The film Juno has projected political and societal messages in a humorous and entertaining way. Led by the incredible Ellen Page the film was able to tackle subjects such as teen pregnancy, pro-life or pro-choice, and the overall drama of being a young adult.
Juno opens with a young 16-year-old girl discovering she is pregnant and is forced to make the decision of whether to keep the child or have an abortion. One of the most pivotal scenes in the film is when Juno is at the abortion clinic when she is faced with the decision to either go through with the abortion or leave. The scene opens with Juno heading towards the clinic where a schoolmate stops her who is standing out in front of the building protesting abortion. She tells Juno that her baby has fingernails, a statement that Juno brushes off and seems nothing but indifferent of. However, this changes in the next scene when Juno is sitting in the waiting room of the clinic and is bombarded with images and sounds of fingernails. The rest of the scene is various shots of people’s fingernails in the waiting room and of Juno. It allows the audience to connect with Juno’s new emotional struggle with the idea of abortion and her sudden realization that she could not abort her child.
With the decision to keep the baby Juno was forced to tell those in her life that she was going to have a baby, this started with her parents. This scene allows the audience to see a supportive family who recognize Juno’s mistake but also make the preparations necessary to make sure Juno feels safe and loved. Often, movies that deal with teenager/parent relationships are condescending toward one or the other. They are either centered on the teens and the parents are neglectful, self-motivated, or absent; or they are centered on the parents and the teens are trouble with a capital “T” and need to grow up. Juno treats all of its characters with equal respect. They are all just essentially good people struggling to grow up.
Juno opens with a young 16-year-old girl discovering she is pregnant and is forced to make the decision of whether to keep the child or have an abortion. One of the most pivotal scenes in the film is when Juno is at the abortion clinic when she is faced with the decision to either go through with the abortion or leave. The scene opens with Juno heading towards the clinic where a schoolmate stops her who is standing out in front of the building protesting abortion. She tells Juno that her baby has fingernails, a statement that Juno brushes off and seems nothing but indifferent of. However, this changes in the next scene when Juno is sitting in the waiting room of the clinic and is bombarded with images and sounds of fingernails. The rest of the scene is various shots of people’s fingernails in the waiting room and of Juno. It allows the audience to connect with Juno’s new emotional struggle with the idea of abortion and her sudden realization that she could not abort her child.
With the decision to keep the baby Juno was forced to tell those in her life that she was going to have a baby, this started with her parents. This scene allows the audience to see a supportive family who recognize Juno’s mistake but also make the preparations necessary to make sure Juno feels safe and loved. Often, movies that deal with teenager/parent relationships are condescending toward one or the other. They are either centered on the teens and the parents are neglectful, self-motivated, or absent; or they are centered on the parents and the teens are trouble with a capital “T” and need to grow up. Juno treats all of its characters with equal respect. They are all just essentially good people struggling to grow up.
One theme that I have found throughout the film was the idea of maturity. It seems that every character grasps they are mature enough or not mature enough to deal with the issue at hand. Juno realizes that she is far more mature than she had originally thought with her ability to handle teen pregnancy, Juno’s parents were able to step up and help their daughter through her complicated situation, Juno’s best friend Leah was a strong support system for her also. On the other hand Paulie, the father of Juno’s child never seemed to be fully prepared to step up and help Juno in the way he should, and Mark the husband who would be adopting Juno’s baby realized he was not ready for a child and in the end left his wife and Juno.
Juno was able to touch the heart of all of its viewers through it’s incredible, witty writing, characters that you can connect with, awesome soundtrack, and it’s overall open mindedness to very heavy political issues. It’s an enjoyable, clever, and emotional film that I truly enjoyed.
Work Cited:
Film:
Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.
Photos:
Opening Title. Digital image. FestungArnulfinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Juno. Digital image. : Diablo Cody's "Juno" N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014
Juno was able to touch the heart of all of its viewers through it’s incredible, witty writing, characters that you can connect with, awesome soundtrack, and it’s overall open mindedness to very heavy political issues. It’s an enjoyable, clever, and emotional film that I truly enjoyed.
Work Cited:
Film:
Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.
Photos:
Opening Title. Digital image. FestungArnulfinger. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Juno. Digital image. : Diablo Cody's "Juno" N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014
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