Rethinking Juno

By now you've seen Juno, right? If you haven't seen it by now, you probably aren't going to. So I can talk about it, then? Good.

When I saw the film, I liked it. Then I talked to Joanna, who pointed out that it sends the message that, for men, promiscuous sex doesn't have repercussions.

(Juno MacGuff is forced to confront an unplanned pregnancy by making many life-altering decisions. On the other hand, not much of anything changes for Paulie Bleeker. Despite his lack of involvement, in fact, he is rewarded at the end.)

This reminds me of a couple years ago, when it occurred to me that Brokeback Mountain might be a setback for homosexual awareness and acceptance, since it gave the impression that the two cowboys became gay due to desperation loneliness, not necessarily that they were born that way.

Comments

WFY said…
I think you should cut the filmmakers some slack because of Hollywood's otherwise strong reputation for showing the consequences of male promiscuity.
March 19, 2008
Anonymous said…
If a movie that you initially liked "sends a message" that doesn't align with your exact values, does it mean it is no longer a good movie?

One of my favorite movies might send the message that a sociopathic, cab driving, stalking, multi-murderer can be viewed as a hero and inspired a presidential assassination attempt. A pretty great movie though.
March 19, 2008
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