Gattaca: Modernism Connection

The 1997 film Gattaca is a movie based in the future. It was written and directed by Andrew Niccol and the choices he made throughout the movie can relate to the idea of modernism. The film is based on the idea of genetic selection or “eugenics” This movie defines individuals by their genes. Not what race or gender they are but the strength of their genes. In Gattaca, the setting the director chose is relatively bland. There is rational use of colours and the people themselves do not have much personality. This directly relates to the idea of modernism. Modernism is a genre that comes in many forms including architecture. Modernist architecture is houses that are built with extreme simplicity whilst being functional. Modernist architecture directly relates to this idea of genetic selection in Gattaca because the society only appeals to those with good strong genetics. They are built nearly perfectly before even being born. These people with strong genes all have similar personalities, there isn’t much variation between characters. This reflects modernist architecture to a high degree. Like with modernist homes, the people with selected genes all lack their own character, this is the case with modernist architecture. Modernist homes are all very functional however they lack character.