The Other Side

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."

--T.S. Eliot

Everything looks like art in the future - even hallways

People probably think many different things when they think of Ethan Hawke.  Those thoughts may range from “Who is Ethan Hawke?” to “Ethan who?” For your benefit, I will summarize his life in 9 words: He cheated on Uma Thurman and starred in Gattaca. For the purposes of awesomeness consultancy we will focus on the latter.

If you’ve never seen Gattaca, don’t worry – no one else did either.  But, if you are so inclined, you can read a pretty good synopsis of the film here. For the purposes of awesomeness consultancy, this is the synopsis:

In a future where most people are genetically engineered, Ethan Hawke is not. He dreams of becoming an astronaut, but due to the genetic prejudices of his time, he is a second class citizen with no chance.  He “rents” the identity of a person with the necessary genetic pedigree. He becomes an astronaut.

Of course the movie was more complex than that including: love interests, murders, limb lengthening, suicide by cremation, etc…But the key scene of the film involved Ethan Hawke and his genetically engineered brother. His brother had been his superior their entire young lives until Ethan beat him in a single swimming competition. With that success, Ethan left home knowing that he could achieve his dream.  Near the end of the movie, Ethan and his brother meet again. Having the ghost of that single defeat still haunting him, and embittered by the success that his inferior sibling has achieved, he challenges Ethan to another race.  Once again, Ethan is victorious. This is the ensuing conversation:

Jealous Hearted Genetically Engineered Brother: (flabbergastedly) "Vincent! How are you doing this, Vincent? How have you done any of this? We have to go back!"

Ethan Hawke: (assuredly) "It's too late for that, we're closer to the other side."

Genetically Engineered Brother with a Crushed Spirit: (fearfully) "What other side? Do you want to drown us both?"

Ethan Hawke: (triumphantly) "You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back."

I never saved anything for the swim back. That single line is why I love the movie Gattaca. Because Ethan Hawke’s single mindedness allowed him to transcend every imposed limitation of the world that he was born into. He proved that will trumps pedigree.  He displayed the most noble manifestation of the axiom “…or die trying.” 

Are we willing to go all out; to pour ourselves out completely in pursuit of the dreams that inspire us?  Or are we still saving something for the trip back; afraid to go too far?  If our limits remain comfortably fixed and untested how will we find out what’s on the other side?