Cameron H BLog Entry #5: Matt vs. Vincent

Matt from The House Of The Scorpion, and Vincent from Gattaca both share a lot of things in common.  One of the most important parts that I find that they share are when they are able to impress people that doubt them, or in other words, exceeding their expectations.  

If you remember in the book and the movie, then by the end of each one of them, then it becomes clear as to what their ultimate goals in life were.  Matt’s was to be just as good as a normal human being, if not better.  He achieved this by various methods such as playing the piano, acing at geography, and excelling at naming the constellations.  Vincent, on the other hand, was similar, but different in its own ways.  Vincent impressed people with his physical capabilities.  When he was on the treadmill, he did well when he was seen, but when he went back to the locker room, it was like he was simply out of breath.  He also finally beat his brother at swimming, and also even rescuing him, showing sign of heroism.

I believe that the book and the movie we put together because the main characters share similar traits, and also very different traits and in very different situations.  Their age is also different, but they still have the same goals.  They are both different from the general society as a whole, and they discriminated because of this.  They could not help this, because someone else decided what they would end up as, Matt being a clone, and Vincent being a natural child.

I would not be able to have a clear picture as to what Matt looks like for real, but before Vincent was attempting to get into Gattaca, he was seen as the type of person that was “nerdy” and could simply not be talked to or bothered.  Everyone except Celia and El Patron pretty much treated him like he was an “animal”.  In Vincent’s case, those who were natural babies were given poor jobs compared to those with genetic modification.

The criteria to get into Gattaca was that you had to show physical stamina, knowledge, and be a genetically modified baby.  The reason for this is because they believed that if they were going to let someone into Gattaca, they wouldn’t waste the money on a person that had all sorts of problems assiciated with them.  Vincent had a heart condition, and also had a potential to also being diagnosed with various other diseases/conditions.