I guess I’m on a movie blog kick this week. Tuesday I wrote a blog about the film “Once” and now I feel compelled to serve up my opinion about “Juno,” which I finally saw yesterday.
I recognize that just about every pants-wearing person on the planet knows the plotline of “Juno,” but just in case you’ve been trapped under a pile of diapers, it’s an Academy Award-winning film about a pregnant teenager (Ellen Page) who decides not to have an abortion and instead gives up her baby for adoption.
Like most viewers and reviewers, I really liked “Juno,” however, I’m a little uncomfortable with the positive portrayal of a 16-year-old giving birth.
It bothers me that Juno barely struggles physically or emotionally during her pregnancy. Instead, she wears larger-sized, hip clothing, saves the emotional life of an infertile woman (Jennifer Garner) and has a kick-ass post-partum relationship with the baby daddy (Michael Cera).
My opinion has nothing to do with being pro-life or pro-choice -- I think both groups would agree that an unexpectedly pregnant teenager is an unfortunate situation.
And as an adoptive mother, I am emphatically supportive of a woman choosing adoption if she feels ill equipped to raise the child herself, but when a blockbuster movie glorifies teen pregnancy, I feel duped, like I’m watching a clinic protestor masquerade in bohemian clothing.
Perhaps I'm missing something.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.