Future recruits
Gattaca firm denies link to dystopian film of same name
A RECRUITMENT company appears to have embraced the controversial subject of eugenics, rebranding itself as Gattaca – taking the name of the dystopian Hollywood movie about genetic modification.
Aim-listed Matchtech Group said its proposed name change was to eliminate confusion about its different brands after the acquisition of an international recruitment company.
The name the engineering and technology recruiter has chosen is the same as that of 1997 film Gattaca, which depicts a not too distant future where people’s jobs are dependent on their genetic make-up, creating a divided society. Those without perfect DNA form an underclass and are only able to obtain menial jobs, with plum roles going to “perfect” specimens.
Ethan Hawke takes the role of Vincent Freeman, a member of the “inferior” section of society, but who dreams of being an astronaut on one of aerospace company Gattaca Corporation’s space missions. To fulfil his ambi- tion Freeman takes on the identity of Jude Law’s character Jerome Morrow, a perfect specimen who has been crippled in an accident, and with his help cheats DNA tests to live a secret life.
The film derived the name Gattaca from rearranging the first letters of DNA sequencing – ATCG – which represent the four nucleotides in DNA. These four nucleotides – adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine – are arranged in long sequences and define a DNA molecule’s characteristics.
Brian Wilkinson, chief executive of Matchtech, said in a radio interview that the name change came after “quite a bit of reflection. We’ve always been a family feel company and Gattaca, with letters representing DNA, encapsulated what we are about – that we are all individuals with our own separate DNA but we are all part of the same collective trying to do the best jobs for clients and customers.”
A spokesman for the company said Matchtech was aware of the film, but that the business was not linking itself to it. “We chose the name Gattaca because it is the word used to label the bases that form DNA,” the company said. “We believe this is a fitting name for an international company that deals with individuals. While we are aware of the 1997 film – this was not a factor in our decision making and it is not related to our organisation.”
Asked if the recruiter was concerned about negative connotations, the spokesman said the name had a “positive” response from staff and investors, adding: “They are not worried about it.”
However, the name choice might not play so well with everyone. Eugenics were championed by the Nazis as they tried to create a master race and dark connotations remain. Prof Steve Fuller, the Auguste Comte chair in social epistemology at Warwick University, said: “There are links to Nazism but we have to get over that. If we take that kind of attitude to science we would never have nuclear power as we would not have developed the atomic bomb.”
Matchtech is to hold a shareholder meeting to approve the name change, which would take effect from September. Matchtech shares closed down 1.5pc at 320p.