Short Essay Choices for the film Juno.

Your essay is due no later than Tuesday, May 19 at the beginning of class. (50 points possible)

Directions: Please choose one of the following essay ideas and write a short essay in response to your choice. Please limit your essay response to four to five quality paragraphs.

! Screenwriter Diablo Cody asserts that the film ‘raises a lot of questions about love, freedom, marriage and where we’re ultimately supposed to wind up in life.’ What did you feel were the key themes in the film? To what extent did you think that the film took these issues seriously?

! Ellen Page, who plays Juno, says that her character is ‘completely devoid of stereotype.’ To what extent would you agree with this assessment? How successful do you think the film was in avoiding stereotypes? Did you find that Juno challenged any preconceptions you had about certain kinds of people or situations?

! Why do you think that being ‘sexually active’ and unwanted pregnancies are so common among teenagers in our society at the moment? How did you feel about the way Juno approaches these issues? What effects might the film have on young teens who view it?

! Juno’s family is loving and supportive, yet very few conventional family situations are shown in the film. How important is ‘family’ in Juno, and what do you think the film has to say about the way families ought to be? Many families today do not conform to the traditional nuclear model. Why do you think this is, and what might be the implications of this trend?

! The film starts and ends ‘with a chair’. Is there any significance in this? Are major characters static or developing? To what extent do the characters and their lives change in between, and what lessons are learned?

! Would you agree with the following assessment of Juno from actress Ellen Page? Why or why not?

‘I think it [the film Juno] has an extremely universal message, about growing up being true to yourself, and that’s really what matters. And it kind of does have that all-you-need-is-love quality to it; when you break it down, that’s all you really need.’

From Culture Watch—Exploring the message behind the media <http://www.damaris.org/content/content.php?type=1&id=408>