Setting and Extra Textual Links
Avi Taylor Harsim Adrienne Kiranbir
Charlotte and Nicole
Setting
• Objects and technology
are modernistic – gives
futuristic look
• Buildings consist of steel
or concrete – gives cold,
unemotional
atmosphere
• Setting uses dark colours
– black and grey
• Bauhaus is a design style
used in mid 1900’s to
create a professional
office look. In Gattaca,
this design style makes
setting appear clean,
spacious and orderly
Ideas
• Voices and footsteps of
• Dark colours contrasted
people are echoed –
with white which
shows distant and empty
emphasises how barren
setting
and lifeless it is. Also
shows how society want
• Cold and distant
maximum efficiency,
atmosphere shown
order and perfection;
through sound
colour and artistic ability
is inappropriate
Actual Locations
• Gattaca was set in
California, America.
• Tunnel – Los Angeles
• Beach – San Diego
• Pre-school – Culver City
High School
• Gattaca – California State
Polytechnic University
• Sepluveda Dam, Encino
Los Angeles
• Barstow, California
• City Hall, Los Angeles
• KJC Solar Farm, Los
Angeles
• Marin County, San Rafael
• The Forum, California
Solar Farm
The director uses this location to represent how society in the future prefers order and
perfection. This is emphasized by how the panels are positioned in an orderly manner.
It shows how people in society conform to a rather ‘mechanical’ way of life
Gattaca
The Bauhaus design technique gives an orderly and ‘perfect’ look to the offices at
Gattaca. It shows the desire for perfection and maximum efficiency, by having
everything organised in tidy rows and using a small working space.
Gattaca
The dark and simplistic colours and designs typical of the Bauhaus style is
apparent in Gattaca. This design clearly creates space while making the
building look more mechanical.
Jerome’s House
The staircase in Jerome’s house resembles a DNA strand. It is also typical
of the Bauhaus design and shows that Jerome is an accepted person in
society as every detail, even his house, follows the structure of society.
Gymnasium
The picture shows the uniformity that is expected at Gattaca in order to
succeed. The clothes worn are identical and they all run at exactly the
same pace.
Extra Textual Links
And stuff
Brave New World
Links
• Genetically engineered
population
• Clothing distinguishes status in
society
• Children (genetically)
conditioned for specific
tasks/jobs
• No one encouraged to aim
higher than their birth status
• Characters that are ‘out of
place’ in society by their own
knowledge
Differences
• Purposely mutated and
inferior children/people
• Aim to get as many embryos
as possible from one ovary
• Population anesthetised to
follow one ruling order - lack
of individual thought
Status identification
This aspect is similar to Gattaca as the classes of society are distinguished
by the clothes they wear. Black suits and formal clothing for the valids and
bland informal jumpsuits and overalls for the invalids. Though Brave New
World has far more layers to the class system they both have the same
idea.
Fahrenheit 451
Links
• Discourages creativity
(among the elite - Gattaca)
• Controlled entertainment
• Tension surrounds the idea
of knowledge and ignorance
– knowledge of genetic
differences
Differences
• Society promotes equality by
destruction of literature
• Parties and technology
encouraged as a substitute to
reading
• Controlled heavily by the
government
• Books burned to destroy
‘dangerous thoughts’
The burning of books shows the limitation of the media and the controversial and
dangerous thoughts said to have been in books. In Gattaca the creativity is limited and
rarely do you see a character read a book or creatively express themselves. In
Fahrenheit 451 it is to suppress thought but in Gattaca it seems to mean that unless you
were designed to do so, your life revolves around your work instead of creativity.
1984
Links
• Setting – cold, concrete
buildings
• No creativity seen.
• Hierarchy (not genetically)
• Main character is trying
undermine the government.
Differences
• Controlled by the
government in a dictatorship
• Controlled population –
constantly watched
• Changes history to suit ideals
of society
• Everything is controlled. Not
allowed to be with people
they love. They cant have
close friends.
The setting of 1984, shown particularly in the 1984 film adaptation is shown as dull
and lifeless, an oppressive and boring atmosphere that discourages all individual
thought among the societies inhabitants. This is similar to the setting of Gattaca in the
sense that it is quite bland and its purpose is to encourage uniformity.
Blade Runner
Links
• Replicants are genetically
superior and perfect
• Retrofitted futuristic setting.
• Advanced gadgets and
technology
Differences
• Characters sent to ‘retire’
replicants when they gained
personalities and emotional
experience
• Replicants (elite) banned in society
• Instead of organised lay out of city
its all jumbled and broken down.
• Colourful - creativity is evident.
• Replicants not seen as human or
human-like but as an animal that
eventually is sent to slaughter
Setting
The setting is still retro fitted as in Gattaca but in a different way, the order
expected in Gattaca is not seen here and the streets are overcrowded and
dirty. The advanced technology is also seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaR5wVL9x2I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lj2ISTrfnE
VIDEO TIME
Pay attention to the setting, retro-futuristic and technology ahead of our time. But also
how the society is crowded and ruined in parts and how that is different to the clean
lines of Gattaca.