The idea of progress - oral BAC anglais LV1

The idea of progress

I am going to present the notion about “Progress”

First, I would like to define progress.

Progress is an evolution, and more precisely a change towards betterment. There are many forms of progress such as social scientific or technological progress.

So far, there has been much progress over time. Technology has improved and Design has been upgraded. Each progress is followed by another.

Most of the time, progress has positive aspects & consequences. However we can't help but notice that each progress carries as well many drawbacks. Progress can sometimes even be dangerous for the planet or the society because some of its consequence can paradoxically be destructive.

That’s why a good understanding & mastery of progress has become a necessity.

Is progress indeed in the service of humanity?

For this presentation, I will focus on the movie Gattaca (1997) directed by Andrew Niccol.

1. First, I will talk about the benefits of progress seen in the movie
2. Then, we will focus on the negative consequences progress can bring for the society depicted in Gattaca

On the one hand,

Gattaca depicts a world where embryos are screened before they are implanted in their mother’s wombs to ensure perfect genes. It deals with an important scientific progress we face even today.

The technique improves the baby’s life. Indeed, its life expectancy can become longer, and the baby is prevented from all sort of disease. The parents can also add special features to their babies, such as blond hair, walleyed eyes and so on. At one point in the movie, we saw a 12-finger pianist: his parents must have chosen this feature before his birth.

On the other hand,

The movie is also very critical towards progress.

Indeed, progress has become a necessity in Gattaca’s society. Each individual must be perfect and if you don’t have the right genes, then you are considered as inferior. Your life seems to only depend on you genes, and everything seems to be decided before your birth.

Society discriminates against people on the basis of their DNA.

Segregation and discrimination by genes are fully assumed in this society.

It prevents some talented people from achieving their goals. Or they can only fulfill their dreams using illegal tactics, like Vincent did.

In Gattaca, progress imposes a way of thinking & acting. Parents have to resort to medical assistance when they want to have child. If they don’t, they wouldn’t be giving their child the necessary chances. But in this case, nothing is left to chance. Life is less valuable if it seems to be defined before your birth.

To conclude,

I chose the example of a scientific progress depicted in Gattaca, but all types of progress exist.

There is an infinity of progress in the world, and they never seem to cease.

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