How Is Gattaca A Dystopian

English Essay - 1984, Eve to her Daughters, Gattaca

1984 by George Orwell, Eve to her Daughters by Judith Wright and “Gattaca” directed by Andrew Niccol are three examples of Utopian literature and explores issues and ideas of their respective context and the time they were written in. All three texts explore key ideas that are indispensable in the construction of a dystopian text. These issues include the devastating and oppressive power of technology and the human spirit. The composers employ a wide range of literary and cinematic techniques to shape meaning in each text, such as lighting, metaphors and structure.

1984 is a novel, written in 1949 by George Orwell which depicts a dark vision of the future where society has been corrupted
by the devastating effects of totalitarianism. The repressive nature of technology is a chronic issue explored within most dystopic texts. The citizens of Oceania are interminably bombarded with propaganda which is distributed from the telescreens that are in their rooms. They also serve to monitor the citizens for any signs of thought crime. The propaganda is employed by the Party to hide the shortcomings and failures of the Party by transforming them into military successes. “Remember our boys on the Malabar front! And the sailors in the Floating Fortresses! Just think what they have to put up with.” Orwell’s time with the BBC can be seen as a major influence on his opinions on propaganda. During this time, the BBC spread false hate propaganda and relentlessly censored the news of the despicable polices that the Allied forces employed in German cities, of which including bombings and genocide. This censorship could be a major influence in Orwell’s 1984 as correlations can be drawn between the two events. Also, individual and intellectual thought is crushed by technology such as the telescreens due to the fact that any discordance will be captured by the telescreens and ultimately be crushed by the Thought Police. The individuals in the society are also physically oppressed by the Party. “A person’s own nervous system is his own worst enemy.” This suggests that the Thought Police continually watches for any physical signs of disloyalty and are able to arrest anyone due to the slightest twitch of the face. The oppressive force of technology manifests itself in various characters throughout the text. Individuals like Parson are described as a “beetle-like man with a flat face and tiny, suspicious eyes” comparing him with the automatic and selfless nature of insects. In this way, it is clear to see that the individuality of the citizens have been completely suppressed by technology.

Eve to her Daughters is a 1966 poem by Judith Wright which illustrates a utopia as expressed in a male-driven society. It depicts the fall of men, and Adam’s attempts to create a new Utopia on Earth. The poem parodies the arrogant and pretentious world generated by technology, pioneered by a power-hungry, patriarchal society through satire. The second stanza highlights the flawed intrinsic nature of men “He had discovered a flaw in himself and he had to make up for it”, displaying the male ego of Adam. He attempts to create an Earth that would match the Garden of Eden by embracing the effect of technology, “The Earth must be made a new Eden with central heating...mechanical harvesters...combustion engines.” However the natural beauty of the Garden of Eden, which was considered the religious Utopia by people belonging to the Christian faith, was replaced by a far from perfect place, a superficial, male-driven society created through the plight of Adam. The values and ideas expressed in the poem are predominantly influenced by the political context of the poem. The Cold War was a period of tension, conflict and competition between the USA and the USSR and their allies from the mid 1940’s to the 1990s directly after the Second World War. The poem was written in 1966, at a time when the Cold War was reaching tremendous heights. Wright satirizes this by representing Adam as a metaphor for both USA and USSR. Adam’s attempts on improving the technology on Earth can be interpreted as the respective spending of both USSR and USA in their plight to surpass each other technologically and become the dominant superpower of the world. In this way, the idea of technology playing an essential part in dystopian fiction can be clearly seen in this text.
“Gattaca” is a science fiction film, directed by Andrew Niccol in 1997, which illustrates a dark vision of the future where society has become reliant on technology and genetic research.
The use of technology as a tool of oppression permeates throughout all dystopian texts and most importantly in “Gattaca”. The film forecasts society where parents are encouraged to decide the genetic makeup of their offspring before birth and individuals, who have not been genetically enhanced, suffer discrimination in all aspects of life. In this way, the society of Gattaca attempts to eradicate undesirable traits seeks perfection in its individuals by providing each human with the best genetic makeup. This idea is seen continuously throughout the film. Vincent, an unenhanced child is perpetually exposed to severe discrimination. Vincent observes a new class structure has arisen, not based on social status but on genetic makeup, known as genoism. These members of the society are usually referred to as “faith births,” “defectives”, “God children”, or officially, “in-valids.” Though it is illegal to discriminate by means of genetic profile, the obstacles encountered by the “invalids” are clearly seen throughout the film. One particular scene which demonstrates this discrimination is where Vincent is rejected from schools as the school cannot afford the high insurance rates required to cover an in-valid child. The severe effects of this are seen by the close-up shot of the gate, shutting out Vincent’s face, symbolising a jail, where the rights of Vincent is restricted. Also the opening credits of the film highlights the letters G, A, T and C, symbolising the four DNA bases, Adenosine, Guanosine, Thymine and Cytosine. This highlighting technique establishes in the beginning of the film that the letters belonging to the genetic code is more powerful than the other letters of the alphabet. The film also contains several close-up shots of blood, skin and hair, which alludes to that fact
that the society of Gattaca emphasises the importance of genetic material, but also the fact that human beings are valued less than their DNA. The costuming in GATTACA also suggests a society dominated by uniformity, with all the employees of the corporation, wearing matching black suits, thus displaying the lack of individuality. In this way, Gattaca expresses a world depicting the devastating power of technology which represses the individual.
1984 by George Orwell depicts a picture of a totalitarian society where the Party has seized absolute control over its citizens, where the individual has been entirely isolated from their own individuality, and the human spirit has been completely crushed. The ideas in 1984 are predominantly influenced by Orwell’s negative view towards Fascism. Orwell was the staunch advocate of Democratic Socialism. Orwell believed capitalism was corrupt, but fascism would be calamitous. In 1984 the Party has seized absolute control over its citizens by means of suppressing individual thought. The belief in the inner spirit of men is the only conviction that Winston has, for that the Party cannot survive forever. He asserts that the proles, who have not killed off their loyalties, will overthrow the Party and “the spirit of Men” will eventually break free and eradicate this oppression. The Party is able to corrupt and suppress every vestige of human nature through their control of language their use of the repressive power technology. Through the control of the past, doublethink and telescreens that constantly bombard the citizens with propaganda; the party is able to isolate individuals from their individuality and of those around them. One specific character who acts as an impeccable example of the suppression of human nature is Winston’s wife, Katherine, who refuses but more importantly her inability to enjoy sex, highlighting the level to which individuals has been isolated from other individuals. Katherine sees sex as a “duty to the Party” and showing her absolute loyalty to no one, only Big Brother. O’Brien provides Winston with a savage image of the future. “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” Winston’s belief in the “human spirit” is eventually crushed by O’Brien when he sees what he himself has become after an unknown time of torture, a shrivelled, balding wreck. O’Brien mocks him and calls Winston the “guardian of the human spirit”. In this way Winston finally has understood that he is nothing in the Party’s perpetual search of power. 1984 attempts to convey a dystopia where the human spirit has been completely crushed, where the individual has no power against the oppression and a world which offers no hope for the future.

Eve to her Daughters attempts to warn its audience that submission to a dystopia will lead to oppression and ultimately the loss of human spirit. As a post-modernist poet, Wright adapts the characters of Adam and Eve from the Book of Genesis and parodies the arrogant world created by a power-hungry and patriarchal society. It depicts the plight of Adam to create a male-driven Utopia on Earth. However this Utopia was created at the expense of Eve, conveying the idea that the notion of Utopia is endless but entirely subjective. Second-wave feminism refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the late 1960’s and lasted through the late 1970’s. Where first-wave feminism focused on overturning legal obstacles to equality, the second-wave feminism addressed unofficial inequalities. The movement encouraged women to understand the psychological implications of sexist stereotypes, and to make them realize that they could achieve more in life than being identified as a housewife. The poem completed during the second wave of the feminist movement, attempts to reject the patriarchal values of the society by subverting the long established, male-generated belief that Eve tempted Adam into eating the forbidden apple, through the defiant opening “It was not I who began it”. The second stanza reinforces this idea “He even complained of my cooking” The use of both the second and third person voice reinforces the arrogance Adam “You see, he was always an egotist”. The narrator also calls on the women of general to challenge this Utopia, created by men and should not suffer under the expense of it as seen by the line “I would suggest, for the sake of the children, that it’s time you took over.” The poem, unlike Orwell in 1984, who creates a world in which the “Spirit of Man” is completely defeated, attempts to convey the idea that submission is not the answer, and freedom from this dystopia can be achieved if you challenge these patriarchal beliefs and not let its oppressive nature crush your human spirit.
“Gattaca” attempts to deliver a stark message, not condemning the power of technology, but rather the problems that will arise if humans believe that they are nothing more than their genes. The issue of genetic discrimination in the film is largely influenced by the initiation of the Human Genome Project. This was an international scientific research project conducted to understand the genetic makeup of human species. Many scientists and scholars rejected this form of genetic sequencing as they believe this will only exacerbate the already social disparities present in the society. The film portrays the struggles of Vincent, who challenges the belief that the genes of a human determine their potential. Throughout the course of the film, Vincent avoids excels physically and socially despite his imperfect genetic profile. The film attempts to express the fact that in a genetically perfect world, the “human spirit” is lost. This “human spirit” and inner strength are lacking in individuals, such as Vincent’s brother, who, engineered with no flaws and is genetically superior to Vincent, has nothing to overcome and thus bears no motivation to confront the problems of a specific environment. In this way, he feels no need to improve himself. This is seen in the tagline of the film “there is no gene for the human spirit”. Niccol attempts to portray that the “human spirit” should be valued over genes and technology through a range of techniques. The staircase, shaped like in the form of a DNA strand acts as a visual metaphor for Eugene Morrow’s inability to live up to his potential despite his genetic profile. The film is also shot using colour filters. Many scenes throughout the film are shot through the predominant colours, yellow, green and blue, as if to filter out any imperfections. However this creates a dominant yellow colour which permeates throughout the film and makes the world of Gattaca appear distant and unnatural. This use of filtering conveys the idea that genetic perfection might lead to a cold and lifeless society. The film however offers hope to the individual as seen by Vincent’s eventual triumph and that the individual can break free from the oppressive nature of a dystopia by their “human spirit”.
1984 by George Orwell, Eve to her Daughters by Judith Wright and “Gattaca” directed by Andrew Niccol are three texts depicting a society oppressed by technology. All three texts explore key issues that are central in the construction of a dystopian text. However each text expresses the fact that the “human spirit” of an individual has the ability to overcome this repression. Though the outcome for the individual in each text differs in their attempt to break free from the oppression, however all three texts conveys the idea that you must retain your hope and your inner spirit to break free