2. The selected film: Gattaca
Sci-fi movie released in 1997 directed by Andrew Nicol
Noteworthy cast but not very popular at that moment: Ethan
Hawke, Jude Law and Uma Thurman
An economic failure domestic total gross of $12.5 m – reported
production budget $36 m
3. Criticism
Mixed critics, but nowadays is considered a cult film
Art direction was nominated to the Oscars. Won the best motion
picture and soundtrack at the Sitges festival
5. Plot
DNA plays the primary role in determining social class and
employment
Vincent Freeman is considered a genetic invalid
However his dream is to flight to Saturn. He creates a fake “genetic
identity” in order to cheat the system
6. What we could learn about
this film?
1. AFAK it’s the first film to raise the issue of Genoism and the moral and
ethical issues regarding Genetic Engineering
2. Presents an “utopical” society where everyone accepts its genetic
place in the society.
3. The eternal dilemma: “Science itself is not evil but..”
4. An intense message about self-personal improvement
5. It was a visionary film in 1997 describing what it’s now a new scientific
field known as Personal Genomics.
7. And also you could improve
your English
It is plenty of jargon related with Genetics and health
Film’s pace is slow and dialogues are easy to follow
Characters working at Gattaca offices use a very formal register.
Useful to know about polite vocabulary and expressions
8. About the scene: The real
Gattaca
2000 Venter and Collins publish the first human genome (10m$).
Discovery of the century?
9. About the scene: The real
Gattaca
2006 23 and me provides genetic testing and interpretation to
individual consumers
12. About the scene: Exercises
There are several words and expressions missing from the subtitles
Could you find some missing sentences and discourse fillers?
Which is the synonym expression for conceived?
Which two diseases mention by the geneticist are missing?
Guess pronunciation for: fertilized, inheritable, hazel, eradicating,
alcoholism, obesity
Why do think Vincent describes this procedure as the “natural way”?
13. The end
“We used to think that our fate was in our stars, but now we know that,
in large measure, our fate is in our genes," James Watson
Editor's Notes
The film I’ve selected is Gattaca, it’s a science fiction movie released in 1997.
The movie was a disaster at the box office
However, it received mixed reviews from professional critics but positive ones from the general public.. You could check its socersome screenshots from popular movie’s websites.
Additionaly, the movie received several awards. A
Regarding, the plot if you have not seen the movie be aware of spoilers…. It’s a joke, I’m not going to present a lot of details
Gattaca plot is set in the …
The main character is…
To accomplish that dream he tries to cheat the system, an creates a .
This quote is from the movie, when everyday he watches space rockets depart twhile he’s cleaning
ˈswiːpə
ˈkærɪktə
In "the not-too-distant future", DNA plays the primary role in determining social class and employment
Vincent Freeman is considered a genetic invalid, so his society role is to work as a sweeper for the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation
However his dream is to flight to Saturn. To accomplish that he creates a fake “genetic identity” in order to cheat the system
Moving to the topic of the presentation.
The movie also describes a common dilemn but t it can be if used in the wrong way
The movie also highlights
Another interesting lesson
And finally the most intereting, and the main reason why I’ve chosen this file
For English learning purpouses, for discover new vocabulare
As movie
Finally, about the selected scene, first I‘m going briefly introduce the reality about Personal Genetics.
This project cost 10 million dollars. An it has been considered…
At the moment it’s one of top research milestones.
6 years later, appears the first company to provide genetic. Without
As you can seen in this screenshot, they offered information regarding both diseases and traits. And also an associated risk factor. Then the ethical debate start
In 2013, The FDA decides to stop these tests because they could lead to potential misunderstandings and they’re not complaint with the health law
And, I change this slide because I found a recently new, about a new powerful technology for editing DNA. So, we are very close to the situation described in this scen.
Before start
fɜːtɪˌlaɪz
ɪnˈhɛrɪtəbəl
Heɪzəl
ɪˈrædɪˌkeɪt
ælkəhɒˌlɪzəm
əʊˈbiːs
Will be brought to the world
myopia, alcoholism and addictive susceptibility
JEROME (VO) They put off having any more children until they could afford not to gamble -
to bring a child into the world in what
has become the "natural" way.
GENETICIST Your extracted eggs... (noting the couple's names from data along the edge of the screen) ...Maria, have been fertilized with... Antonio's sperm and we have performed an analysis of the resulting pre-embryos. After screening we're left with two healthy boys and two healthy girls. Naturally, no critical pre-dispositions to any of the major inheritable diseases. All that remains is to select the most compatible candidate.
First, we may as well decide on gender. Have you given it any thought?
MARIA (referring to the toddler on her knee) We would like Vincent to have a brother... you know, to play with. The Geneticist nods. He scans the data around the edge of the screen.
Of course you would
GENETICIST You've already specified blue eyes, dark hair and fair skin. I have taken the liberty of eradicating any potentially prejudicial conditions - premature baldness, myopia, alcoholism and addictive susceptibility, propensity for violence and obesity– and such
MARIA (interrupting, anxious) --We didn't want--diseases, yes. (I mean)
ANTONIO (more diplomatic) We were wondering if we should leave some things to chance.
GENETICIST (reassuring) You want to give your child the best possible start. Believe me, we have enough imperfection built-in already. Your child doesn't need any additional burdens. And keep in mind, this child is still you, simply the best of you. You could conceive naturally a thousand times and never get such a result.