The formula for popular culture to be popular hasn’t really changed much in eighty years. What drives audiences and critics to rave about and recommend movies is influenced by the obvious (stardom, publicity buzz), but just as much by hidden forces and unacknowledged agendas.
It’s no secret that products of mass media, such as trade paperbacks and commercial films, mirror the spirit of their times. A movie made during World War II was usually patriotic. In those years, themes of hopelessless and defeatism (personal or otherwise) were rare. Only after the war did a complex tale of the war experience emerge, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
For unity on certain themes, the 2000s tolerated few exceptions. Juno (2007) is an offbeat comedy film by director Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), son of Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters (1984)). First-time screenwriter Diablo Cody wrote it and later went on to create Jennifer’s Body (2009) and Lisa Frankenstein (2024).
What’s Juno about? Mostly two huge topics: the impetuousness of youth and teen pregnancy. It features a flip and snarky heroine and spotlights her relationship with her parents.
It’s also about abortion. As in, don’t do it!
How did Reitman get involved with such a controversial theme?
He was told to.
By whom? By George W. Bush, at least three times:
“As your President, I also have an important obligation to foster and encourage respect for life in America and throughout the world. We must remember that all life is a sacred gift from our Creator.”
— Remarks during a speech on limiting federal funding for stem cell research (8/9/2001).
“This nation stands for a culture of life, and this nation stands for life at all stages.”
— Statement to the annual March for Life on the 31st anniversary of Roe v. Wade (1/22/2004).
“I believe that we must protect innocent human life in every possible way, and that includes making sure our laws protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
— Remarks to the National Right to Life Committee during a press conference on the Terri Schiavo case (3/25/2005).
Reitman wasn’t alone in promoting such a family-oriented theme. At least seven other films released between 2001-2006 sung, chuckled, and awww’ed their hosannas to the joys of childrearing. They are: Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), Lilo & Stitch (2002), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Parent Trap (2003 Remake), and Yours, Mine and Ours (2005). So don’t terminate that pregnancy! Can’t you see how cute that clownfish family is?
You could say that each film, in its own way, is also patriotic. With its not-so-hidden right-to-life message, Juno certainly is. Screenwriter Both Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody were amply rewarded for promoting the Bush regime’s zeitgeist. Each got Academy Awards for their contributions.
This video delves into how such a film, aided by a relaxed, hip, and carefree tone, nudges cozily toward the Christian right with its attitude toward abortion.
