Juno

How does this film deal with this particular 'rite of passage'? Does anything surprise you about the way the film deals with teenage pregnancy? Why?

This film deals with it’s rite of passage in a comical light. This idea is supported by the fat that the soundtrack that plays is quite comical instead of dramatic and serious. This surprises me because I would generally expect this issue to be tackled with a more serious approach. Eve when Juno was telling her parents she was pregnant they seemed relaxed abut it and they were even having a conversation about how they expected her to tell them something other than she’s pregnant. I would have expected her parents to be furious because having a baby especially at a young age is a big deal. The character Juno seems like an average girl while the father of the baby Paul seems like a geek and an unlikely couple. People generally stereotype young girls who get pregnant to be w/c and sluttish, which is the type of character that is displayed in other films that have covered the same issue e.g. riding in cars with boys. Although the film has a comical approach to it; it’s evident that it does deal with teenage pregnancy in a serious manner sometimes e.g. we see a mid-shot of Juno crying in a car. I think a comical approach is used in this film in order for the audience to see pregnancy from Juno’s perspective. This makes the audience connect with Juno and her hardships more.