As someone who is hyper-aware of all things pop culture, it’s been hard for me to get around Juno. I felt like I would hate it because of the “unplanned teen pregnancy works out a-ok” message. I felt I might like it because of the non-traditional female role. I was wrong on both counts. I disliked it for a completely different reason.
Juno is a film about a girl in high school that chooses to go through a pregnancy and give her baby to a family that wants to adopt it. The movie follows Juno through her brief visit to an abortion clinic, her tumultuous relationship with her friend Paulie (the father of the child), her family support system, and the adoption process. In the end, everything really does seem to work out ok for Juno – she even has a cool song about it that she sings with good ol’ Paulie.
First of all, I’ve been off movies since Cloverfield left me nauseous and never wanting to enter a theater again. (To all those who haven't seen Cloverfield: DON'T SEE CLOVERFIELD.) Seeing Juno was supposed to redeem the art of film for me. It didn’t. The mind-bendingly shaky camera of Cloverfield was nothing compared to the contrived, grating dialogue of Juno. I can only imagine what went on in the mind of the writer. “Hey, let’s cram every hipster buzz word we can possibly fit into this script!” I know there has been a lot of discussion about the voice of Juno, but a lot of it I can ignore – her blathering at the beginning of the film makes her (relative) silence towards the end more profound. However, a lot of the words and phrases used, such as “homeskillet,” “hells yeah,” and the like, are what left me feeling really uncomfortable. It was some weird appropriation of urban slag meant to be humorous… because they were white. Of course, the film doesn’t explicitly state that, but it’s made pretty clear that the dialogue is supposed to be funny.
Where were the minorities in the film? I suppose I couldn’t expect much, considering the setting. I’m pretty Su-Chin was the only person in the film that wasn’t white (one of my friends pointed out that there was a black person at the abortion clinic… which would place all of the ethnic minorities in the film at the clinic. Great.), and surprise, surprise, she had incorrect grammar (all babies want to be borned). This, like the labored urban dialogue, is supposed to be funny. Not to mention the fact that she’s also being portrayed as ignorant (as anti-choice protestors typically are)…
So there, I wrote a perfectly crafted response to Juno that didn’t revolve around her pregnancy. I’m sure you’re all sick of reading the same evaluation of-
-ahhhh I can’t help it. Yeah, about Juno’s pregnancy… I was much more intrigued by the story of the adoptive parents. The film wants our heart to ache for Juno, but it aches for Vanessa in a different way. Connected by “the chairs,” we see how Vanessa’s good behavior (dumping the bad man, just wanting to be a mom) is rewarded and Juno’s bad behavior (unprotected[?] sex) is punished.
I've listened to people I really respect both like and dislike this film, particularly in the feminist circle. I can't tell if I'm being a good feminist for a bad feminist for not liking this movie. Regardless of the “no consequences” story that was told, she still made a choice that seemed right for her, and was pretty independent-minded throughout. Again, this might not be something the film came right out and said, but we are supposed to pity Juno; she’s just a cute kid that messed up but is righting her wrongs. Why not? It just seems that there was such potential for an exploration about abortion (which was glazed over and dismissed), the financial burden of having a child (solved by the couple paying for her medical bills), and consequences at school/in the family (the loveable Juno was largely supported—yes, even though the mean lady looked down on her).
So, in short… Juno was a missed opportunity. For what it’s worth, it could’ve been worse… I’m looking at you, Knocked Up. I just would’ve liked to see a film that didn’t imply a streamlined, yet admittedly bittersweet process of teen pregnancy... and of course, I could've done without the annoying, offensive speech.
2 comments:
The opening dialogue with homeskillet and all that also drove me up the wall, but the rest of the buzz words didn't. I'm wondering if it was supposed to be some sort of self-mockery? My friends and I (who are all very white suburban folk) often use random "ghetto" language in our conversations in a very self-mocking sense. We know that its completely ridiculous because calling each other "dawg" is foreign to our cultures, but we do it to laugh at our own sheltered upbringings.
I don't know if that made any sense. I just know that I say, "oh, snap!" way too often. In fact, the fact that I say that, which I think is pretty old in terms of slang is just another way of showing how far out of the loop I am.
excellent focused analysis... great points and so well articulated!!
LB
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