After watching the movie Juno, I was surprised by the fact that 16-year-old Juno could make her own decisions on whether to give birth to her baby or not. The movie surpassed and subverted the clichéd plot; the main character Juno seriously considers about termination. Despite the fact that Hollywood movies are assumed to be a bastion of political liberalism, movie characters always either keep the baby or conveniently miscarry it. However, in Juno, a teenager girl gets to decide against abortion. The film suggests and portrays the image of a wild and free femininity, while emphasizing frailty in male. It suggests feminine power of giving birth. Throughout repetitive portrayals in films and other medias, the popular culture is highly saturated with images of pregnancy and even with teen pregnancy.

The author of “Experiencing Abortion: A Weaving of Women’s Words” Eve Kushner stressed that, “Juno knows how hard it is to raise a baby, and understands that these things are above her maturity level. In other films, having a baby is seen as a cure-all for immaturity.” She thinks that Juno will help Hollywood start to grow up; this movie differs from other pregnancy films as it successfully portrays a journey through the turbulence of adult-size decision making. There is no “rights to life” portrayed in the film. Juno makes her own choices without putting any restrictions, and does not even try to reside in a normative form of life.

Interestingly, films do play a significant role in creating a stereotypical image. It has potential to reject and break the conventional belief or already-embedded ideas, and to help us reconsider and to cultivate new ways of thinking. In the end, a film like Juno idealizes a new image of a ‘teenage mom’, and allows the public to truly appreciate them.

 

 

 

References

Haines, M., Ruby, J., McCaslin, D., Mantilla, K., & Rodgers, M. (2007). JUNO: Feminist or not? Off our Backs, 37(4), 70-73.

Yabroff, J. (2007, Dec 10, 2007). A special delivery. Newsweek, 150, 98.