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For all the people who have seen Gattaca and have really thought about it, what is a story about? (look at the poll) _________________ Power is only pain It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in. "Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self preservation?" -memo from 1952 Project ARTICHOKE |
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Joined: 19 Aug 2004 | Posts: 10565 | Location: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere
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Maybe it's because I just woke up, but I'm having a hard time discerning the difference between those two choices. Personally I don't think the story was about either of those. It was about the triumph of the human spirit, but discrimination through genetic engineering (or vice versa) was a convenient way to tell that story. _________________ INTELLECT AND ROMANCE OVER BRUTE FORCE AND CYNICISM Smokemonster |
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Joined: 20 Feb 2005 | Posts: 8868 | Location: Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
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Here are a few things to churn around in your brains... 1.) The basic story about Vincent masquerading as a valid, is a woman's story. You know, a woman dresses as a man in order to achieve her goal. 2.) The murder mystery plays on the stereotype that certain ethnic groups are violent. Thus, unfit for the cultured society. Naw mean, "Well there was an invalid around during the murder... HE MUST HAVE DONE IT!" 3.) If you're going with choice B, consider the casting of Ethan Hawke. If Anton was a fifty-six-year old midget with AIDS, the sympathy for him might have been lost on the audience-- not that we wouldn't care about him at all, but many might think, "Well, I can see why they wouldn't let him into the space program." Vincent fits fairly well into our world, but not their's. 4.) Near the beginning of the movie, Vincent talks about how discrimination based on genetics is illegal, but employers do it anyway. And all the invalids are basically forced to work in menial jobs. 5.) Going off what Hannah said about the triumph of the human spirit, think about Vincent's heart condition. His physical heart is weak, but his 'human heart' is strong. It really comes to a head when Anton beats his brother for the second time. "I never saved anything for the swim back." Vincent's goal is almost literally per aspera ad astra. That's a Latin phrase that means "through adversity to the stars". <that wasn't a point. I was just waxing literate-type $#@!. I do think you could put the 'human spirit' theme, under B because one of the main reasons why discrimination is wrong is that it stifles good determined people's dreams. 6.) Think about the setting. It looks like a utopia, and it would be if Vincent weren't in the story. But because he's there it's a dystopia. Also look at the kind of world it is... It looks like a futuristic version of an idealized time--20s, 30s, or 40s, and we know that those periods were perfect. Right? If you haven't guessed it already, I agree more with B. I don't think the main message of the film was about what may happen, as much as what is happening. If anyone disagrees, I'd love to read your POV. _________________ Power is only pain It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in. "Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self preservation?" -memo from 1952 Project ARTICHOKE |
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Joined: 19 Aug 2004 | Posts: 10565 | Location: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere
Last edited by Pantheon4 on Fri Apr 04, 2008 12:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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I disagree that Vincent's story is "a woman's story". There have been all kinds of tales through history of characters masquerading as something they're not in order to gain access to places they otherwise would not be able to go. It could be argued that the most memorable of these are about cross-dressers, but I don't think those stories make up the majority or the norm. I think Gattaca derives its conflict from far less gender-specific sources. _________________ INTELLECT AND ROMANCE OVER BRUTE FORCE AND CYNICISM Smokemonster |
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Joined: 24 Sep 2003 | Posts: 14510 | Location: Alone on an airplane, fallin' asleep against the windowpane...
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Saellys wrote: I disagree that Vincent's story is "a woman's story". There have been all kinds of tales through history of characters masquerading as something they're not in order to gain access to places they otherwise would not be able to go. It could be argued that the most memorable of these are about cross-dressers, but I don't think those stories make up the majority or the norm. I think Gattaca derives its conflict from far less gender-specific sources. Can you cite some examples? From what I read, and the reason I said "woman's story" was because the long line of tales of women cross-dressing in order to do something society says they can't do. _________________ Power is only pain It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in. "Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self preservation?" -memo from 1952 Project ARTICHOKE |
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Joined: 19 Aug 2004 | Posts: 10565 | Location: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere
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Pantheon4 wrote: Saellys wrote: I disagree that Vincent's story is "a woman's story". There have been all kinds of tales through history of characters masquerading as something they're not in order to gain access to places they otherwise would not be able to go. It could be argued that the most memorable of these are about cross-dressers, but I don't think those stories make up the majority or the norm. I think Gattaca derives its conflict from far less gender-specific sources. Can you cite some examples? From what I read, and the reason I said "woman's story" was because the long line of tales of women cross-dressing in order to do something society says they can't do. Does "Man in the Iron Mask" Count? Or "Star Wars" when Luke and Han dress like Stormtroopers? Or "Return of the Jedi" when both Leia and Lando dress like bounty hunters to get into Jabba's lair? _________________ Wil's excellent description of me. wilsmith wrote: You're the Anti-Censorship+Topless Twitpic Parodying+Youth Group Video Directing guy that's a champion for the 1st amendment, Videogames as Art, and unrepentant file sharing... Instagram - Facebook - Twitter - YouTube |
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Joined: 09 Aug 2004 | Posts: 4836 | Location: illinois
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mr pine wrote: Pantheon4 wrote: Saellys wrote: I disagree that Vincent's story is "a woman's story". There have been all kinds of tales through history of characters masquerading as something they're not in order to gain access to places they otherwise would not be able to go. It could be argued that the most memorable of these are about cross-dressers, but I don't think those stories make up the majority or the norm. I think Gattaca derives its conflict from far less gender-specific sources. Can you cite some examples? From what I read, and the reason I said "woman's story" was because the long line of tales of women cross-dressing in order to do something society says they can't do. Does "Man in the Iron Mask" Count? Or "Star Wars" when Luke and Han dress like Stormtroopers? Or "Return of the Jedi" when both Leia and Lando dress like bounty hunters to get into Jabba's lair? Oh no no no, Leia's chosen bounty hunter was MALE. There goes that theory! You do, however, get props for using two Star Wars examples. The first example that comes to mind is Odysseus, whose use of cunning disguises to get where he couldn't otherwise go was renowned. Most notably in The Odyssey he disguised himself as a beggar (a pretty big step down for a famous war hero) to gain access to his own house. _________________ INTELLECT AND ROMANCE OVER BRUTE FORCE AND CYNICISM Smokemonster |
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Joined: 24 Sep 2003 | Posts: 14510 | Location: Alone on an airplane, fallin' asleep against the windowpane...
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Saellys wrote: mr pine wrote: Pantheon4 wrote: Saellys wrote: I disagree that Vincent's story is "a woman's story". There have been all kinds of tales through history of characters masquerading as something they're not in order to gain access to places they otherwise would not be able to go. It could be argued that the most memorable of these are about cross-dressers, but I don't think those stories make up the majority or the norm. I think Gattaca derives its conflict from far less gender-specific sources. Can you cite some examples? From what I read, and the reason I said "woman's story" was because the long line of tales of women cross-dressing in order to do something society says they can't do. Does "Man in the Iron Mask" Count? Or "Star Wars" when Luke and Han dress like Stormtroopers? Or "Return of the Jedi" when both Leia and Lando dress like bounty hunters to get into Jabba's lair? Oh no no no, Leia's chosen bounty hunter was MALE. There goes that theory! You do, however, get props for using two Star Wars examples. The first example that comes to mind is Odysseus, whose use of cunning disguises to get where he couldn't otherwise go was renowned. Most notably in The Odyssey he disguised himself as a beggar (a pretty big step down for a famous war hero) to gain access to his own house. My point was not that only women disguise themselves to get into places, but the reason why women dress up is that the society says they're not good enough because they're women. When Odysseus disguised himself as an old man he didn't do it because society said, "Beggars are better than rightful kings", he did it because he didn't want to be killed. I made the point in an earlier draft of the post that when men dress up they're usually trying to run away from harm. When women dress up, they are usually trying to achieve goals that they are barred from because society says they aren't strong enough, brave enough, et cetera. Vincent's story follows the latter pattern. _________________ Power is only pain It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in. "Can we get control of an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will and even against fundamental laws of nature, such as self preservation?" -memo from 1952 Project ARTICHOKE |
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Joined: 19 Aug 2004 | Posts: 10565 | Location: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere
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I LOVE Gattaca! Such a good movie. Even if creepy Ethan Hawk and annoying Uma Therman are in it. We watched it in my English class once when we were reading Brave New World. I had seen it a couple times before that and did end up noticing some similarities to Brave New World. Even though it's sort of a common phrase Vincinet said "Cleanliness is next to godliness" and in Brave New World they would say "Cleanliness is next to Fordliness". There was the discrimination between casts as well. |
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Joined: 12 Jun 2005 | Posts: 20735 |
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I love that movie and yet this poll made me think of all the comprehension tests in elementary school. I hated the ways those tests were set up. _________________ Etsy ~ My Handmade Jewelries!!! Commentary on creepy online men who use fake photos of girly Fabiosos to get the ladies: "The longer my hair gets, the more sexy I have" - Jamie M. |
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Joined: 10 Jan 2005 | Posts: 3967 | Location: In between here and there.
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