaces. It is here that the true beauty lies, in the simple natural effects created by our own sun, and not through the efforts to construct beauty through technology. The beaches which feature in Gattaca appear natural and untouched, and both the lighting and the use of sound seem ‘true’. Niccol sets up this difference between the way he portrays his cold interiors and his natural exteriors for a specific purpose.
