juno movie review essay

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Jason Reitman's "Juno" is just about the best movie of the year. It is very smart, very funny and very touching; it begins with the pacing of a screwball comedy and ends as a portrait of characters we have come to love. Strange, how during Juno's hip dialogue and cocky bravado, we begin to understand the young woman inside, and we want to hug her.

Has there been a better performance this year than Ellen Page 's creation of Juno? I don't think so. If most actors agree that comedy is harder than drama, then harder still is comedy depending on a quick mind, utter self-confidence, and an ability to stop just short of going too far. Page's presence and timing are extraordinary. I have seen her in only two films, she is only 20, and I think she will be one of the great actors of her time.

But don't let my praise get in the way of sharing how much fun this movie is. It is so very rare to sit with an audience that leans forward with delight and is in step with every turn and surprise of an uncommonly intelligent screenplay. It is so rare to hear laughter that is surprised, unexpected and delighted. So rare to hear it coming during moments of recognition, when characters reflect exactly what we'd be thinking, just a moment before we get around to thinking it. So rare to feel the audience joined into one warm, shared enjoyment. So rare to hear a movie applauded.

Ellen Page plays Juno MacGuff, a 16-year-old girl who decides it is time for her to experience sex and enlists her best friend Paulie ( Michael Cera ) in an experiment he is not too eager to join. Of course she gets pregnant, and after a trip to an abortion clinic that leaves her cold, she decides to have the child. But what to do with it? She believes she's too young to raise it herself. Her best girlfriend Leah (Olivia Thirby) suggests looking at the ads for adoptive parents in the Penny Saver: "They have 'Desperately Seeking Spawn,' right next to the pet ads."

Juno informs her parents in a scene that decisively establishes how original this film is going to be. It does that by giving us almost the only lovable parents in the history of teen comedies: Bren ( Allison Janney ) and Mac (J.K. Simmons). They're older and wiser than most teen parents are ever allowed to be, and warmer and with better instincts and quicker senses of humor. Informed that the sheepish Paulie is the father, Mac turns to his wife and shares an aside that brings down the house. Later, Bren tells him, "You know, of course, it wasn't his idea." How infinitely more human and civilized their response is than all the sad routine "humor" about parents who are enraged at boyfriends.

Mac goes with Juno to meet the would-be adoptive parents, Vanessa and Mark Loring ( Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman ). They live in one of those houses that look like Martha Stewart finished a second before they arrived. Vanessa is consumed with her desire for a child, and Mark is almost a child himself, showing Juno "my room," where he keeps the residue of his ambition to be a rock star. What he does now, at around 40, is write jingles for commercials.

We follow Juno through all nine months of her pregnancy, which she pretends to treat as mostly an inconvenience. It is uncanny how Page shows us, without seeming to show us, the deeper feelings beneath Juno's wisecracking exterior. The screenplay by first-timer Diablo Cody is a subtle masterpiece of construction, as buried themes slowly emerge, hidden feelings become clear, and we are led, but not too far, into wondering if Mark and Juno might possibly develop unwise feelings about one another.

There are moments of instinctive, lightning comedy: Bren's response to a nurse's attitude during Juno's sonar scan, and her theory about doctors when Juno wants a pain-killer during childbirth. Moments that blindside us with truth, as when Mac and Juno talk about the possibility of true and lasting love. Moments that reveal Paulie as more than he seems. What he says when Juno says he's cool and doesn't even need to try. And the breathtaking scene when Juno and Vanessa run into each other in the mall and the future of everyone is essentially decided. Jennifer Garner glows in that scene.

After three viewings, I feel like I know some scenes by heart, but I don't want to spoil your experience by quoting one-liners and revealing surprises. The film's surprises, in any event, involve not merely the plot but insights into the characters, including feelings that coil along just beneath the surface so that they seem inevitable when they're revealed.

The film has no wrong scenes and no extra scenes, and flows like running water. There are two repeating motifs: the enchanting songs, so simple and true, by Kimya Dawson. And the seasonal appearances of Paulie's high school cross-country team, running past us with dogged consistency, Paulie often bringing up the rear, until his last run ends with Paulie, sweaty in running shorts, racing to Juno's room after her delivery.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film Credits

Juno (2007)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language

Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff

Michael Cera as Paulie Bleeker

Jason Bateman as Mark Loring

Allison Janney as Bren MacGuff

J.K. Simmons as Mac MacGuff

Directed by

• Jason Reitman
• Diablo Cody

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Movie Review | 'Juno'

Seeking Mr. and Mrs. Right for a Baby on the Way

By A.O. Scott

• Dec. 5, 2007

Juno MacGuff, the title character of Jason Reitman’s new film, is 16 and pregnant, but “Juno” could not be further from the kind of hand-wringing, moralizing melodrama that such a condition might suggest. Juno, played by the poised, frighteningly talented Ellen Page , is too odd and too smart to be either a case study or the object of leering disapproval. She assesses her problem, and weighs her response to it, with disconcerting sang-froid.

It’s not that Juno treats her pregnancy as a joke, but rather that in the sardonic spirit of the screenwriter, Diablo Cody, she can’t help finding humor in it. Tiny of frame and huge of belly, Juno utters wisecracks as if they were breathing exercises, referring to herself as “the cautionary whale.”

At first her sarcasm is bracing and also a bit jarring — “Hello, I’d like to procure a hasty abortion,” she says when she calls a women’s health clinic — but as “Juno” follows her from pregnancy test to delivery room (and hastily retreats from the prospect of abortion), it takes on surprising delicacy and emotional depth. The snappy one-liners are a brilliant distraction, Ms. Cody’s way of clearing your throat for the lump you’re likely to find there in the movie’s last scenes.

The first time I saw “Juno,” I was shocked to find myself tearing up at the end, since I’d spent the first 15 minutes or so gnashing my teeth and checking my watch. The passive-aggressive pseudo-folk songs, the self-consciously clever dialogue, the generic, instantly mockable suburban setting — if you can find Sundance on a map, you’ll swear you’ve been here before.

But “Juno” (which played at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals, not the one in Park City, Utah) respects the idiosyncrasies of its characters rather than exaggerating them or holding them up for ridicule. And like Juno herself, the film outgrows its own mannerisms and defenses, evolving from a coy, knowing farce into a heartfelt, serious comedy.

A good deal of the credit for this goes to Ms. Page, a 20-year-old Canadian who is able to seem, in the space of a single scene, mature beyond her years and disarmingly childlike. The naïveté that peeks through her flippant, wised-up facade is essential, since part of the movie’s point is that Juno is not quite as smart or as capable as she thinks she is.

It’s not simply that she has impulsive, unprotected sex with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), or that she decides, against the advice of parents and friends, to have the baby and give it up for adoption. These, indeed, are choices she is prepared to defend and to live with. Rather, Juno’s immaturity resides in her familiar adolescent assumption that she understands the world better than her elders do, and that she can finesse the unintended consequences of her decisions.

The grown-ups, at first, seem like familiar caricatures of adolescent-centered cinema: square, sad and clueless. But Juno’s father (J. K. Simmons) and step-mother (Allison Janney) turn out to be complicated, intelligent people, too, and not just because they are played by two of the best character actors around. Ms. Cody’s script and Mr. Reitman’s understated, observant direction allow the personalities of the characters to emerge slowly, and to change in credible and unpredictable ways.

This is especially true of Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa (Jennifer Garner), the baby’s potential adoptive parents. The audience’s initial impression of them, like Juno’s, is of stereotypically smug yuppies trapped in rickety conventions of heterosexual domesticity. Vanessa is uptight and materialistic, while Mark tends the guttering flame of his youthful hipness, watching cult horror movies and trading alternative-rock mix CDs with Juno.

Juno is, on the surface at least, a familiar type, surrounding herself with and expressing herself by means of kitschy consumer detritus (she calls the clinic on a hamburger phone) and pop cultural ephemera. She could be the hero of a Judd Apatow comedy (like, say, Mr. Cera, the boneless wonder of “Superbad” and a purely delightful presence here). Except, of course, that she’s female. Ms. Cody, Mr. Reitman and Ms. Page have conspired, intentionally or not, to produce a feminist, girl-powered rejoinder and complement to “Knocked Up.” Despite what most products of the Hollywood comedy boys’ club would have you believe, it is possible to possess both a uterus and a sense of humor.

“Juno” also shares with “Knocked Up” an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood. It follows its heroine — and by the end she has earned that title — on a twisty path toward responsibility and greater self-understanding.

This is the course followed by most coming-of-age stories, though not many are so daring in their treatment of teenage pregnancy, which this film flirts with presenting not just as bearable but attractive. Kids, please! Heed the cautionary whale. But in the meantime, have a good time at “Juno.” Bring your parents, too.

“Juno” is, somewhat remarkably, rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has sexual situations, obviously, but no nudity or violence and not much swearing.

Opens today in New York and Los Angeles.

Directed by Jason Reitman; written by Diablo Cody; director of photography, Eric Steelberg; edited by Dana E. Glauberman; music by Mateo Messina; production designer, Steve Saklad; produced by Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick and Russell Smith; released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 31 minutes.

WITH: Ellen Page (Juno MacGuff), Michael Cera (Paulie Bleeker), Jennifer Garner (Vanessa Loring), Jason Bateman (Mark Loring), Allison Janney (Bren MacGuff), J. K. Simmons (Mac MacGuff) and Olivia Thirlby (Leah).

I Just Rewatched Juno — Here's How It Holds Up In A Post- Roe World

Some critics have deemed the film anti-choice, but it's a bit more nuanced than that.

Let's go back in time to late 2007, when a fictional precocious pregnant teen named Juno won over the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. I was the exact target demographic for the Oscar-winning indie hit, as I'd just finished up my first semester of freshman year at a liberal arts school filled with Juno MacGuff-like hipsters when it hit the big screen.

Though I never quite had her signature tongue-in-cheek vocabulary or an unplanned teen pregnancy to contend with, I was curious to see how Juno holds up now that it's as old as the teen characters in the film, particularly with regards to how it handled abortion — especially in a post- Roe world , when safe and equitable abortion access is becoming increasingly unavailable to patients across the country.

A Quick Recap

Juno stars Elliot Page as the titular character who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant at 16 after one awkward sexual encounter with her crush, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She opts to have an abortion at first, changing her mind when she crosses a fellow classmate protesting at the abortion clinic proclaiming that "All babies want to get borned!" The classmate also tells Juno that her baby has both a heartbeat and fingernails — despite knowing nothing about how far along Juno is in her pregnancy — prompting her to run out of the clinic before having the procedure done.

With the support of her best friend, Juno tells her dad and stepmom (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) that she's planning to give the baby up for adoption and has found the perfect couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner — side note: I'd forgotten how stacked with talent this movie is).

Vanessa clearly longs for a baby, but Mark's apprehension becomes apparent pretty quickly. Without spoiling a movie 16 years after its release, the ending is unexpected, heartfelt, and more sugary than the massive jug of Sunny Delight Juno downs at the start of the movie to make herself pee for multiple pregnancy tests.

Cultural Touchpoints

Though teen pregnancy has been a topic in movies and TV shows for decades, it's worth mentioning the point in culture at which Juno was released in order to understand the framework set by the story. Juno came out six months after Knocked Up — which famously didn't even offer abortion as an option for the pregnant lead character — and on the heels of shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and 16 and Pregnant , which ranged from thinly veiled pro-life messaging (the former) and exploitative voyeurism (the latter).

Coincidentally, the moral panic of teen pregnancy hit a fever pitch the week of Juno's theatrical release. Days before the movie's premiere, Jamie Lynn Spears, then 16, announced she was pregnant with her first child, ushering a tabloid frenzy that dominated headlines for months. At the time, the teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. was also on the rise , making the film culturally relevant in more ways than one.

The Test of Time

If you can get past the fact that Juno is aggressively 2007 in its styling, quirky-by-design dialogue, and painfully twee soundtrack, what remains is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age story worth revisiting in present-day times.

That said, there's plenty of cringe, including a xenophobic remark: Juno telling her prospective adoptive parents they "should've gone to China" because "they give away babies like free iPods." There's also some casual slut-shaming, such as when Juno's (mostly) well-meaning dad tells her he didn't think she was "that kind of girl." Her ultrasound technician also slut-shames her, but Juno's stepmom and best friend swiftly come to her defense.

The film also doesn't adequately address the predatory vibes given off by Mark, the prospective adoptive father, who hits on 16-year-old Juno pretty heavily every time he's not under the watchful eye of his wife. Mark is treated as the villain in the story, but not for hitting on a child — instead for being an unsupportive husband.

The Abortion Question

As for how the film handles abortion, it seems up for interpretation. One could argue that Juno exercised autonomy over her body by choosing to carry out her pregnancy and fulfill the dreams of someone longing for a child. You could also argue that she decided to go ahead with her pregnancy not of her own free will but out of fear after what her protesting classmate said to her at the clinic. Of course, Juno would be an entirely different film if she had gone through with an abortion.

All in all, it's an incredibly realistic portrayal of how a teenager might feel in the face of an unexpected pregnancy: overwhelmed and easily swayed by the messages they're receiving from those around them. The scene at the abortion clinic is also painfully accurate — the M.O. of pro-life protesters is to be coercive and manipulative towards pregnant patients who might be in an incredibly vulnerable state.

Elliot Page and Diablo Cody's Thoughts

In 2022, Juno marked its 15-year anniversary. In separate interviews, Page and Diablo Cody, the film's screenwriter, reflected on their experiences and how they feel about it now. Page told Esquire that he felt uncomfortable around the film's release due to his gender dysphoria, and that being forced to wear dresses at promotional events "literally did almost kill" him.

Page acknowledged that "people, especially teenage girls, really responded to" the character of Juno, adding, "I wish I could go back and experience it now. As me."

Cody is less forgiving in her reflection, telling The Hollywood Reporter she "never intended the movie as any kind of political statement at all." At the time, it simply had never occurred to her that her "reproductive rights could be in danger."

"I am emphatically pro-choice and have been my entire life. And it is important to me to make that clear," she added. "I can understand why people would misunderstand the movie. Looking back at it, I can see how it could be perceived as anti-choice. And that horrifies me."

She continued, "Back in 2008, I got a letter from some administrator at my Catholic high school thanking me for writing a movie that was in line with the school's values. And I was like: 'What have I done?' My objective as an artist is to be a traitor to that culture, not to uplift it."

In fact, it was Cody's Catholic upbringing that inspired her to write the abortion clinic scene, but she said "the last thing I would ever want is for someone to interpret the movie as anti-choice. That is a huge paranoia of mine."

Though Cody herself might not revisit the film, it certainly has re-watch value if you need a hefty dose of saccharine nostalgia. Here's hoping the complexities of abortion and unplanned pregnancy can continue to be tackled in a way that is sensitive to the topics and understanding of the nuances, without shame or judgment, no matter someone's choice. (And yes, every pregnant person should have the freedom to choose what they do with their own body, no matter what certain lawmakers think.)

I also still kind of want a hamburger phone , so there's that, too.

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Movie Review: Juno (2007)

• General Disdain
• Movie Reviews
• 5 responses
• --> January 16, 2008

I’m late with the movie review, I know. I’ve resisted seeing Juno because I had trouble visualizing a female Napoleon Dynamite -like character. Could the bizarre, backwards character immortalized by Jon Heder be improved upon? Should it even have been attempted? The answers to those questions are: It certainly can be improved upon (most everything can be); and No, it shouldn’t have been attempted, but I’m glad Jason Reitman took the chance. He’s made his poppa, Ivan Reitman, proud with this dark comedy.

It turns out, Juno is a marvelously told story and I shouldn’t have waited so long to see it. It’s about a odd, smarter-beyond-her-years (which makes her an outcast), 16-year old girl, Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who, in a moment of weakness, gets herself pregnant by pencil-thin, track star Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). Acting with nonchalance, which is how she generally carriers herself, she seeks to undo the deed quietly, by getting an abortion. That plan goes to hell – she claims it’s because of little aggravations (the clinic smells, old magazines in the waiting room) but it’s clear the real reason is because she learns fetuses have fingernails and beating hearts. It’s our first glimpse through her wise-ass exterior. Plan B, is to have the baby and find adoptive parents. After gaining the confidence of her friend, Leah (Olivia Thirby), she musters the courage to tell her parents Mac (J.K. Simmons) and Bren (Allison Janney). With their support and 30 seconds of searching through the local Penny Saver newspaper, she settles upon Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), a young, yuppie couple from a town far removed from her own.

With the cast of characters solidified, we follow Juno through her pregnancy (marked by 4 seasonal Acts). Reitman deftly captures breakout moments that bring us closer to the hearts of the young girl and her immediate support network. Several scenes really standout – her first ultrasound, where it finally hits her that there is a life in her body and where her mom steadfastly defends her against a holier-than-thou technician; the seemingly inappropriate meetings with Mark, where it becomes apparent that Juno is actually more of an adult than he is; the moment when Vanessa coaxes the baby to kick for her; and when Juno finally realizes she has deeper feelings for Paulie and he reciprocates. Connecting these moments is the razor-sharp writing by first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody and one hell of a catchy soundtrack consisting mostly of indie/folk music performed by Kimya Dawson.

But the standout of Juno is Ellen Page, who acts well-beyond her years. I can’t fathom how her performance here doesn’t garner her an Oscar nomination. The role of the cool, indifferent Juno MacGuff would certainly have been unlikable and would have floundered without Ellen’s instincts and comedic timing. Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman show the working relationship they had in The Kingdom wasn’t a fluke. Both put on a good show playing the adoptive parents with different points of view – one in nesting mode and one in flight mode.

The only gripe I have about the film, is that while the writing is high caliber, there were just too many attempts to make the characters hip and in vogue while at the same time trying like hell to maintain them as outcasts. Case in point: the dialogue. Every other word out of Juno’s mouth is obscure and fashionable – I’ve yet to meet anyone from the real world who actually speaks like that and if I did, I’d tell them to stop. Immediately.

Aside from that minor inconvenience, Juno is a movie you should take the time to check out, if you haven’t already. It takes a serious subject (teen pregnancy, if you’ve forgotten) and makes it non-preachy and funny, in a higher brow sort of way. It is very much recommended.

I'm an old, miserable fart set in his ways. Some of the things that bring a smile to my face are (in no particular order): Teenage back acne, the rain on my face, long walks on the beach and redneck women named Francis. Oh yeah, I like to watch and criticize movies.

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'Movie Review: Juno (2007)' have 5 comments

January 16, 2008 @ 2:53 pm blogcabins

Damn book-cover judgers. ;)

I think I compared the first 5 minutes to Napoleon, but outside of that, it really has nothing in common with the film.

It’s damn good, though.

Log in to Reply

January 16, 2008 @ 3:52 pm General Disdain

I know. I’ve chastised myself for it already!

January 16, 2008 @ 5:23 pm Amberly

What I really liked about this movie is it is sweet and touching without ever trying. I especially applauded her parents on how well they handled the whole situation. All parents should take a page out of that handbook!

January 17, 2008 @ 3:37 pm Gearhead

Like Napoleon Dynamite… it’s nice to see a teenage life film that isn’t the typical Hollywood cliché formulaic crap that anyone over 20 has seen too many times to enjoy again.

February 9, 2008 @ 7:05 pm dorian

As i first saw the poster of the Film “Juno” I thought, oh no just another teenager-movie, but this time with a pregnancy, how innovative (just ironic). How glad I am that I was wrong.

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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Ethical Dilemma — Ethical Principles In The Film Juno

Ethical Principles in The Film Juno

• Categories: Ethical Dilemma

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Words: 1292 |

Published: Aug 6, 2021

Words: 1292 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Ethical principles, impact on nursing, non-maleficence, beneficence.

• McLemore, M. R., Kools , S., & Levi , A. J. (2015). Calculus Formation: Nurses' Decision-Making in Abortion-Related Care, 223–231. doi: 10.1002/nur.21655
• Medoff, M. (2016). Pro-choice Versus Pro-Life: The Relationship Between State Abortion Policy and Child Well-Being in the United States. Health Care for Women International, 158–169. doi: 10.1080/07399332.2013.841699
• Sisson, G., Ralph, L., Gould, H., & Greene Foster, D. (2016). Adoption Decision Making among Women Seeking Abortion. Women's Health Issues, 136–144.
• Svenaeus , F. (2017). Phenomenology of pregnancy and the ethics of abortion. Med Health Care and Philos , 77–87. doi: 10.1007/s11019-017-9786-x

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Brilliant teen-pregnancy comedy, but iffy for kids.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Teens engage in premarital sex and don't appear to

Despite her jaded exterior, Juno is intelligent, r

Nothing but verbal sparring.

Plenty of talk -- this is, after all, a movie abou

Language is colorful (lots of variations on the wo

Juno drinks from a bottle of Sunny D (label clearl

Discussion of both drinking and taking drugs, but

Parents need to know that Juno is a well-written, warmhearted comedy that tackles a serious subject: teen pregnancy. It has real bite, as well as frank sex talk and some swearing, which makes it iffy for younger viewers. But there's plenty here to appeal to older teens -- not the least of which is Superbad…

Positive Messages

Teens engage in premarital sex and don't appear to treat their virginity very seriously. Serious issues like abortion are treated with irreverence. But little of it feels disrespectful; rather, it appears to reflect a general sense of hyperawareness among today's teens.

Positive Role Models

Despite her jaded exterior, Juno is intelligent, resilient, and resourceful and ultimately acts out of concern and love. Her parents are supportive, even though they're also disappointed.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Plenty of talk -- this is, after all, a movie about a teenager who gets pregnant -- but little is seen onscreen. There are flashes of a 16-year-old's bare legs and hints that she and her partner have removed their underwear, but there's no real nudity (though the boy takes his shirt off, the girl keeps hers on). Words like "humping" are bandied about to discuss hookups, some of which are described as "magnificent." A young couple kisses tenderly.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language is colorful (lots of variations on the words "s--t," as well as uses of "a--hole," "bastard," and "dick")creative ("f--ketty"), and frequent. Juno flashes the finger once.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Juno drinks from a bottle of Sunny D (label clearly visible); mentions of Smirnoff Ice, Boons, Adderall, Sonic Youth, Pellegrino, and Vitamin water. Much swooning over guitar brands like Les Paul and Fender.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Discussion of both drinking and taking drugs, but no glimpses of actual use of either. Juno mentions selling her Adderall (an ADD drug).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Juno is a well-written, warmhearted comedy that tackles a serious subject: teen pregnancy. It has real bite, as well as frank sex talk and some swearing, which makes it iffy for younger viewers. But there's plenty here to appeal to older teens -- not the least of which is Superbad 's Michael Cera , who co-stars. Unlike a lot of teen-centric Hollywood fare, the film doesn't condescend. Even its treatment of teen pregnancy, which may appear cavalier at first, comes across as sensitive and mature in the end. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (24)
• Kids say (131)

Based on 24 parent reviews

mixed feelings

What a piece of trash, what's the story.

JUNO's 16-year-old protagonist, Juno MacGuff ( Elliot Page ), is a handful: She's mouthy and opinionated, disdains authority, thinks she knows everything, pops ADD drug Adderall, and has casual sex. And if she has to take on pregnancy to complete her journey into adulthood, then so be it. After a tryst with best friend Paulie ( Michael Cera ) gets her knocked up, Juno weighs her options and decides to have the baby -- not so she can keep it, but so she can make another couple happy. Picking the right candidates doesn't take too long; she finds Yuppie pair Mark and Vanessa Loring's ( Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner ) ad in the PennySaver. After one visit, she's convinced they're the perfect grown-ups. But while Juno wrestles with how she truly feels about the experience and -- equally importantly -- about Paulie, it's clear that the adults she thinks have it all figured out may be just as lost as she is.

Is It Any Good?

Credit Page for her pitch-perfect performance as a maverick teen who's so unlike many of her peers and yet very much like them, too. Sixteen-year-old Juno is a mouthy handful, yet she's also smart and soulful, warm and witty, and she actively searches for answers -- which makes her a refreshing character amid many other movies' disinterested, disaffected teens. She's cut from Gilmore Girls cloth, older than her years but still unsure of her direction. The beauty of the movie is how relationships that initially seem clear-cut -- Juno and her parents, Juno and Vanessa, Juno and Mark, Mark and Vanessa and, finally, Juno and Paulie -- grow more complex and, as a result, more fascinating. For all her bravado, it's soon apparent that Juno really is still a kid when she tells her father, "I don't really know what kind of girl I am." She's been so distant and sardonic -- she says things like "I'm a legend. They call me the cautionary whale" -- that when she breaks down, it's all the more moving.

The rest of the cast is also strong. Jason Bateman is stupendous, and in fact, everyone appears to be on their best game. Screenwriter Diablo Cody's dialogue snaps and scores; her people sound and feel real but are infinitely more interesting than we are. The only quibble, and it's a small one, may be that Juno sometimes feels self-consciously cool. But if that's all there is to offend, then may moviegoers have more "offensive" films like this in their future.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about teen sex and pregnancy. Can you think of other movies and TV shows that have tackled these subjects? How does this film approach the topics differently?

Does Juno's journey seem realistic? What about how she handles her situation? Do you think things would be likely to work out similarly in real life?

What are your family's beliefs about teen sex ? Are teens and parents in agreement or not?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 5, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : April 15, 2008
• Cast : Elliot Page , Jason Bateman , Michael Cera
• Director : Jason Reitman
• Inclusion Information : Non-Binary actors, Queer actors, Transgender actors
• Studio : Fox Searchlight
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 92 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : mature thematic material, sexual content and language.
• Last updated : March 19, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

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Best high school movies, goofy comedy movies to watch with tweens and teens.

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Analysis of the Movie Juno

This essay will offer an analysis of the film “Juno,” focusing on its treatment of teenage pregnancy, family dynamics, and individual growth. It will discuss how the film blends humor and seriousness to address complex emotional and social themes. PapersOwl showcases more free essays that are examples of Analysis.

How it works

Jason Reitman’s film Juno is a coming of age film about a young teenage girl having to grow up quickly and learn from her own actions that resulted in a teenage pregnancy. Juan Tarancon a writer for the Cultural Studies Journal claims that Juno was released during a “time of conflicting discourses on sexual education.” (Tarancon, 1) At this time sexual education wasn’t a main priority and the youth were increasingly sexualized. Reitman’s film developed an unspoken educational purpose.

One that showed young teens their options when it came to sex and teen pregnancy. The film touches on abortion, adoption, and keeping the child, all of those are options that can be made when it comes to teen pregnancy or any pregnancy. Abortion laws in the United States in 2007 were allowed but definitely not widely accepted. Juno offered an educational insight and Reitman showed teens the possibilities of teen pregnancy. Jason Reitman is a Canadian director born on October 19, 1977. His father Ivan Reitman is also a director and gave Jason Reitman his inspiration for directing film. Jason Reitman however, wanted to be different, he turned down big budget movies for television commercials. Finally, Reitman directed Thank You for Smoking and Juno which he got praise for his use of satire that was different than his fathers. According to the Film Comment critics gave Juno a plethora of scores, some as little as one star to as high as five stars. The satirical script and subject of the movie itself may have been its down fall for certain critics, for example how female sexuality is gestated in popular western culture and this film exemplifies all that goes wrong in young teen sexuality.

What really drew Reitman to the film were the characters ‘I like that the characters defy convention and are people who make personal, as opposed to political, choices for themselves, just like in real life.’ (Lee, par. 3.) The lead actress Ellen Page went on to say that because her character was so well written it was easy for her to connect to Juno. She also labeled the success of the film on the unforgettable personalities of the characters. The movie was praised for its highly creative dialogue and how the genre of the movie typically falls into comedy. Juno takes on a seriously political topic in a satirical manner with an attempt to make no notion of any political beliefs but with an additive of comedy. The inspiration of the film lies within screenwriter Diablo Cody’s personal life. Cody based the entirety of the story on a childhood friend who became pregnant and also chose not to have an abortion. (Lee, par. 4.) Reitman however could relate to the other side of the story which was adoption. Reitman’s parents adopted a child when the director was twelve years old. (Lee, par. 4.) To many critics their connection to the story made the movie that much more believable, that they really understood their subject matter and knew how to make it come to life on screen.

The character of Juno, how well written and portrayed she was is one of the explanations to why this low budget comedic film with a neophyte screenwriter and a new to film industry director got four Oscar nominations and over 100 million in box office revenue. The budget of the film needless to say did not affect production. The film had heart in places where CGI was not needed, it was a story of a girl finding herself amidst the chaos of her life and didn’t need a multimillion-dollar budget. The film despite the budget out did itself and became a success no one working on it was expecting. Overall Juno provided numerous commodities such as education for young teens (whether they knew it or not), laughs through its comedic background, and a feel-good movie that left us all happy after the ending. Juno made us all grow up quickly and follow the characters on a frustrating yet rewarding journey full of love, family, and life decisions.

Works Cited

• “Critics’ Choice.” Film Comment, vol. 44, no. 1, 2008, pp. 12–12. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43458884.
• “Jason Reitman.” Biography, 2019, pp. 1-2. A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, https://www.biography.com/people/jason-reitman-267538
• Juan Antonio Tarancón (2012) Juno (Jason Retiman, 2007): A Practical Case Study of Teens, Film and Cultural Studies, Cultural Studies, 26:4, 442-468, DOI: 10.1080/09502386.2011.591496
• Willis, J.L. Sexuality & Culture (2008) 12: 240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-008-9035-9
• Lee, Nicola. “Juno.” BeThinking, 2008, pp. 1-2 CULTUREWATCH, https://www.bethinking.org/culture/juno 

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One of the brightest, funniest comedies of the year, Juno 's smart script and direction are matched by assured performances in a coming-of-age story with a 21st century twist.

Critics Reviews

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Jason Reitman

Elliot Page

Juno MacGuff

Michael Cera

Paulie Bleeker

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by Jason Reitman

Juno themes, teen pregnancy.

This film’s main theme is teen pregnancy. The title character, Juno, gets pregnant and must deal with it from the very beginning of the film. While the theme of teen pregnancy is usually dealt with moralistically and tragically, Juno portrays the experience straightforwardly; it is not uncomplicated, but it is also not damning or catastrophic, necessarily. Instead of glorifying or demonizing teen pregnancy, screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote a story about people who choose to endure through a difficult situation. While Juno approaches her plight rather glibly at the start, as the film progresses, her pregnancy makes her life more and more complicated, as she is socially ostracized and must navigate the personal problems of the adoptive parents.

When she first meets Mark and Vanessa, Juno wanders off with Mark into his den to examine his guitars, even though they are in the middle of a meeting with the lawyer who is handling the adoption. Then when Juno goes over to show Mark and Vanessa the ultrasound of their future child, Vanessa isn’t home, and Juno spends the afternoon listening to music and watching movies with Mark. Juno’s stepmom and Bleeker both comment on the odd intimacy of Juno's relationship with Mark. Bleeker saying that it was weird for her to go there and Juno’s stepmom tells her that there are boundaries that you don’t cross when you’re married. Juno doesn’t see it this way and continues to go to hang out with Mark, even calling him to check in. While they each find an intimacy and closeness that they are looking for, Juno and Mark transgress some boundaries in one another's lives that are better left uncrossed. This is because of their positions in one another's lives—adoptive father and birth mother—their age difference, and the fact that Mark is married and Juno is single. Thus, a major theme of the film is boundaries, and the lines that ought not to be crossed.

Adult/Teenage Communication

A major theme in this film is how adults and teenagers communicate with each other. From the start we see an adult store clerk call Juno “Fertile Myrtle” as he knows she’s pregnant, which sets us up for the fact that often, adults are just as much of a mess as the teenagers they purport to be smarter than. There are many times when Juno is far wiser than the adult(s) she is speaking to, and other times when she’s out of her league in understanding what’s going on (as in the case of her crossing boundaries with Mark). When the ultrasound technician offhandedly comments on the fact that Juno is not ready to be a mother, Bren runs to Juno's defense, urging the technician not to judge someone based solely on their age and experience when she knows nothing about Juno. This moment shows that adults and teenagers have different experience levels, but that age is not defining in terms of wisdom or ethics.

The film regularly flips between mature and immature modes of communication. When Juno tells Bleeker she loves him, they share a rather adult conversation, before Bleeker abruptly asks her if they can "make out now." This shows two teenagers being very mature one moment, before reverting back to being teenagers again.

As much as Juno de-stigmatizes teen pregnancy, presenting it as a straightforward event rather than a terrifying cause for alarm, it also de-stigmatizes the process of adoption. As we watch Juno vet whether Vanessa and Mark are suitable parents for her unborn child, we effectively learn more about the process of choosing to adopt or give up a child for adoption. Juno approaches the process very straightforwardly; she knows she is not up to the task of raising a child, and so wants to give the child a good home with people who can look after it. Vanessa is so eager to be a mother that Juno is confident in her choice to make her the adoptive mother. While Vanessa may be uptight and type-A, in contrast to Juno's more casual and snarky demeanor, she is surely going to be an excellent mother. The film shows that motherhood is not simply about biology but also about human behavior and the desire to mother. It shows that Vanessa qualifies to be the baby's mother precisely because she wants to be and because Juno is willing to give her that role. This serves to demystify adoption for viewers who do not have firsthand experience with the process.

After she leaves Vanessa and Mark's house in tears, Mark having told Vanessa that he doesn't want to be together anymore, Juno goes home to her father and asks him to tell her some comforting things about love's ability to endure. This also comes on the heels of the fact that Juno's true love, Paulie Bleeker, has asked another girl to the prom. A child of divorce, Juno has a precarious and strained notion of romantic longevity, and vulnerably asks her father to convince her that lifelong love is possible. He tells her, "Look, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person is still going to think the sun shines out your ass. That's the kind of person that's worth sticking with." The film defines love as the feelings shared between two people who have an unconditional admiration for one another, which makes Juno realize that she loves Paulie Bleeker. She sets to work to win him back, and they profess their love for one another on the track at school.

Being a Misfit

Even before she is pregnant and walking down the halls of her high school with a pregnant belly, Juno is a misfit at her school. In some ways, this makes her have a more straightforward and unbothered relationship to being the pregnant girl in her class, as she already knows what it's like to feel different. Her difference is a point of pride for Juno, and she embraces her incompatibility with the mainstream with the relish of a high school punk. She listens to the Stooges and watches horror movies, loves playing in a band, and uses a hamburger phone. Indeed, even when she is bullied at school, she recognizes that the reasons she is ostracized are also the reasons she is special. When a jock insults her looks, she thinks to herself, "The funny thing is that Steve Rendazo secretly wants me. Jocks like him always want freaky girls. Girls with horn-rimmed glasses and vegan footwear and goth makeup. Girls who play the cello and wear Converse All-Stars and want to be children's librarians when they grow up. Oh yeah, jocks eat that shit up." Juno is proud of her quirkiness and her status as an outsider, because she realizes that this is what makes her special.

Home and Family

Juno comes from a non-traditional family. Her dad has remarried a woman that she doesn't have much of a relationship with, her mother is on a reservation and never sees her, and she spends more time out of the house than in her room. When she meets Mark and Vanessa, she gets a glimpse of the ideal nuclear family, an attractive, affluent couple living in a large house with a lot of resources and a seemingly steady love life. Juno wants to give her child the stability that she didn't have. This all comes crashing down, however, when Mark reveals that he doesn't want a baby and that he's fallen out of love with Vanessa. Vanessa is certainly heartbroken by this revelation, but it is Juno who takes it the hardest. She yells at Mark, “I want things to be perfect. I don’t want things to be shitty and broken like everyone else’s family!” Ultimately, Mark and Vanessa prove to be less than ideal, but in this dissolution, Juno realizes that the image of the perfect family is a mirage, and that she can still hand her child over to Vanessa, even though she will be raising the baby on her own. Family is a complicated organism, Juno learns, and it can't just be cookie cutter perfect. A major part of Juno's journey is her realization that the imperfect family can be perfect in its own way and that, as she narrates upon returning home that night, “I never realize how much I like being home unless I’ve been somewhere really different for awhile.” A major theme of the film is embracing one's home and family, and finding ways not to take it for granted.

Juno Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Juno is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Your question is from the film?

different experiences in pregnancy (Female vs Male)

Although Juno is confused over her pregnancy, she always has a voice and is free with her emotions. The father of Juno's child, as well as Juno's best friend and long-time admirer, Paulie is a sensitive, gentle, genuinely caring, but timid soul....

I'm not sure what is typical respnse to a pregnancy would be. I think Juno is a unique individual: that is the main attraction to the movie. an outspoken, witty sixteen-year-old with a clear rebellious streak. She can come off as abrasive because...

Study Guide for Juno

Juno study guide contains a biography of Jason Reitman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• Juno Summary
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for Juno

Juno essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Juno by Jason Reitman.

• Ethical Matters in the Film Juno
• Womanhood and Family: Challenging Cultural Values in Juno

Wikipedia Entries for Juno

• Introduction

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

• Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.
• A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the PennySaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno's plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker? — <[email protected]>
• When precocious teen Juno MacGuff becomes pregnant, she chooses a failed rock star and his wife to adopt her unborn child. Complications occur when Mark, the prospective father, begins viewing Juno as more than just the mother of his future child, putting both his marriage and the adoption in jeopardy. — Jwelch5742
• It started with a chair and two teens. Juno, 16 years old is now pregnant. With the thought of an abortion she quickly changes her mind and decides to keep her baby and put the baby up for adoption. Juno found a lovely couple in the Penny Saver looking to be parents. She contacts the family and discusses the adoption. Throughout her 9 months of pregnancy Juno has some challenges standing in her way.
• Elk River, Minnesota. After a sweet one-time tryst with best friend Paulie Bleeker, 16-year-old Juno MacGuff is about to discover what pregnant women face. And as Juno assesses the situation, slowly turning into a cautionary whale, she summons the courage to go through with the pregnancy. Then, she'll give the baby up for adoption to Mark and Vanessa Loring, a childless yuppie couple. Now, there's no turning back. However, has Juno picked the right grown-ups? What happens if the Lorings are far from perfect? — Nick Riganas
• Sixteen-year-old Minnesota high-school student Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) discovers she is pregnant with a child fathered by her friend and longtime admirer, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). One day they both gave in to their passion to discover each other's bodies and had sex in her chair. Rollo (Rainn Wilson) is the convenience store clerk where Juno buys a pregnancy test and uses the store's bathroom to confirm her pregnancy. Leah (Olivia Thirlby) is Juno's best friend. With the help of Leah, Juno takes the chair and sets it outside Paulie's home. When Paulie comes out for his morning run, she tells him that she is pregnant. Paulie is shocked and asks what Juno wants to do. She initially considers an abortion. Going to a local clinic run by a women's group, she encounters outside a school mate Su-Chin (Valerie Tian) who is holding a rather pathetic one-person Pro-Life vigil. Once inside, however, Juno is alienated by the clinic staff's authoritarian and bureaucratic attitudes. She is given a long form to list down each and every one of her sexual encounters. It smelled like a dentist's office, and they had these horrible magazines with water stains. She is particularly offended by their calling her "sexually active", a term which she feels demeans the highly emotional event by which she became pregnant. All of this decides her against abortion, and she decides to give the baby up for adoption. With the help of her friend Leah, Juno searches the ads in the Pennysaver and finds a couple she feels will provide a suitable home. The couple agrees to pay her medical expenses and seem perfect and beautiful to Juno. They have been trying to have a kid for 5 years. She tells her parents, Mac (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother, Bren (Allison Janney), who offer their support. Mac is divorced from Juno's mother, who lives in Texas with her husband and his 3 kids. Mac used to be in the army, but now works for H-Vac. Bren owns a nail salon and is obsessed with dogs. Bren is incredibly supportive and puts Juno on Pre-natal medications and takes accountability for her and her baby's health. With Mac, Juno meets the couple, Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner), in their expensive home and agrees to a closed adoption. Juno agrees to give up all rights to the baby once she hands it over to Mark and Vanessa. She refuses any additional compensation and says that she wants the baby to be with people who will love and care for it. Vanessa comes across as very sincere and very desperate for the baby. Juno visits Mark a few times, with whom she shares tastes in punk rock and horror films. Mark, who has set aside his rock band youth (now confined to memorabilia displayed in the one room of the house that Vanessa has designated for Mark's personal belongings), works at home composing commercial jingles. Vanessa tells Juno that they went through a situation before where the birth mother got cold feet at the last minute and backed out of the whole process. Juno promises not to do that. Bren warns Juno that Mark is a married man and that she should not visit him without prior intimation, so Vanessa can be around. Juno and Leah happen to see Vanessa in a shopping mall being completely at ease with a child, and Juno encourages Vanessa to talk to her baby in the womb, where it obligingly kicks for her. Juno can see that Vanessa is totally invested in the baby and cannot wait for it to be born. As the pregnancy progresses, Juno struggles with the emotions she feels for the baby's father, Paulie, who is clearly in love with Juno. Juno maintains an outwardly indifferent attitude toward Paulie, but when she learns he has asked another girl to the upcoming prom, she angrily confronts him. The guys had planned to go from Benihana, to the prom, to Vijay's parents' cabin. Leah says that boys have endured more to have sex with a girl. Paulie reminds Juno that it is at her request they remain distant and tells her that she broke his heart. Not long before her baby is due, Juno is again visiting Mark when their interaction becomes emotional. Mark then tells her he will be leaving Vanessa. Juno is horrified by this revelation, with Mark asking Juno "how do you think of me". Now, Juno thought of Mark only as her friend, so this question from Mark comes to her as a total shock. Vanessa arrives home, and Mark tells her he does not feel ready to be a father and there are still things he wants to do first. Juno watches the Loring marriage fall apart, then drives away and breaks down in tears by the side of the road. Returning to the Lorings' home, she leaves a note and disappears as they answer the door. After a heartfelt discussion with Mac, Juno accepts that she loves Paulie. Juno then tells Paulie she loves him, and Paulie's actions make it clear her feelings are very much reciprocated. Not long after, Juno goes into labor and is rushed to the hospital, where she gives birth to a baby boy. She had deliberately not told Paulie because of his track meet. Seeing her missing from the stands, Paulie rushes to the hospital, finds Juno has given birth to their son, and comforts Juno as she cries. Vanessa comes to the hospital where she joyfully claims the newborn boy as a single adoptive mother. On the wall in the baby's new nursery, Vanessa has framed Juno's note, which reads: "Vanessa: If you're still in, I'm still in. -Juno." The film ends in the summertime with Juno and Paulie playing guitar and singing together, followed by a kiss.

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Cultures, Leadership, and Decision-Making of Ethical Issues - Juno Movie Review

A former student at Simmons University thoughtfully contributed to this Analysis Of The Movie Juno. This example is a typical representation of the movie review topic, presented in its original form, with all grammar preserved. It is published to aid and inspire students to write their own analysis of the movie "Juno."

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Juno Movie Analysis Essay: Table of Contents

Introduction

Ethical issues in "juno", cultural values and diversity, leadership and decision-making in the protagonist, effects on culture and society.

The movie Juno is about a young teenage girl who at the age of 16 had to confront an early pregnancy. Through the protagonist, Juno, the movie sets out to present the various challenges, conflicts, stages of development and restrictions that teenagers face during their transition to adulthood. Juno faces a very big dilemma that demands her to act more like an adult despite her young age. She has to make a decision on whether to keep her pregnancy or to get rid of it through an abortion. It is a challenging decision to make considering that she is still very young and it takes an experience in the abortion clinic to help her decide on keeping the baby with the aim of giving it up for adoption later. The movie portrays how she had to make the right decision by dealing with the pressures of an early pregnancy, the emotional conflicts associated with it and the dilemma in the decision-making process. The movie portrays several ethical issues. The issue of early pregnancy is the most discussed along with others like abortion, adoption, single-parenthood, relationships and cultural diversity on various cultural values (Willis, 2008).

There is no doubt that the writer wished to address the mentioned ethical issues. With the rise in the number of teenage pregnancies in the world, the rise in the number of abortions being done daily and single-parenthood, it shows how these issues are intertwined hence the need by the writer to address them and the attitudes towards them. The presentation of Juno who is a 16-year-old pregnant teenager is therefore very intentional and the challenges she faces while making the decision about her life portray what most teenagers go through. However, the writer also acknowledges the cultural values relating to early pregnancy and abortion thats why Juno makes a sober decision of not aborting her baby but instead giving it up for adoption. The today`s society frowns upon those who become victims of early pregnancy, but the writer here seeks to change this attitude by presenting a case whereby these issues relating to sex can be discussed openly and addressed in a more mature way. Single-parenthood is also an emerging issue in society, so all of this is purely intentional as it is timely (Cates Jr, 1984).

The movie Juno makes a great attempt to create awareness about the ethical issues presented, especially teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy remains to be an issue of concern even in modern times. With the various cultural values expected from teenagers in different cultures, many teenagers who tend to go against those cultural values or expectations is bound to face some criticism from the society. This explains why when teenagers become pregnant, most become embarrassed to address the issue, some are reluctant in accepting the pregnancy and most become afraid of sharing the issue with their parents for fear of the reactions the news will elicit. This, according to the National Institute of Health and Clinical Sciences, contributes to many pregnant teenagers not being able and comfortable enough to access and use antenatal care services. The movie aims to address this issue as seen in the case of Juno. Contrary to the usual reactions expected from parents, hers are presented as being very understanding and supportive about the whole issue. Throughout the whole pregnancy her step-mother in collaboration with her friend, support her and even help her get the antenatal are. Her dad too shows great concern by inquiring about the couple who will adopt the baby. Through this, it is possible that the writer wants to create awareness on the need to provide good, healthy conditions for expectant mothers. The story also suggests that teen pregnancies can be handled in a responsible and mature manner and overreacting is not always the solution when it comes to early pregnancy. The movie does inspire the views about cultural diversity especially regarding specific cultural values. The culture presented in the movie shows great acceptance and openness towards early pregnancy. This means that the value of people losing their virginity during the adolescence period is regarded with openness in this culture. The openness helps the concerned individuals to handle the issue comfortably with the support of those around them like in the case of Juno. Generally, the significance of being surrounded by supportive people especially duringhardship times is well portrayed in this movie.

Juno is the main protagonist in the movie and therefore holds the leadership role. Confronted with the issue of pregnancy at only 16 years scares her, just like it would for any teenager in her place. However, unlike most of her agemates in the actual world who would revert to making rush decisions that could affect them later, Juno demonstrates great strength, maturity and wit as her character develops throughout the movie. She is very self-reliant although she still seeks advice from reliable people close to her who end up supporting her throughout the decision-making process and in also dealing with her pregnancy. Through her it is easier toaccept and understand that there is a healthier and responsible way of handling and dealing with teenage pregnancies. How she handled herself in the whole pregnancy period is also a thing to admire.Even though the whole pregnancy is expected to be hard and challenging for her as a teenager, she demonstrates the ability to maintain a positive attitude in the whole process. As a protagonist, she teaches the world the importance of being defined by how one overcomes the challenges thrown to them by life rather than being defined by the challenge itself.

Gauging from the various conversations and reactions that the movie elicited, it is right to say it has a great effect on culture. The controversial nature of the topic of teen pregnancy contributes to it having this effect. The movie shows how the family values are upheld depending on the culture. Those who are liberal minded; see family values that advocate for honesty and openness in discussions about sex and in which teenage pregnancy is viewed as a completely normal occurrence. This is not the case for those who advocate for abstinence as they view sex before marriage as immorality and as something that has to be avoided at all possible costs. Another cultural issue that has sparked deep conversations is the culture of abortion. Out of the fear of being a young mother, Juno`s obvious option is to abort the baby, and from the story, it is evident that most teenage girls opted for abortion and it was widely practiced as shown by Juno`s friend who admits to have helped many other girls through it. This makes some people to almost dismiss it as a show of humanist decadence but just in good time, Juno changes her mind about the whole thing and decides to keep the baby. Adoption is also a crucial area in this movie and it affects the reams of both marriage and childrearing. The movie`s perspective on this reflects most of what is happening in the world, where it is done voluntarily and the mother has a say to whom will adopt the child and the terms of the adoption without exploiting either side. The perspective on the issue of single-parenthood has an impact on the culture. The movie celebrates single parenthood and this is why it is easier for Juno to hand over her baby to a now single mother Vanessa, after her divorce. This could also be attributed to Juno`s seemingly strong stand on feminism (Tarancon, 2011).

Culture influences a bigger part of the life of human beings. The various cultures lay down norms, traditions and values that have to be adhered to by the members of that culture. However, in adhering to these values and traditions, there is also the need to consider the existing cultural diversity and therefore give room to accommodate some values, which though not in our culture, serves to benefit humanity. For instance, in this movie it is easy to criticize the act of early pregnancy since some cultures value chastity and abstinence. But by considering that some tight values seem to shut out the youths and force them to engage into even worse mistakes like abortion, it is only responsible and mature to handle such cases with care. Leadership is supposed to show the way through certain traits such as confidence, reliability,responsibility among others. This movie provides the kind of leadership that is to an extent, exemplary. One can easily admire the confidence, determination, the self-drive and resilience of Juno. Even though her early engagement in sex depicts irresponsibility on her part, how she handles it makes her a good leader. Concerning decision-making, people at every level and stage in life have to make decisions. Decisions can be made personally or by consulting others. Depending on the magnitude of the issue at hand, it is only wise to seek the opinions of others especially those who are more informed on the issue in order to make decisions that wont lead into regrets. Juno had to consult and confide her parents and friends. The entertainment industry and the media have a very big effect on mankind and this effect extends to the culture, leadership and even decision-making. How these factors are presented through these industries and media go a long way in shaping the lives of individuals. Due to this great influence, the entertainment industries and media should consider inculcating the appropriate cultural values, desirable leadership qualities and the best decision-making processes in their programs. People believe more in what they can see, so by including these in their programs it will help provide a much healthier society (Jenkins, 2004).

Jenkins, H. (2004, March 1). The cultural logic of media convergence. International Journal of Cultural Studies,, 7(1), 33-43.

W. Cates Jr. (1984). Teenage pregnancy and abortion. Fertility and Sterility, 699-710.

Tarancon, J. A. (2011, May 23). Juno(Jason Reitman, 2007): A Practical Case Study of Teens, Film and Cultural Studies. Cultural Studies,, 26(4), 442-468. Retrieved March 11, 2017, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2011.591496

Willis, J. L. (2008, December). Sexual subjectivity. A Semiotic Analysis of Girlhood, sex and Sexuality in The Film, Juno. Sexuallity and Culture,, 12(4), 240-256. doi:10.1007/s12119-008-9035-9

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Cultures, Leadership, and Decision-Making of Ethical Issues - Juno Movie Review. (2021, Jun 16). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/cultures-leadership-and-decision-making-of-ethical-issues-juno-movie-review

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