Let's Get This Straight. My Dystopia Obsession
After writing my post about Divergent, I started to ask myself a very deep question. When did I develop such a love for dystopia? I considered that it was The Giver, arguably one of the first dystopias for children. But no, I didn't actually read The Giver until I was about seventeen, and I'm sure it had taken hold a little before that. I considered it being Fahrenheit 451. But though I liked that book, I don't think I sought out other dystopias after reading it. Then I considered Harrison Bergeron. I liked it the first time I read it in seventh grade, but I don't think I really knew why at that time. Then, while sewing and folding laundry and ironing tonight, I decided to watch a movie. And while watching that movie, I realized what it was.
I had decided to watch Gattaca. Gattaca is a movie that I first saw in Pre-IB science in my sophomore year of high school. It's a movie about a future where everyone is genetically engineered to near-perfection, except for those "faith births," who are, for the most part, accidental conceptions. Science has gotten to the point that every newborn baby's life-expectancy is known, their chances for every disease immediately predicted. Genetic discrimination is, of course, illegal, but that doesn't mean people don't do it. Vincent, the main character, has a 99% chance of heart disease, and a life expectancy of 30 years, but wants to go to space. But what kind of space program is going to take a chance on that? And so, he buys a genetic identity.
This is the dystopia that really struck me. This world wasn't even real, and yet it made me think about so much. It made me think about effort, fate, what you can and can't do. It made me ask questions about the genetic research that I love so much. And it was scary in a way, because though we can't do it now, it is very probable that at some point in the future, that world could be real, scientifically. We already have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. As long as we discover the genes connected to each disease (and we're finding more everyday), it could happen. And what was even scarier was that I want to believe that humans would never allow that world, but I can't make myself believe it. Not when we are a race that once limited marriage licenses based on sickle trait. Not when there are those who believe that it is merciful to abort a child with chromosomal defect (as many do). But I also believe that we are a race who, if we wanted to, could be better in the future. And I think that dystopias make us ask ourselves how we could be someone who did that. It makes us question ourselves.
And then, a lot of dystopias have multiple levels, too. I used to be struck by the life of Vincent only. Tonight while watching Gattaca, I was more struck by the depression and perfectionism of the person whose genetics he bought (and of Vincent's genetically engineered brother). Vincent bought the identity of someone who had everything, and still felt like a failure. He was genetic perfection. He should be perfect, right? And that questions a whole other aspect of our natures.
So, I have pinpointed it. When did I start loving dystopias? Sophomore year of high school. Pre-IB Science. Gattaca.
I had decided to watch Gattaca. Gattaca is a movie that I first saw in Pre-IB science in my sophomore year of high school. It's a movie about a future where everyone is genetically engineered to near-perfection, except for those "faith births," who are, for the most part, accidental conceptions. Science has gotten to the point that every newborn baby's life-expectancy is known, their chances for every disease immediately predicted. Genetic discrimination is, of course, illegal, but that doesn't mean people don't do it. Vincent, the main character, has a 99% chance of heart disease, and a life expectancy of 30 years, but wants to go to space. But what kind of space program is going to take a chance on that? And so, he buys a genetic identity.
This is the dystopia that really struck me. This world wasn't even real, and yet it made me think about so much. It made me think about effort, fate, what you can and can't do. It made me ask questions about the genetic research that I love so much. And it was scary in a way, because though we can't do it now, it is very probable that at some point in the future, that world could be real, scientifically. We already have pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. As long as we discover the genes connected to each disease (and we're finding more everyday), it could happen. And what was even scarier was that I want to believe that humans would never allow that world, but I can't make myself believe it. Not when we are a race that once limited marriage licenses based on sickle trait. Not when there are those who believe that it is merciful to abort a child with chromosomal defect (as many do). But I also believe that we are a race who, if we wanted to, could be better in the future. And I think that dystopias make us ask ourselves how we could be someone who did that. It makes us question ourselves.
And then, a lot of dystopias have multiple levels, too. I used to be struck by the life of Vincent only. Tonight while watching Gattaca, I was more struck by the depression and perfectionism of the person whose genetics he bought (and of Vincent's genetically engineered brother). Vincent bought the identity of someone who had everything, and still felt like a failure. He was genetic perfection. He should be perfect, right? And that questions a whole other aspect of our natures.
So, I have pinpointed it. When did I start loving dystopias? Sophomore year of high school. Pre-IB Science. Gattaca.
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