Political Science 192 Assignment: Gatacca Movie Review (Movie Review Sample)

The 1997 fiction film Gattaca coincides with Plato’s ideal state in more ways than one. But the most significant similarity between the two (2) is the idea of "improving the population’s breed" and "regulation of the population”. Remember in the ideal state, "breed improvement" could be achieved through hymeneal festivals (orgy of the bests), in the type of society shown in the movie this was achieved through modern Eugenics – a hymeneal festival in a test tube. A process that includes genetic engineering of individuals to remove undesired traits and retain the best ones. In Gattaca We could also see that we can categorize individuals in two types: those that have superior genome and those who don’t. The first type includes those who are naturally born with genetic superiority and those who were genetically engineered. The second one are simply those who don’t have the "preferred genetic traits”. Plato designed the ideal society with individuals doing their own work depending on their inherent nature – rulers should rule, auxiliaries should guard and protect, and producers should provide. Each one only minding his own business, nothing more nothing less. In the film instead of using one’s nature as basis, individuals were classified depending on their genetic makeup. In other words, each one already has a predetermined role in the society.
In terms of the Plato’s virtues that should be present in the ideal society, the film was able to satisfy two (2) out of three (3) – Wisdom and Temperance. Wisdom in the sense of technical knowledge and division of labor. And temperance in putting a leash against human appetite. As we saw, one with an inferior genome is not allowed get a high ranking job, and those with a better set of it, cannot get those kinds which are supposed to be for the inferior ones.
In the waves that Plato discussed, the society in Gattaca was able to remove sexists and racists aspects of our modern day society. Gender and race was not an issue. A woman can get any work that is considered to be masculine in the society that we live in today. In the same sense, an African Am...