Juno

Synopsis
Sixteen year-old Juno MacGuff is the type of girl that beats to her own drummer, and doesn 't really care what others may think of her. She learns that she 's pregnant from a one-time sexual encounter with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker. Juno and Paulie like each other, but don 't consider themselves to be exclusive boyfriend/girlfriend let alone be ready to be a family complete with child. Although she would rather not be pregnant, Juno is fairly realistic about her situation. Paulie really leaves all the decisions about the baby to Juno. Initially she decides that she will have an abortion, but that 's something that she ultimately cannot go through with. So she decides to have the baby and give it up for adoption. But first she has to tell her father, Mac, and stepmother, Brenda, that she is pregnant. Although they would have preferred if Juno was on hard drugs or expelled from school, Mac and Brenda too are realistic about Juno 's situation. The next step is to find prospective parents for the yet unborn child. In the Penny saver ad section, Juno finds Mark and Vanessa Loring, a yuppie couple living in the suburbs. Juno likes the Lorings, and in some respects has found who looks to be a kindred spirit in Mark, with whom she shares a love of music and horror films. Vanessa is a little more uptight and is the one in the relationship seemingly most eager to have a baby. On her own choosing, Juno enters into a closed rather than open adoption contract with the Lorings - meaning she will have no contact with the baby after she gives it up. During the second and third trimesters of Juno 's pregnancy which she treats with care but detachment, Juno 's relationships with her family, with Paulie, and with the Lorings develop.

Teen Pregnancy: JUNO Females have been stereotyped for decades, from the perfect wife to the maid, whatever the role, the media is full of images of females who are typically American looking; although they are from a different ethnicity, desperately thin, with flawless skin. Stereotypes continue to appear in the media today. In 2007, director Jason Reitman, brought to the world a comedy of a teenage pregnancy, the film was entitled Juno. Juno reflects the changing gender issues and social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy. Since the movie was release, there have been a few TV shows with teen pregnancy as the main theme. ABC Family 's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" in 2008 and MTV 's "Sixteen and Pregnant" in 2008 and “Teen Mom” in 2010 are some examples. Twenty years ago, movies and TV shows would not have aired teenage pregnancy issues, for it was seen as a controversy. Juno opens the doors for TV shows and changes the dominant ideology reflecting the change in social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy and gender roles.
Juno tells the story of a teenager, Juno McGruff, who becomes pregnant after a sexual encounter with her friend Paulie Bleeker. She need to decide whether to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion. Juno decides to have the baby and to arrange for adoption. The rest of the movie goes on to telling the story of Juno’s pregnancy, telling her parents that she is pregnant, selecting a family to give her child to, her changing relationship with Paulie, and her daily life and struggles as a pregnant high school student. In the end, the parents in which Juno decided to give her baby to, Mark and Vanessa, end up getting a divorce. Still, Juno decides to give her baby to Vanessa in the end. Here Juno represents the changing gender roles in a big way. Aside from one minor meltdown toward the end of the movie, Juno seems to deal with her unplanned pregnancy in a somewhat cheerful, sarcastic manor.
In Juno we see how a teenage pregnancy is seen as something normal, as if it was a simple mistake and that by giving the baby for adoption the mistake goes away. This shows that an unplanned pregnancy, something that would be seen as almost unforgivable and an act that would ruin any young woman’s reputation, nowadays is seen as an almost “normal” event. This also shows the evolution of gender roles and values in modern cinema, and how casual sex is depicted in the film. When Juno becomes pregnant; Juno and Paulie were not in a formal relationship. Not so long ago casual sex used to be considered wrong, but while Juno and Paulie do engage in casual sex, Juno is never called a derogatory name. This is yet another example of changing gender roles and values within the depiction of teenage women in the media. The morals pass though generations, and families have lost their value. In different times, for example, in the Victorian age, Industrial Revolution and Sexual Revolution although women fought to change the way they were displayed they really never succeed because of hegemonic patriarchy. Not were only women portrayed to be weak, and submissive, but men were depicted to be big, and in control. Men were the dominant figure and always the stronger person. In Juno, the female and male roles are reverse. Paulie Bleeker is portrayed as the weak and skinny one and Juno is the dominant, strong and self sufficient. This also shows how the gender roles have change.
The author of Juno does a good presentation of the character Juno displaying a strong young female extremely defined by their interest in romance and not sexually objectified “in a visual era lacking widespread representations of strong youth female characters (Willis).” The way Juno, who is not depicted as being a sexually active person, later becomes sexual involved with her friend. The way Juno is portrayed as a female character that is not overtly sexualized starts with her basic appearance. “Rather than a stereotypical depiction of the female body as a sexual object, sexual desire is visibly expressed and acted upon by the girl character (Willis).” The fact that Juno was the one to initiate the sexual contact with Paulie challenges the traditional beliefs of gender roles in the area of teenage sexuality. In the movie Juno, teenage pregnancy is also being displayed almost positive way. There is no finger pointing or shame for being a pregnant teenager. In other media, pregnancy is displayed showing some kind of negative effect. The way media shows any kind of issue is usually a direct reflection of social values. Now the question remains, does media influence the way we think regard teenage pregnancy, or is it a correct reflection of our changing attitudes? I believe that the media influences the way we think of any issue in this case, teen pregnancy. While it is pointed out all the instances of teenage pregnancy in recent years of popular culture, “Movies like Knocked Up and Waitress, and celebrity moms including Nicole Richie and Jessica Alba are part of a trend that is sweeping teen culture (Wills).” We end up changing our morals because media is constantly bombarding us with controversial topic such teenage pregnancy.
Juno decides to avoid traditional family roles and still gives her child to Vanessa, even though she and Mark are divorcing. Traditional family roles are changing. Now we see women undergoing medical procedures to become a mother without a father. The fact the men have always been in charge of everything has change. “It is the fundamental Ideology of patriarchal that men are masculine and are privileged over women and femininity (Gender 204).” In Juno, Juno makes the decision of everything. She initials the sex, she decides what to with the pregnancy, although, she does ask Paulie for his opinion, at the end she left alone to step up and fix the problem alone without a partner.
In the film that author tries to disguise the lack of traditional values in American families by showing how Juno wants a “family” for the baby, when she decided to do a “good” by giving the baby for adoption and not having an abortion, and the family support she gets. Being sexually active at an early age have become a popular thing but why not educate teenagers through films on how to have safe sex and avoid an unplanned pregnancy.
It is not unusual to see a single working mother nowadays, especially more so now than thirty years ago. Even single working mothers are shown more frequently in the media such as in Gilmore Girls and the new show Parenthood. The examples of traditional family roles being challenged by Juno is when she gives Vanessa her baby, is a positive representation of unwanted teenage pregnancy, and showing casual sex between teenagers, it is clear that the release of Juno opens the doors for TV shows and changes the dominant ideology reflecting the change in social attitudes regarding teenage pregnancy and gender roles. I believe that media is strong tool and that it does influence in the way out future generation thinks. Films such as Juno do influence teenagers. According to the New York Times, “The birth rate among teenagers 15 to 19 in the United States rose 3 percent in 2006, the first such increase since 1991 (Harris, 2007)”. We just need to remember, “today our children are not brought up by parents, they are brought up by the mass media (mead).”

Works Cited Cathy, Gulli, Lunau Kate, MacQueen Ken, and McKinnell Junia. "Suddenly Teen Pregnancy Is Cool?" Maclean 's 121.3 (208). Ebscohost.com. 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.
Driscoll, Catherine. "Girls: Feminine Adolescence in Popular Culture and Cultural Theory. New York: Columbia" UP, 2002. Print.
“As Margaret Mead”: In a speech at Richland College in Dallas Texas, on February 24, 1977.
McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and Youth Culture. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Harris, Gardiner Teenage Birth Rate Rises for First Time Since ’91 , New York Times, NY, Dec 2007.
Willis, Jessica L. "Sexual Subjectivity: A Semiotic Analysis of Girlhood, Sex and Sexuality in the Film Juno." Springer Science + Business Media (2008). Ebscohost.com. 27 Sept. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.

Cited: Cathy, Gulli, Lunau Kate, MacQueen Ken, and McKinnell Junia. "Suddenly Teen Pregnancy Is Cool?" Maclean 's 121.3 (208). Ebscohost.com. 28 Jan. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2010. Driscoll, Catherine. "Girls: Feminine Adolescence in Popular Culture and Cultural Theory. New York: Columbia" UP, 2002. Print. “As Margaret Mead”: In a speech at Richland College in Dallas Texas, on February 24, 1977. McRobbie, Angela. Feminism and Youth Culture. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Harris, Gardiner Teenage Birth Rate Rises for First Time Since ’91 , New York Times, NY, Dec 2007. Willis, Jessica L. "Sexual Subjectivity: A Semiotic Analysis of Girlhood, Sex and Sexuality in the Film Juno." Springer Science + Business Media (2008). Ebscohost.com. 27 Sept. 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2010.