Gattaca - S14 E108
Notas do episódio
Welcome back to our Identity season, where Dan continues to force his personal favourites onto the show. This week, we’re here to discuss Andrew Niccol’s 1997 directorial debut, Gattaca (1997).
We dive in to see if this 90s sci-fi classic still holds up or if it’s just a sterile nightmare of brutalist architecture and electric cars. We’re examining the character identities in a world where your career path is determined by a vial of pee strapped to your leg and where the “trash man” himself, Danny DeVito, is lurking in the producer credits.
If you’re looking for movies about genetic engineering that feature 12-fingered pianists and a suspicious lack of clutter, this is the episode for you. We discuss the iconic cast, featuring Ethan Hawke as a “God birth” infiltrating the elite, Uma Thurman being generally flawless and a “smug-faced” Jude Law who is legally perfect but shattered emotionally.
We also unpack the heavy themes of capitalism and how these films about gene manipulation often predict a terrifyingly white future.
What to expect from this episode:
- Fond recollection of 1997 VHS rentals and the surprising emergence of the “slightly smaller” video cases
- Sarah questions the logistics of the “Clark Kent principle” and how a pair of glasses can fool a high-tech society
- Unpacking the meanings behind character names
- Discussion around the retro futuristic production design and why every cop is wearing a big hat
- Theories on how the swimming sequences fit into the wider narrative
- Exploration of the heavy themes of capitalism and how the world of Gattaca is built for profit rather than people
- Dan reveals the secret Cronenbergian deleted scene involving snooker cues for arms
This season has eight episodes, concluding April 27th
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