GATTACA Assignment

Assigned:  Monday 17 March

Due:  Monday 31 March:  Paper copy due start of class; electronic copy by 6 pm emailed to Diane and Jason (pozefsky@cs.unc.edu and cisarano@email.unc.edu)

Vincent: [narrating] I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.

Jerome: I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body - you lent me your dream.

You should use at least two questions (see below) as a basis for your paper.   The paper should be about three pages total, give or take.  Use an essay format--i.e., although much will be your opinion, this is still an academic essay.  Bring in some outside sources to help strengthen your arguments or opinions.  As always, be sure to site any sources you use in your paper.

SELECT & DISCUSS ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOUR QUESTIONS:

USE OF GENETIC PRESELECTION:

1.       When Jerome's parents went to a genetics center for a second child, the geneticist stated, "I have taken the liberty of eradicating any potentially prejudicial conditions - premature baldness, myopia, alcoholism and addictive susceptibility, propensity for violence and obesity."  The father then asks "We were wondering if we should leave some things to chance."  To this the geneticist responds, "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.  "Would it be irresponsible for the father to want to leave something to chance?

2.       In an outtake to the movie, the geneticist states that for an extra $5,000 he could give the embryo enhanced musical or mathematical skills--essentially splicing in a gene that was not present on the parents' original DNA.  Would musical or mathematical skill be more like physical abilities, which are pretty rigid, or more like moral qualities (proneness to pity or violence) which are less rigid?[1]

3.       Molecular biology scientists have developed a technique that enables parents to select the sex of their future child.  This technique simply separates the X carrying sperms from Y carrying sperms and then inseminates females with the preferred sex chromosomes.  This procedure is currently banned in some countries except for medical reasons.  Potential parents with sex-linked diseases may choose to have a girl, avoiding the possibility of having a boy with hemophilia, for example.  Should sex selection for medical and non-medical reasons be available for parents?  What do you think are some implications of this technique?[2]

4.       The original screenplay concludes with the following coda: "In a few short years, scientists will have completed the Human Genome Project, the mapping of all the genes that make up a human being. After 4 billion years of evolution by the slow and clumsy method of natural selection, we have now evolved to the point where we can direct our own evolution. If only we had acquired this knowledge sooner, the following people would never have been born."  It continues listing famous people and their illnesses, such as Stephen Hawking who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease). A version of this coda was in fact filmed, but deleted from the final movie. How would this argument differ from the following: couples should have as many children as physically possible since limiting births would mean that we wouldn't bring into existence valuable people?[3]

NEXT, SELECT & DISCUSS ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING FOUR QUESTIONS:

GENETICS AND DETERMINISM

5.       Consider this dialogue regarding the rigorous testing of Gattaca personnel.

      This dialog exhibits a common criticism that determinism is unfalsifiable -- that is, an advocate of determinism would not admit that any test could even theoretically count against determinism. Is this a valid criticism of Director Josef's specific position?

Near the close of the movie, Vincent explains to his brother how he was able to beat him in the swimming contest: "You wanted to know how I did it. That's how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back."  Now that we know the secret, is there anything about Vincent's actions in the movie that really refute determinism?[4]

PRIVACY AND DISCRIMINATION

6.       During a gala party scene in GATTACA a woman submits a saliva sample from a recent kiss to screen her potential boyfriend/husband's DNA.  Is she violating his rights by doing this without his knowledge?  Is this in anyway similar to performing a background check?  How much would a DNA screen reveal about someone's personality and intelligence?[5]

7.       Vincent states in the movie that "it's illegal to discriminate --'genoism' it's called -- but no one takes the laws seriously."  This is in fact one of the standard criticisms of genetic profiling: if we have genetic data on people, then employers or insurance companies will use that data to minimize financial risk. Assuming that this will be true, would the benefits of genetic profiling still outweigh the disadvantages?[6]

8.       Knowledge of one's genetic screen could profoundly affect the price of insurance.  Insurance companies operate on a risk assessment basis, where individuals with a greater potential of developing health complications are charged more than individuals who are deemed healthy.  Actuaries look at statistics to determine how much their clients should be charged.  With current advancements in genetic testing, there is the potential to discriminate those with "bad genes."  It is quite possible that individuals classified as high risk individuals may be denied the opportunity to purchase insurance.  However, insurance companies must operate as a business, looking out for themselves and their clients' best interests.  What are the implications of such decisions?[7]