The Reveal of Theme Through a Narrative: Juno

In the text, a movie’s theme is described as “a unifying idea that the film expresses through its narrative or imagery” (88). A theme is important to a movie because it can give the viewer a more meaningful outlook on a certain topic or idea than they had before. In the movie Juno directed by Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, we are able to see just how meaningful a theme can be in a movie and how the use of narrative structure demonstrates these themes.

            The film Juno tells the story of a young teen who becomes pregnant and focuses on the obstacles that she must overcome as an expecting mother. Through the employment of narration, we are able to understand more about the characters and develop an understanding of the narrative itself as a story. Juno makes use of the first-person narrator, which utilizes voice-over narration in order for the audience to actually hear from a specific character. By giving the main character, Juno, a first-person narration throughout the movie, the viewer is able to connect with her and begin to develop an understanding for this troubled teen. In the very first scenes of the movie, Juno is seen drinking Sunny D and looking at a chair on the lawn.  

At this point we hear Juno’s first-person narration and she tells us that “it all started with a chair”. Here, we begin to understand more about Juno and the more or less, “innocent” and unplanned way that she became pregnant. We begin to sympathize with her because we have an established connection with her as more than just a character.  This type of narrative helps add to the themes that are present in Juno. For instance, when interviewed about the movie, director Diablo Cody stated that “women are clever, women are funny, women are sharp, and I wanted to show that these girls were human and not the stereotypical teenage girls that we often see in the media” (Dibdin, 2008). Due to this first person narration we, as the audience, now understand Juno as more of a real person instead of just a character on screen. Many people, when hearing about a 16-year-old girl who becomes pregnant, would probably assume that she is irresponsible, untrustworthy, and/or careless. However, because of this established connection that we have with Juno as a first-person narrator, we do not automatically jump to these conclusions. The directors of this movie may have used first-person narration in order for the audience to understand more about their character Juno, and really relate to her as if we actually knew her.

            Another important element of narrative is the order in which the narrative is presented. Our text discussed the importance of order and states that “bringing order to the plot events is one of the most fundamental decisions that filmmakers make about relaying story information through the plot…Plot order an be manipulated so that events are presented in non-chronological sequences that emphasize importance of meaning” (146). The film Juno does just this as it utilizes flashback memories to emphasize some of the most important events in the movie.

For instance, at the beginning of the movie we see a flashback of the time that Juno and Paulie had sex for the first time. By directing our attention to an event in the past and switching up the chronological order of the narrative, we understand the importance of this event. By use of this flashback, we can see that this event is obviously what led to Juno’s pregnancy and the importance it will now have on her future. This also helps reinforce some of the themes in this movie, including the theme that not all girls who experience teenage pregnancy are heartless, catty, and obsessed with the idea of being a mother, as much of media does today. Through the use of this flashback, we are able to see that Juno is not any of these stereotypes, but just a curious and humorous teen.

Juno is a great example of a narrative story that tries to provide positive themes on the topics of teen pregnancy and mothering. The first-person narration used in this movie establishes a connection between Juno and the audience, which in turn helps enforce some of the themes present in this film. Additionally, the order in this narrative also contributes to the themes by use of flashback scenes that help place importance on certain events. All of these narrative elements work together in this movie to help create themes that allow the audience to think about teen pregnancy in a different way.  

 Works Cited 

 Barsam, Richard Meran and Dave Monahan. "Chapters 3 & 4." Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. 2­63. Print.

Dibdin, Emma. "Labour Day: Behind the Scenes on Juno." The Cambridge Student. N.p., 07 Feb. 2008. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007. DVD.

Images from: 
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/Ft_XLwPzY/UO4YjCW3JnI/AAAAAAAAH70/5dNEkbFto6s/s1600/Juno_sex3.png
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zDjC4IC6a10/TPOS_peFe7I/AAAAAAAAAAo/73GzVhe4vc/s1600/Juno+1.png