Integrative and Argumentative Film Analysis on Juno

Integrative and Argumentative Film Analysis on Juno

Introduction

“Juno” is a film written by Diablo Coldy and Jason Reitman dramatically and comically that brings out the issues in the society that teenagers go through. Juno (2007) involves shooting a young person who goes around with her healthy life, engaging is sexual adventures for fun only to realize there are consequences such as pregnancy, to bring out the reality in the unpreparedness of the society towards the sexuality of young people.

Discussion

The story of Juno is a story of an outspoken young girl who is adventurous, and in this character, she ends up having sex with Paul Bleeker, her childhood friend without protection, and she ends up pregnant. The film addresses certain human conditions that exist in the life of a human being, which has to happen without being prevented. First is growth, where children born will grow up one day and become adults besides the parents and the society viewing them as children. Juno and Paul Bleeker were mere juniors but were developed enough to make a baby. However, regardless of other cases of juniors who have fallen pregnant unexpectedly, society still does not address the issue. According to the film, no one had prepared Juno on the responsibilities that could come up with her engagement in sexual activities.

The film also addresses the issue of birth such that the significant occasions in the movie besides Juno discovering that she is pregnant is giving birth to her son. The society has attached a lot of meaning to life, and that’s why issues such as murder are illegal, and abortion is controversial. The purpose of life in this film is evident with Juno choosing not to abort, and she decides to carry her baby to full term even though she was not ready. She also chooses to give up her baby for adoption, knowing that the woman will take care of her of the baby better than she could ever be.

The inner meaning of the film involves the issue of early pregnancies and the sexuality of women in the United States. “Over a hundred thousand children are born annually from women under 20 years promoted by different issues among them lack of information on sex education” (CDC, 2018). Therefore, this film tries to address the issue of early pregnancy in young women and how it disrupts their life. For instance, “Juno at some point in the film is disappointed since she cannot attend the prom and his baby’s father has to take another girl who is not pregnant” (Juno, 2007). This part of the film shows how Juno had to change her aspirations and likes, even for a while, to take care of her pregnancy. She is also forced to make tough decisions, thus catapulting her to adult life much quicker than she expected.

Another issue firmly addressed is abortion, adoption, and the need to have a nuclear family as a necessity in the adoption of children. In the historical and cultural context of the United States, a nuclear family is considered as the ideal set up of bringing up a child with both the mother and the father present. However, this does not mean that children raised in single parents do not turn out right in society. Therefore, the decision of Juno giving up her child to Vanessa even after separating from Mark shows that the film breaks the barriers stated by the community, and doing what is right for the child is the most important thing and not what the society thinks about it.

Abortion is legal in the United States. However, there still exist institutions and part of the population that believes an individual has no right to end the life of a child even before it starts. Women have the right to their reproductive health, and therefore they could choose abortion if it was the best option for them. However, Juno does not opt to abort, yet she was thinking about it, and besides the influence of the girl with a placard when she visited the abortion clinic, she had a choice. However, this scene in the film is criticized since it fails to support or denounce the practice of abortion. The production of the film might have used this scene to show their impartiality in the issue of abortion such that they show that a woman has a choice to abort without being judged, but if she chooses to keep the baby, then it is equally okay. “According to many films, teenagers are considered as irresponsible. However, Juno is responsible and chooses to keep the baby and take care of her pregnancy to the end” (Clark, 261). This film breaks from the norm that portrays teenagers as irresponsible and shows that it’s just a matter of personality and not age for responsibility.

The director of this film (Jason Reitman) brings out the impossible things to imagine in this film, having only looked at its introduction. The first scene of the film shows romance between Juno and Paulie, and the many times Juno tries to confirm that she is not pregnant. From these scenes, the audience’s first thing that comes to mind is Paulie is not going to take responsibility for the child. After all, he is a young man who has nothing to lose. However, the director decides that Paulie will be there for Juno, and besides the theme not being love, their love story continues to the end of the film. This film is narrated in a straightforward, funny way with dialogues kept simple, no tense moments, and this brings in the interest of the audience towards the characters. Juno does not struggle to break the news to her friend, parents, or Paulie, she tells them, and their reaction is quite as expected.

Juno, as opposed to many other teenagers, received support from people around her, people that matter. The narrative of the film does not criminalize sex among juniors but shows them the consequences of this action, hoping that they do not make the same mistake. For instance, Juno’s father, when he learned that Juno is pregnant, told her that he thought she knew what she wanted and even calls her irresponsible. However, he still supports his daughter by meeting with the adopting family and accompanying her to the hospital while she was giving birth. Juno’s film is unique from its narration, style, and context such that it is not just a regular film telling a story of a young pregnant girl. It depicts the challenges the girl goes through funnily, thus explaining a severe matter comically but still passing the message.

Conclusion

The issues of early pregnancies among the youth are addressed to portray a picture of irresponsible people who get pregnant due to their irresponsibility. However, no one discusses the role the society plays in these early pregnancies or issues surrounding the matter. The film Juno (2007) presents the theme of early pregnancies and also the issues surrounding it, such as abortion and adoption. The narrative, production, and style of the film tell a story involving a severe problem comically and dramatically, yet it does not fail to pass the message intended to the audience.