Juno's kid
One of my favorite movies of this past year has been Juno. It's smartly written, well-acted from all involved, is pleasantly quirky, and finds the humorous side of a subject that wouldn't inspire much laughter. However, it is not without its problems. While Juno MacGuff does the best possible thing with her baby considering her situation, I have some issues with the way it was done.
** SPOILER ALERT **
Vanessa and Mark break up and start divorce proceedings, but Juno still gives the baby to Vanessa as a single mom. After that, no more mention is made of Mark. After his exit from the relationship, he's a non-issue. My first thought was, "Hey! Now the baby's not gonna have a father!" The movie seemed to imply that a male role model and father figure is not important to the development of a child. It's fantastic that Vanessa achieved her goal of motherhood, but she's only one half of what the child really needs.
Also, the biological father of the baby is Paulie Bleeker, whom Juno ends up dating by the end of the movie, but before that, the fact that he's the father of the child seems like little more than an afterthought. When Juno says she's gonna have an abortion, Paulie just (figuratively) shrugs his shoulders and says "that's fine," and doesn't think twice about the fact that he had a hand in creating this situation. IMHO, he should have a hand in resolving it, too, i.e. being a man and taking some responsibility for his own actions, and stepping up to the plate of fatherhood. Instead, the movie doesn't make him take ANY responsibility, and more or less just has him there as a happy ending for Juno, as well as good genes for Juno's kid. What I'm unhappy about is the movie's generally apathetic attitude about fatherhood.
Agree? Disagree? In the middle? Let us discuss! :-)
** SPOILER ALERT **
Vanessa and Mark break up and start divorce proceedings, but Juno still gives the baby to Vanessa as a single mom. After that, no more mention is made of Mark. After his exit from the relationship, he's a non-issue. My first thought was, "Hey! Now the baby's not gonna have a father!" The movie seemed to imply that a male role model and father figure is not important to the development of a child. It's fantastic that Vanessa achieved her goal of motherhood, but she's only one half of what the child really needs.
Also, the biological father of the baby is Paulie Bleeker, whom Juno ends up dating by the end of the movie, but before that, the fact that he's the father of the child seems like little more than an afterthought. When Juno says she's gonna have an abortion, Paulie just (figuratively) shrugs his shoulders and says "that's fine," and doesn't think twice about the fact that he had a hand in creating this situation. IMHO, he should have a hand in resolving it, too, i.e. being a man and taking some responsibility for his own actions, and stepping up to the plate of fatherhood. Instead, the movie doesn't make him take ANY responsibility, and more or less just has him there as a happy ending for Juno, as well as good genes for Juno's kid. What I'm unhappy about is the movie's generally apathetic attitude about fatherhood.
Agree? Disagree? In the middle? Let us discuss! :-)
posted by Neal Paradise at 8:27 PM
7 comments
