CorporealSemiotics:TheBodyoftheText/theTextoftheBody 363
space. His new enhancedself is getting into trouble, however, when he
becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation which also
threatenstorevealhistruebiologicalidentity.Howthesecomplications,
which also involve a love affair, are resolved in typical Hollywood
fashion is of little consequence for the present argument. More
important is the role the film played as a dystopian reference in the
public debate that led to the 2008 Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act.^58 While some geneticists felt the film dealt
unfairly with their work, Lee M. Silver (whose work is also quoted in
this chapter) suggested thathiscolleaguesshould gosee thefilm "iffor
nootherreasonthantounderstandtheperceptionofourtradeheldbyso
manyofthepublic-at-large"("Genetics"260).
Something will always go wrong; this is the common line of the
three narratives discussed here. Even though the contexts in which they
weredevelopedandtheoverallcommitmentsofthepeoplebehindthem
mayvarywidely,thereisasharedfocusontheglitch,thesmallmistake
that sends the biotechnological complex tottering.^59 At the same time,
suchahermeneuticsofsuspicionwithregardtoenhancementoffersnew
narrative possibilities: it allows storytellers and scriptwriters to
rejuvenate an archetypal U.S.-American myth, namely that of the little
guy who,against all odds, ends up winning against the system.Gattaca
is one example of how new biotech options stimulate a run to the
cultural archive, theHungerGamesseries is another. In the perspective
openedbysuchnarratives,theoperationallogicatworkinenhancement
is shown to bear an uncanny resemblance to issues discussed above in
the chapter on disability, especially the notion of ableism. These now
return,andreturnwithavengeanceinthecontextofgenomics,because
(^58) For more information see "Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
(GINA)of2008."NationalHumanGenomeResearchInstitute.NationalHuman
Genome Research Institute, 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 02 July 2017; for an overview
ofthepublicdebatecf.Nelson,Jaqueline."DebateoverUseofGeneticTestsin
Insurance Heats up."The Globe and Mail.Thomson Reuters, 10 July 2014.
Web.02July2017.
(^59) Foranexcellentoverviewoftherelationsbetweenthegeneticandtheliterary
imaginary cf. Wald, Priscilla, and Jay Clayton. "Editors' Preface: Genomics in
Literature,VisualArts,andCulture."LiteratureandMedicine26(2009):vi-xvi.
Print.