To introduce this new edition of Ombilic, I returned to the science fiction film Gattaca.[1] The story takes place in a world where the gene pool is what structures the whole society. In this world was born Vincent Freeman. His parents conceived him without genetic manipulation that has however become the norm, based on the belief that a child born from the love of his parents is more likely to be happy. “To this day, I wonder why my parents decided to trust God rather than their geneticist”, the hero asks himself. Vincent has indeed inherited a genetic baggage that makes him an “invalid”, promising a future without prospect and a life expectancy of barely thirty years. However, he won’t let himself be deceived.
Gattaca remarkably illustrates that “what is at stake in prediction is what is beyond it”[2]. Indeed, since his childhood, Vincent is driven by an aspiration of a quite different order than that of genetic determinism. He will rely on his determination not to retreat when confronted with the laws of his world, and will go so far as to transgress them to fulfill his dream: to travel in space.
“Science-fiction”, Lacan tells us, “is what articulates things that go much further than what science supports in terms of stated knowledge : science fiction is the mystery of the speaking being”[3].
From this week in Ombilic, you will be able to count not on three but four texts to try to approach this mystery! The Pipol 10 Congress is fast approaching and the work within the community of the Eurofederation of psychoanalysis is intensifying!
This week, finally, meet Laura Steerman to whom we owe the beautiful illustration on the poster of the Congress. She is an artist and, in a video interview, speaks about her work based on obstetric ultrasonographic snapshots.
I hope you enjoy these discoveries!
Bibliography
Jacques-Alain Miller, “Problèmes cliniques pour la psychanalyse”, Quarto, no 1, 1981, p. 28.
Translation : Adeena Mey
Proof-reading : Cédric Grolleau
Photography: ©Nathalie Crame
[1] Gattaca (1997) is an American science-fiction film directed by Andrew Niccol.
[2] Fr. Ansermet, Prédire l’enfant, PUF, Paris, 2019, p. 73.
[3] J. Lacan, « Interview de Jacques Lacan sur la science-fiction », La cause du désir, no 84, p.9.
