JIM: More Compelling Than GATTACA
For 15 years, the film GATTACA has been synonymous with �genetic dystopian future,� and has become a mainstay of genetics classrooms. But I�ve found a better film. It�s called, simply, JIM.
I never could connect with GATTACA, the dark tale of an assumed genetic identity in a society where the quality of one�s genome dictates all. Perhaps because in 1997, the pre-genome era, the idea of ordering a DNA test over the Internet was still science fiction. But ironically GATTACA�s �not-too-distant� future, in which a genetically inferior �invalid� impersonates a �valid� to achieve a dream, sets up a too-obvious conflict, with the details and resolution contrived. I know this from years of reading fiction and watching soap operas.
I never could connect with GATTACA, the dark tale of an assumed genetic identity in a society where the quality of one�s genome dictates all. Perhaps because in 1997, the pre-genome era, the idea of ordering a DNA test over the Internet was still science fiction. But ironically GATTACA�s �not-too-distant� future, in which a genetically inferior �invalid� impersonates a �valid� to achieve a dream, sets up a too-obvious conflict, with the details and resolution contrived. I know this from years of reading fiction and watching soap operas.
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