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The “Juno” impact
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The recent success of a movie about a pregnant 16-year-old named Juno has generated a barrage of conflicting opinions about whether the film will have a positive or negative influence on teens. Individuals like Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, are concerned about the movie’s tolerant tone toward teen pregnancy and believe it gives girls an unrealistic picture:
“Adults understand the bigger picture and what the risks are of adolescence and childbearing,” Brown says. “Adolescents see it through the lens of the ‘me generation.’ Adolescence is also a self-absorbed time. If the baby got handed off and she got the boyfriend back (as happens in Juno), what’s the problem?”
But others like Gary Hoppenstand, a pop culture professor at Michigan State University, think “Juno” portrays a positive message:
“Moral issues aside, you have a younger person who got into a situation and, in a sense, is taking responsibility for it and resisting tremendous social pressure,” says Hoppenstand, 53. “It’s showing a kind of strength and empowerment for the young that older, traditional people will not understand or comprehend.
“In very traditional values, there are absolutes and no gray areas. It’s either right or wrong. What’s being represented here in the popular culture is that there are gray areas and no absolutes. Young people recognize and understand that.”
How do you think “Juno” will impact teen choices in the future? Did it send a positive message or simply glorify teen pregnancy?
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The race for No. 2
Uh, I don’t think it sent a positive message or glorified teen pregnancy.
The pregnancy was the conflict that forged change in all the characters. It’s a story telling device. Some movies use cancer or prison or something else without inteneding to send a specific message about cancer or prisons.
Havent seen the film. Hope to once it comes out on DVD. I’ll take a wild stab and conclude she doesnt pass her newborn over to a committed childless couple.
Oh wow. I just saw this movie yesterday and thought it to be very powerful. If anything was glorified (or portrayed to be a normal thing) it was simply teenage sex. Abortion was also portrayed as a reasonable option, but it wasn’t necessarily pushed and, in fact, I thought the scene where she went to the clinic was well done in terms of what I imagine to be realistic and not glorified.
The pregnancy still carried a stigma for Juno. You could see it in the eyes of the students who sort of shunned her in the halls, from the eyes of the school secretary who gave her that look in the office. Juno herself felt that shame from those in her context. But she also had the amazing support of her parents, who, while didn’t jump up shouting and excited when she told them the news, also didn’t overreact negatively. I thought their “choice” to accept her decision to continue the pregnancy was beautiful and the way her step-mother jumped right in with scheduling doctor’s appointments and pre-natal vitamins? Just well done.
We all know that teenage girls are getting pregnant. We also all know that they are usually heavily encouraged to get abortions. I thought the movie did a super job of presenting a great alternative in the midst of a hard situation. She suffered the stigma, she made a hard decision, she followed through, and she worked to return her life to as normal as possible afterwards. It can happen.
As the mother of four daughters, I hope and pray they make better choices when they become teenagers. But if for some reason one of them doesn’t make the choices I hope and pray for her, I also hope and pray I would have the grace to respond well with love and support as the parents in this movie did.
Okay, that was more than you were asking for, probably…
“If the baby got handed off and she got the boyfriend back (as happens in Juno), what’s the problem?”
Yes, good question, what IS the problem? True, she’s not portrayed as being ashamed of the sin of extramarital sex, but that is a very minor sin compared to the one she stepped away from: murdering her child. The movie portrays abortion clinics as creepy places, and pregnancy as a profoundly body and life altering experience. I think a lot of girls out there will be making sure they don’t become “the cautionary whale”.
It’s so pleasant to know that critics and bloggers think that movies develop and provide the standards of morality and rules for living for our teenagers.
Can you not critique a movie without assuming it has an impact on anyone’s moral compass? If the impact is certain and unavoidable, maybe we shouldn’t be watching movies or TV at all.
I loved it. And no, it did NOT glorify teen pregnancy. I get annoyed with those who think that portraying an event equates to glorifying it.
As Megan pointed out, teen pregnancy happens. And not just to “pagan” families. There is a time and place for rebuke, but there is also a time and place for encouragement and support. Juno messed up, and I thought the family reacted well. Yes, Juno put herself in a bad situation, but we are NOT going to treat this baby like a problem or a disease.
There were two things that really impressed me about the movie:
1–I think Juno was accurately portrayed as the average teenager, in that she is NOT READY to be a mother. She is still immature, and has a lot of growing up to do. She is not ready for the responsibility of raising a child, nor is she capable of understanding the magnitude of an abortion…something that could haunt her for her whole life.
2–I think the movie perfectly portrayed those who cannot have children of their own and one day hope to adopt. Most of us know someone in that situation who had an adoption lined up, only for the mother to have a change of heart and keep the baby. The couple in the movie were hesitant to get their hopes up with Juno because they had been hurt in the past. Throughout the movie, Juno realizes how important this “baby thing” is, and that it could bring true joy to another.
Wonder what Vice Prez Dan Quayle would say about this film and the message it transmits.
Wiglaf-
Having recently passed through adolescence, I know for a fact that if teenagers aren’t having their ‘moral compass’ impacted by devoted parents, then media has a fairly significant impact on them. The impact is certain and unavoidable, but the responsibility of parents tasked with raising children is to make sure they understand the context of what they see, as well as the reality that is almost inevitably ignored by the entertainment involved.
Teenagers may be on the cusp of achieving independence, but their natural inclination towards rebellion isn’t a compelling reason for their parents to completely back away and let them figure things out for themselves. I’ve seen that happen all too many times with negative consequences.
My problem with Juno was the lack of focus on negative implications for Juno. Yes kids stared at her at school, but she didn’t come across as being someone that was ‘popular’ to begin with, so it’s not as if she had to make any great social sacrifices. What did she lose by being pregnant? Certainly no one will make the argument that that’s a realistic view of teenage pregnancy.
Were the writers attempting to display a realistic picture of teenage pregnancy? Probably not, but there’s many teenagers who won’t understand that fact and will take the movie as something far greater than artistic reality. Herein lie the film’s potential negative consequences.
My problem with Juno was the lack of focus on negative implications for Juno.
Night Watch,
What negative implications would you have liked to see?
I liked the movie, but I wasn’t overly impressed by it. I thought the reaction of her dad was probably not very realistic. Though I thought her step-mom did a very “motherly” thing.
Really, her pregnancy was not the point of the movie. The point of the movie was to look at life through the eyes of a teenage girl. There was more going on than just her getting knocked up and having a baby.
The movie wasn’t intended to fulfill anyone’s agenda. It was quirky, humorous, thoughtful, and enjoyable.
Without giving it one of my full movie reviews:
1. Is it worth paying full price to see it? Yes.
2. Would I go see it again? No.
3. All in all, I’d give it a 6.5 on a 1-10 scale.