Juno: “A Cautionary Whale”
“It all started with a chair.”
At first glance, this does not sound like the opening to an
Aristotelian Epic or a Joseph Campbell-style Hero’s Journey. Upon closer look,
however, this story shares many of the same elements as other classic hero
journeys, like The Lord of the Rings or even The Bible. Set in a small,
awkward, midwestern town, Juno is the
ultimate modern-day epic. The movie follows the story of a sixteen year-old
girl, Juno, who becomes pregnant after an awkward hookup with a friend. The
film perfectly captures the heroic journey of pregnancy, love, high school
drama, acceptance, and commitment.
Coincidentally, Juno’s namesake, the roman goddess of love
and fertility, follows a similar story to the 16 year-old protagonist in Juno.
According to roman mythology, the goddess Juno gave birth to a deformed
son, Vulcan. Juno was so ashamed by her son that she casts him from the heavens
to work in fiery volcanoes of earth.
The story of Juno
(the film) is not nearly as brutal as the protagonist’s ancient namesake, but
it is clear that the reference is beyond coincidence.
Just like the age old Monomyth, Juno opens in the ordinary world: a pleasant autumn in a suburb
town, full of cross-country runners and sassy convenience store clerks.
Departure (Fall):
The journey begins as we see our protagonist, Juno, peeing
on a pregnancy test that reveals to be positive; this is the call to adventure.
Juno’s first reaction is to refuse the call, choosing to
abort the new fetus. She sticks to her plan with great determination for a good
while, hoping to revert her life to the way it was before. Abortion proves too
much for Juno, as the montage of finger-tapping in the waiting room ends with
her running out of the clinic; Juno has gives up on the abortion, officially crossing
the threshold into the journey of pregnancy.
The next stage of the Hero’s Journey is by far the most
self-explanatory stage in Juno: Juno
literally starts to grow a “Belly of the Whale”. People start to find out about
her pregnancy, rumors start to spread, and Juno officially enters a world that
she has never before know
Initiation (Winter):
Juno is faced with a road of trials (essentially the rest of
the movie), like breaking the news to her parents, confronting rude
ultrasound-technicians, and acknowledging her feelings towards the father,
Paulie. One of the most significant challenges in the film, choosing the right
family, is presented in the classic three-tries sequence: Juno finds the
perfect family for adoption on the third try, after two very unsuccessful leads
in the newspaper. Just like life, the road of trials makes up a decent part of
the story. Juno’s meeting with the goddess comes as Juno finds the perfect
parents for her child: Mark and Vanessa. Vanessa is a suburban wife who wants
desperately to become a mother, offering to pay Juno for medical expenses and
obsessing over every detail, from prenatal vitamins to the color of the baby’s
bedroom. This could not be more ideal for Juno, and for once, she feels comfort
that her child will be in good hands. Everything changes, however, as Mark is
faced with the temptress: not a woman, but the idea of freedom. Throughout the
movie, Mark has been enthralled with grunge music, horror movies, and a general
bachelor-style life. Mark decides to leave Vanessa to pursue this life, leaving
Juno thinking that the whole adoption will be jeopardized. At this low point in
the movie, Juno comes home to talk with her father about love and life, giving
them a connection deeper than previously seen in the movie. Later on, moments
before Juno’s water breaks, you see a shot of Juno pushing a toy car over her
arc-shaped belly; once the car hits the bottom, her water breaks. This shot
perfectly juxtaposes Juno’s pregnant arc-shaped belly with a rising action
poetic model, the car representing Juno, and her journey through pregnancy.
Return (Spring):
Juno, Leah, and her parents rush in a fearful flight to the
hospital, as both Juno’s stepmom and Leah pool their support toward Juno’s
painful labor. At last, the child is born, and is given to an ecstatic Vanessa.
Juno finally makes up with Paulie, and they once again begin their relationship
that was halted by the pregnancy, both now much wiser than before. The film
ends with Juno and Paulie singing the song that was playing during Juno’s
labor.
Juno is a classic
combination of an archetypal Hero’s Journey and the modern day social issue of
teen pregnancy. I would give the film 5 stars.
Sources:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/
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