Are Human Beings Born or Made? Screening of the movie GATTACA
Pre-movie reception and discussion with Jonathan Beckwith, American Cancer Society Research Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School
Directed
by Andrew Niccol
US 1997, 35mm, color, 101 min.
With Ethan Hawke, Uma
Thurman, Jude Law
Are human beings born or made? This intriguing question is the central premise of GATTACA, a tale of the near future that marked the impressive directorial debut of New Zealand-born director Andrew Niccol. Set in the twenty-first century, GATTACA tackles the concept of genetic manipulation in a future where society predetermines the life of every individual through razor-sharp DNA analysis. This unnervingly believable premise frames the story of a "love child" (Ethan Hawke) who refuses to accept the destiny his genes and society have determined for him. Subtle, disturbing and prophetic, GATTACA forces its audience to confront the Pandora's box of genetic technology that awaits us in the future.
Relevant Articles
Nature's Imperfect Experiment, La Recherche, (France) July/August 1998 Jon Beckwith, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School Joseph S. Alper, Department of Chemistry and the Center for the Study of Genetics and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts
When and Where:
*The pre-film talk and reception, room B04 of the harvard film archive, from 7:30-8:30 film begins at 8:30pm.
11 April 2001, 8:30, Harvard Film Archive
Contact the Harvard Film Archive for Ticket Information.
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Links
to Other Policy Roundtable
Series
Discussions:
Consequences
of the Human Genome Project for Medicine and Society
20
February 2001
Genetic
Privacy: Legal and Ethical Frameworks
27 February 2001
Commercializing
the Human Genome: Making Money and Changing the Scientific Enterprise.
5
April 2001
Translating
Genomics into Better Medicine
10
April 2001
Are Human
Beings Born or Made? Screening of the movie GATTACA
11
April 2001
Read
All About It! The Translation of Science into Public Knowledge: Media Coverage
of the Human Genome Project
12 April 2001
Finding
God in the Genome: How Religion Informs the Applications of the Human Genome Project
19 April 2001
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on the Caucus Policy Roundtable Series
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