Gattaca: The Class of Genetics

Quite a large number of sci-fi books and movies deal with concepts of social class, but one that came to mind recently was Gattaca, which can be found here. The plot takes place in a version of the future where eugenics has progressed to such a degree that parents can choose exactly which hereditary traits they want to appear in their children's genetic profile. As such, DNA is the predominant metric of social class, with those who have the "best" DNA at the top of the social hierarchy, and those with inferior profiles lower down. The story follows Vincent, a genetic "in-valid" conceived through natural means, who grows up with myopia and a congenital heart defect as a result. His parents, regretting their decision, decide to have another child using genetic selection. While growing up, Vincent's brother Anton always seems to best him in every way, especially at a game of chicken that they played where they competed to see who could swim out into the sea the farthest. However, one day, Vincent beats Anton and saves him from drowning. Eventually, the siblings go their separate ways. Vincent has always wanted to be an astronaut, but because of his genetic profile he is only allowed to perform menial labor.

Featuring Uma Thurman, Jude Law, and that other guy.

Vincent overcomes this discrimination by purchasing the identity of Jerome Morrow, a swimmer who only gt a silver medal in the Olympics despite a superior genetic profile, and who became paralyzed after jumping in front of a car in a suicide attempt while out of the country. Jerome supplies Vincent with genetic material to pass the genetic tests that are routinely applied. Vincent gets a job at Gattaca Aerospace as a navigator on their next launch after passing a urine test. A murder in the space program complicates affairs (you can watch the movie yourself if you want to see what happens), but eventually Vincent crosses paths with his brother again, and Anton, feeling insecure about how Vincent managed to make it farther than he did despite his own genetic superiority, challenges him to one more game of chicken, and loses.

Clearly the moral is that genetics aren't a determinant of success, but a society where class isn't based upon income or behaviors is interesting to think about. The closest thing I think we discussed in class was the rise of the new educated elite overthrowing the "old money" upper class when the college education system became more open-access, but even education is something acquired, not something intrinsic to a person like DNA. Not that we haven't tried making it that way — there have been plenty of times where eugenics was popular in the US as a way of controlling the traits of the population (and it seemed like a good idea to Nazi Germany, too). That's not a reality that I'd look forward to, but it does make me wonder if social class might be based on something completely different in the future.