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Gattaca: Fave Quotes

    Gattaca Quote There is no gene for the human spirit

    My level of interest for Gattaca is so profound that I am rather familiar with the scripts, much less the very meaningful and memorable quotes. I have been quoting these here and there, but I have never consolidated the quotes I liked. Here is an excerpt:

    I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it.
    I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when I was standing right beside it.
    Is that the only way you can succeed, is to see me fail?
    Is that the only way you can succeed, is to see me fail?
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    You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the trip back!
    You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the trip back!

    The 3 quotes above were the main motivation for me to work hard to and step out of my underclass status. OK, maybe I did not work as hard as Vincent did, or as hard as I should. But when the going get tough, these are the lines that pushed me on.

    More importantly, if we were to live like today’s the last day of our lives, then I did not see why I should save anything for the trip back.

    Quote from 1997 sci-fi film Gattaca, starred by Jude Law (foreground) and Ethan Hawke (background) and Uma Thurman (not featured). "They've got you looking so hard for any flaw, that after a while, that's all that you see,"
    They’ve got you looking so hard for any flaw, that after a while that’s all that you see.

    10 fingers, 10 toes, that’s all that used to matter.

    Vincent Freeman, Gattaca

    As I grew older, and as the reality of the society dawns upon me, the 2 quotes above were quite a realization for me, especially in the context of this city and system that we are living in. In fact, I began to feel like Gattaca is the metaphor for Gattaca!

    First, of course, is how the meritocracy had cultivated a generation of competitors. Of course, there will always be those who could not make the cut. They either fall out, or they try to win by bringing others down (either in spite, with the ‘Lose-Lose’ mentality, or in the hope that by bringing others down, they could be comparatively better). And as more and more people start to lose faith in this system (well, people do improve over time, thereby putting in place a new measure of standards), the psyche began to skew towards trying desperately to win.

    In the end, we are evolving into a society looking for flaws in others, for better or for worse.

    And of course, it used to be that we are citizens by virtue of birth in the country. But our public policies had it that being born in this country is not ‘citizen’ enough. You had to be born under certain circumstances, to the tune of the government. How does that feel?

    It just means that we did not accurately measure his potential in the first place.

    Director Josef, Gattaca
    I'm better than most, but not as good as some.
    I’m better than most, but not as good as some.
    If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
    If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

    This post has been republished from my old blog.

    If you like this post, please Like and Share it with your friends. You can also read more about why I like Gattaca, or read about my take on Hidden Figures.

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    0 thoughts on “Gattaca: Fave Quotes”

      1. zenov

        Yes! It opened my mind to realise that we should look for ways to succeed together with other people, rather than to succeed by putting down others! 😊😊

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