Sociology Gattaca Movie Paper - 1638 Words

Ruben Arrieta Professor McGinnis Sociology 101 11 November 2010 Gattaca Gattaca is a movie that contains a very interesting society. As in all societies, discrimination exists and it is primarily between two groups. The valids, as they are called here, are the dominant group who oppress the group known as the invalids, which is the group consisting of the less privileged individuals. However, in this society, privileged and less privileged does not refer to the individuals in terms of wealth or power, but instead, in terms of genetics. Here, discrimination has been reduced down to genes, and this determines your place in society. Here, when parents are planning on having a baby, they are faced with having to decide whether they†¦show more content†¦All of these different parts work like organs in a living body, and they are all required and needed to keep the body/organism in a working condition. The Conflict Theory offers a whole new perspective on all the issues presented in the society in Gattaca. According to this theory, society is always fighting for the resources offered by the society. In this society, it is very clear that the invalids and valids have very different privileges. All of the privileges are granted to the valids as a reward for being genetically perfect, and the invalids are not given these privileges as they are not genetically perfect and therefore are the minority group. In the society present in Gattaca, the valids do not have close relationships to each other and instead they are very self-centered people whose primary focus is placed on work. This reinforces the Conflict Theory to an even greater extent, as this theory states that close relationships are more likely to have conflicts within. From the relationships seen in Gattaca, it seems as if the invalids had closer relationships to each other than did the valids with each other. As does every society, this society contains its own set of values and norms, yet these vary widely across the valids and invalids. Invalids are held to very low expectations are they are seen as the minority group for not being genetically superior as the dominant group. TakingShow MoreRelatedWhats Eating Gilbert Grape- Review and Critique2227 Words   |  9 Pagessociety (Ellis, 2003; Meekosha, 2003). What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a film by director Lasse Hallstrà ¶m about a young man looking after his developmentally disabled brother and his dysfunctional family in a small American town. This paper will critically examine this movie using Richard Dyer’s four senses of representation, as cited in Harnett (2000), as a framework. With a focus on the disabled character Arnie, the analysis will identify and discuss the ways the film reinforces limiting stereotypes