Color and Juno
Juno
The film I have chosen for this paper is the drama-comedy Juno directed by Jason Reirman. It is a domestic comedy with anarchic elements. In the film, you get to follow Juno MacGuff, a 16-years-old girl, as her life changes when she finds out that she is pregnant. It’s a realistic film told from Juno’s point of view.
The film touches several controversial, populist themes, but manages to do so without being cliché. The most obvious being the teen pregnancy, but other topics such as the curiosity of sex among teenagers, the constant questioning of whether abortion is okay or not comes along with it.
A big part of the film takes place in Juno’s home, which is typical for a domestic comedy. The main plot of the movie touches themes common to family life. There is the “modern family” core with stepmothers and half-siblings, the complicity in being a teenager as well as raising one. The more or less ordinary family life is displayed with a lot of humor.
The questioning of stereotypes and prejudices play a big role in this film, as do contrasts. Instead of the cheerleader getting pregnant with the quarterback, as many would expect, it is the tomboy and the geeky runner who end up in that situation. As most teens portrayed in films, Juno has a close girlfriend. The odd thing in this case is that it is not a girl considered stranger than Juno herself in terms of norms, it is the cheerleader. In many other of these teen films, usually the cheerleader bugs the “odd girl”, as for example in “Mean Girls”.
The most prominent contrast in the film is the home of the MacGuffs VS. the home of the adoptive parents Mark and Vanessa Loring. The two homes are set like two different worlds. In the MacGuff house, it seems like it is impossible to have too many lamps, ornamental dogs or photo frames. The color scale goes in earthy brown tones. Meanwhile, the Loring house does not seem to ever be perfect enough. As Vanessa and Mark are introduced to the story, Vanessa is
The film I have chosen for this paper is the drama-comedy Juno directed by Jason Reirman. It is a domestic comedy with anarchic elements. In the film, you get to follow Juno MacGuff, a 16-years-old girl, as her life changes when she finds out that she is pregnant. It’s a realistic film told from Juno’s point of view.
The film touches several controversial, populist themes, but manages to do so without being cliché. The most obvious being the teen pregnancy, but other topics such as the curiosity of sex among teenagers, the constant questioning of whether abortion is okay or not comes along with it.
A big part of the film takes place in Juno’s home, which is typical for a domestic comedy. The main plot of the movie touches themes common to family life. There is the “modern family” core with stepmothers and half-siblings, the complicity in being a teenager as well as raising one. The more or less ordinary family life is displayed with a lot of humor.
The questioning of stereotypes and prejudices play a big role in this film, as do contrasts. Instead of the cheerleader getting pregnant with the quarterback, as many would expect, it is the tomboy and the geeky runner who end up in that situation. As most teens portrayed in films, Juno has a close girlfriend. The odd thing in this case is that it is not a girl considered stranger than Juno herself in terms of norms, it is the cheerleader. In many other of these teen films, usually the cheerleader bugs the “odd girl”, as for example in “Mean Girls”.
The most prominent contrast in the film is the home of the MacGuffs VS. the home of the adoptive parents Mark and Vanessa Loring. The two homes are set like two different worlds. In the MacGuff house, it seems like it is impossible to have too many lamps, ornamental dogs or photo frames. The color scale goes in earthy brown tones. Meanwhile, the Loring house does not seem to ever be perfect enough. As Vanessa and Mark are introduced to the story, Vanessa is