The film Gattaca (1997), which I do not believe has been mentioned in this class yet, ties into many of the themes we have been discussion in recent classes, including the affect of molecular genetic technologies on reshaping society and the concept of a biological citizenship. Briefly, Gattaca portrays a biopunk future where eugenic enhancement is the norm and where society is stratified based on a person's genetic potential. The film follows an in-valid, a person born of natural means without genetic enhancement, who switches identities with a genetic superior (who has fallen from grace) in order to achieve his goal of becoming an astronaut. An in-valid is someone essentially considered too ill for most social roles but the lowest. It is a film about agency in a predetermined and rigid social structure and the power of determination in overcoming limitations, and a general critique of our genetic future.
In relation to Petryna's work, the society portrayed in Gattaca is also a biological citizenry, in that institutions of wellness has reshaped the relationships between individuals with and to society and how individuals perceive their social roles, social mobility, and opportunities. The Chernobyl affected population of Ukraine is one where the social welfare institutions associated with Chernobyl remediation has unintentionally produced a hierarchy of social benefits and economic security based on an individual's degree of illness. In both the real Ukraine and the fictional Gattaca, mobility is related to the state of your DNA, the degree of enhancement in the latter, and the degree of damage (perceived symptomatically and pathologically) in the former. These are inversions of each other, and yet they capture the same basic social institutionalization of wellness or sickness.
Gattaca also portrays the double-edged sword of our rapidly evolving genetic technologies. While commonly touted for the potential to break medical barriers, genetic technologies are also commonly critiqued for the adverse effects it may have in the form of genetic testing and enhancement.
I have never seen this movie (aside from the bit we watched in class), but this is a fascinating idea that I think is very relevant to our class. So far, in addition to the ideas of biological citizenship and certain people being worth more to the society based on genetic engineering, it seems at this point, another theme is that sometimes the ends justify the means if the ends are noble. Vincent is technically being dishonest with everyone else so that he can get around the system and achieve the end of realizing his dream. In this case, it is pretty clear that the system is flawed and unjust, so we root for Vincent to pull off his mission. However, this becomes a slightly messier issue if the system is not clearly and categorically wrong. If we apply this idea to welfare systems in Ukraine, it seems like most of us agreed that the system was flawed because it incentivized people to make themselves sicker in order to qualify for benefits. My main point is that we must look at each situation objectively. We cannot always assume that the system is flawed and that the ends always justify the means. In these two examples, the ends seem to justify the means (at least that's what I think), but it's hard to accept that idea all the time.
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