Star Dust

Dust. That trace residue left from the Big Bang, that singular moment in history which initiated the ultimate cosmic chain reaction, that event that gave birth to the first stars. Those stars lived and died in cataclysmic explosions, and with their last breaths, they formed new elements that would become new stars. This process has happened several times over the eons, and the most recent generation spawned planets and satellites, and even life on a tiny speck of cosmic dirt called Earth. Everything that exists can trace its lineage back to the Big Bang, to that “star dust” as Vincent calls it in the movie Gattaca. This sentiment reflects Genesis 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” But what caused the Big Bang? Genesis says it was God who set everything into motion, and if juxtaposed against the Big Bang Theory, it is possible that God doesn’t exist solely on Earth, but amongst the stars as well. So if we think of it in this way, Vincent’s journey to space could be interpreted as him returning to the true God who made him.

In a futuristic world where genetic engineering has become a new god and false idol, Vincent (Cain) is cursed because he has no God who loves him. He is not a test-tube baby. He is conceived and born in an “unnatural” way, through old fashioned sex. As a result, he is not “made” to order like the rest of society and has genetic problems such as a bad heart, so he bears the “mark” that the new god thrusts upon him: he is a social pariah for his terrible genetic imperfections. His dream is to be an astronaut, but his mark, his cursed blood, bars him from even trying to achieve it. In the Book of Genesis, the mark of Cain protects him from harm, but in Gattaca, it causes him harm in that it encourages society, at the behest of the new god, to discriminate against him.

This discrimination is terribly unfair as he, even without the genetic predisposition, studies so hard that he becomes Gattaca’s smartest astrophysicist. It is even more unfair when we consider how, even though Irene and Gattaca’s director are genetically engineered to be superior to him, Irene is still born with heart issues and the director is still a violent murderer. Additionally, the lab technician, also engineered, is balding and complains that he has a smaller penis than Vincent. I think the most significant instance is how Eugene is engineered to be second to none; he is extraordinarily handsome, strong, smart, etc. But even still, he only wins the silver medal – second place, second to someone – in the Olympics. These examples go to show that humans created by this new god, even though they are designed before they are born to achieve a predestined fate, are still imperfect creatures.

After creating an elaborate scheme to become an astronaut, Vincent finally gets his chance to go into space. He has tricked the new god using Eugene’s genetic materials and beat the genetic racists at their own game. Once his rocket lifts off from the ground, it no longer matters if he is discovered because he has shed himself of his cursed mark. He reflects on star dust and the creation of all things as the ship breaks Earth’s orbit and soars towards the universe where the real God lingers, waiting for his prodigal son to return. At this moment in the movie, I recalled the last line of President Reagan’s speech after the space shuttle Challenger exploded: Vincent “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God” (28 Jan. 1986). He was rushing to meet the real God who had made him while escaping the false god who had cursed him.