Themes Of Juno

Several years ago, an interesting movie hit the theaters. The story captures the ups and downs of teen pregnancy and was a surprising hit. This film, Juno, has been called, “a sharp-edged, sweet-centred, warm-hearted coming-of-age movie that’s always just that little bit smarter than you think it is,” by Andrew Male (n.d., para. 9). It is directed by Jason Reitman and was released in 2007. From the start, it brought a fresh twist to the idea of teen pregnancy. According to The New York Times, Juno could be compared to the popular MTV show, 16 and Pregnant, but “could not be further from the kind of hand-wringing, moralizing melodrama that such a condition might suggest” (Scott, n.d., para. 1). Throughout this movie, intertwined themes …show more content…
From the start, Juno accepted responsibility for her curiosity, which results in her pregnancy. Not once did she blame Paulie when she easily could have. This also ties back to the anti-abortion and pro-parenthood theme. Juno felt that it was her obligation to carry the baby to term and to care for herself during her pregnancy. Once he found out about the pregnancy, Paulie feels a sense of duty to take care of her as well. The adoptive parents, Mark and Vanessa, feel a burden to provide the baby with a stable, loving after its birth. In addition, Juno’s parents are committed to ensuring that Juno makes thoughtful decisions from then on. Responsibility ties all of the characters together. Towards the end of the movie, Juno discovers that Mark is leaving Vanessa. She takes this personally because it impacted her sense of responsibility to make sure the baby has a good home. This is ironic because Mark reveals that he is less prepared for his responsibilities as a father, whereas Juno is fully aware of the responsibilities that come along with pregnancy as a teenager. It is obvious that Juno demonstrates more capability in being responsible than Mark does. As a result, this incident caused Juno’s growth to stand out more in contrast to Mark’s