# Who else thinks "Gattaca" is really bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523 "2003-10-04T07:58:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/41 "2003-10-05T19:51:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Short Guy \* > \*\*I think the trip to the moon is merely a McGuffin to get the story going. Obviously, the character needed a dream to live up to, and the generic “going into space” is one dream I think many people can relate to. \*\* I’ve said this several times before, most frequently in discussions about _Signs_, and I’ll say it again: Something being a McGuffin is not an excuse for it being illogical, being pointless, or plain sucking. It has to make sense, otherwise it sucks no matter how many times you stamp the word “McGuffin” on it. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/42 "2003-10-06T00:48:27Z")
I saw this only once, back when it came out, but I remember thinking, “man, that was the most satisfying new Sci-Fi movie I’ve seen in a long time.” I agree with what **Cervaise** said, so I won’t repeat him/her. I will say, though, that when taken along side other sci-fi films (Tron, Silent Running, Logan’s Run, Blade Runner, to name a few), Gattaca holds up just as well as any of them, with just as much implausibility, just as much preachy-ness, and just as many thought provoking characters and situations. Huzzah for Gattaca. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/43 "2003-10-06T05:47:34Z")
FTR, I don’t think Gattaca is famously bad or really bad or bad in the same sense that say, “Wheels of Fire” or "“Eegah!” are bad. I would call it a noble failure, an honest attempt to do something really good that went awry. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/44 "2003-10-06T06:09:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eonwe \* > **I will say, though, that when taken along side other sci-fi films (Tron, Silent Running, Logan’s Run, Blade Runner, to name a few), Gattaca holds up just as well as any of them.** Well, they all suck, with the exception of _Blade Runner_. The logical errors and plot holes of _Tron_ alone could fill a book. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/45 "2003-10-06T08:02:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Priceguy \* > \*\*I’ve said this several times before, most frequently in discussions about _Signs_, and I’ll say it again: Something being a McGuffin is not an excuse for it being illogical, being pointless, or plain sucking. It has to make sense, otherwise it sucks no matter how many times you stamp the word “McGuffin” on it. \*\* I understand that sentiment, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. The thing in the trunk in “Repo Man” is a McGuffin, and it’s not “logical” in any way; the same goes for the suitcase in “Pulp Fiction”. Heck, no one was even in the room to hear Kane say “Rosebud”. Regardless, I’m still not finding fault with the movie’s internal logic. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/46 "2003-10-06T14:30:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Short Guy \* > \*\*I understand that sentiment, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. The thing in the trunk in “Repo Man” is a McGuffin, and it’s not “logical” in any way; the same goes for the suitcase in “Pulp Fiction”. \*\* Haven’t seen _Repo Man_, so cannot comment on that. The suitcase in _Pulp Fiction_ isn’t _il_logical. It’s a suitcase Vincent and Jules needed to retrieve for their boss. The glowing light is strange, but not illogical. > [@](#): > > \*\*Heck, no one was even in the room to hear Kane say “Rosebud”. \*\* [Popular misconception](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/goofs). I maintain that illogical, not-sense-making McGuffins suck and transfer their suckitude to their movie. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/47 "2003-10-06T15:41:06Z")
> [@](#): > > Like Vlad Dracul, I’m wondering what the point of them going to that moon.( the moon’s name escapes me.) Since hat moon is supposed to be gaseous, they couldn’t land on it. Were they just going to hang around the moon in orbit? Question mark? Titan isn’t gaseous. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/48 "2003-10-06T18:06:59Z")
Right you are. Titan is very cloudy, but it is a solid entity. It could be landed upon. No McGuffin at all. I thought the film was very well made. Beautifyly shot, well acted, compelling and thought provking. Genetic modification is an issue we will need to face - sooner rather than later. Of course things aren’t going to be just like the film, but our day is coming. By the way, calling this (or anything else) “stupid” and “dumb” says nothing to me. If someone can think of no better criticism than that, they really have nothing to say. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/49 "2003-10-06T19:12:14Z")
And there are plenty of good reasons to travel to a gaseous body anyway. Even if you couldn’t land, you could do stuff from orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/50 "2003-10-06T20:32:47Z")
I hated this movie. It was pretencious as all get out (however it’s spelled). It also gets overhyped and used as an example constantly in bioethics debates. Lots of people like to scream “GATTACA!” to make themselves sound like they’re smart. As someone who actually sequences DNA for a living, i tire of people saying “Oh, are you like Gattaca?” when they find out what i do as well. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/51 "2003-10-06T20:45:47Z")
It’s probably my favorite sf movie, too (and I’m another that came into the genre via books). I watch it as a slightly surreal allegory, very dreamlike, almost painterly in places. It’s got one of the most beautiful scenes in a SF movie, done with special effect equipment you can find at any bar: a glass of wine and a cigarette. Jude Law’s burning himself made perfect narrative sense, I thought. His character bitterly hated himself through the movie, and through his whole life, for not living up to his genetic code. Remember when he gets drunk and tells Vincent that his getting hit by the car was no accident? The furnace scene was at least his second attempt at suicide. But at that moment in the story, he’d accomplished everything he could: he felt as though he’d transferred every useful bit of his identity over to Vincent, given it to someone that could actually do something with it. He had gone into space with Vincent, in a sense – it was his genetic code that had succeeded in getting them into space. Nothing was left for him on earth. Vincent had used the furnace every morning to rid himself of unnecessary and dangerous biological detritus; Jude’s character simply used the furnace for the same purpose once more. The doctor’s motives were great. He didn’t see himself as a crusader, and maybe he even believed in the system, mostly. But he knew Vincent, and saw for himself that sometimes the system was unfair, and so he was engaging in his own tiny private rebellion. It’s a tremendous movie, IMO. Sure, if you’re uncharitable, you can find places where the system isn’t fully explained. Be charitable, though, and you can figure out why things work the way they do in the movie. I much prefer movies that are spare and quiet to movies that spend all their time in exposition; it’s hardly a fault of Gattaca that many things are left unexplained, IMO. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![captainQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@captainQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainQwark)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/52 "2003-10-07T01:17:48Z")
sorry about the remark about Titan being gaseous place. That was an impression I got from Vincent blowing smoke into a glass. Please don’t think I’m stupid. The average person knows little about Titan. ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst\_Autumn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Amethyst\_Autumn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst_Autumn)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/53 "2003-10-07T04:38:32Z")
I adored it. I loved the movie’s message that we are not just our genes. I don’t think the premise is far fetched. You can see some parrallels with modern society. The vast majority of fetuses afflicted with Down Syndrome are aborted in America. This happens even as there are new treatments for the syndrome that allow patients to live longer and more productive lives… There are companies that are talking about testing you for AIDS or other diseases before they even hire you. I think the reason the valids wouldn’t challenge the system is because they benefit from it. Clearly they are in charge. And if they can create offspring who also benefit from it, why would they rebel against it? I agree with the poster who stated that it’s a movie of ideas. It reminded me of the works of **Ursela LeGuin** one of my favorite writers. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/54 "2003-10-07T05:53:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Lance Murdoch \* > \*\*Right you are. Titan is very cloudy, but it is a solid entity. It could be landed upon. No McGuffin at all. \*\* Huh? How does Titan being solid turn the space trip into a non-McGuffin? ---
**Author:** ![Apricot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Apricot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apricot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/55 "2003-10-07T06:05:30Z")
7 up yours - Check out Demolition Man. It has Brave New World references too. As far as Gattaca, I liked it. I don’t understand it being called awful. I mean, I liked Waterworld, but I could see why that was an “awful” movie. Gattaca I just don’t see the awfulness. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/56 "2003-10-07T06:31:35Z")
While I found the description of Titan to be accurate (a solid moon surrounded by gaseous clouds that no telescope could penetrate) it did bother me that “no one knew” what lay underneath the clouds – which begs the question why no unmanned probes (such as the [Cassini-Huygens](http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm) probe, due to arrive in July 2004) had reached the satellite yet. You’d think they’d have mapped out the geography for an expensive and high-risk manned mission first!! ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523/57 "2003-10-07T11:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > You’d think they’d have mapped out the geography for an expensive and high-risk manned mission first!! This, I think, was one of the most subtle points of the movie: that genetic screening produced a society productive enough for weekly(whenver-ly, but pretty common) shuttle flights, and that whatever happens to invalids lost along the way, this system is a good system for most people. That’s kind of scarier than a non-functional reason for discrimination. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-thinks-gattaca-is-really-bad/205523.md?page=2)