 |
Juno And The Restless Virgins
Author: Stuart Nachbar  | Posted: 20-01-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 33 | Rating: (53)  (?) 
Since I wrote a novel based around sex education, I've tried to pay attention to other books and movies that do the same. I reviewed Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This time, I'm reviewing Juno, a movie I enjoyed so much I saw it twice, the first time with my wife, the second time alone, so I could take a more insightful look at the story.
Juno is the story of a pregnant teenager who is trying to make sense of her difficult circumstances. Ellen Page, who plays Juno, makes the movie. She's not only funny, but she appears wise without taking things too seriously. Juno is the geeky guy's best friend, someone you can talk to, jam with, but you'd forget she was a girl unless she reminded you - and that's how she gets pregnant. She reminded the cheese on her macaroni, before he ever knew he was.
I enjoyed Juno because it was different; it was not a formulaic high school drama of fill-in-the-blank (studs, geeks, misfits, beauty queens, etc) against the cliques or the teachers. Nor was the movie a preachy lecture where everyone in one person's life imposes values and passes sentence. Juno was not held up as a poster child for teen sex gone wrong. That would have lost the teen/college audience for sure.
Instead, Juno is a movie that a father and teenage daughter can watch together, and share laughs at each other's expense after it ends. Election (1999), which starred Matthew Broderick, and was based on another Perrotta best-seller, is the only other high school based movie that comes close to the same achievement. No surprise; I saw both movies in person and they played well to all ages.
I could open my old high school yearbook, or anyone else's for that matter, and probably find one girl like Juno, maybe two, but certainly no more. She's noted as an oddball, but doesn't stand out in any special way - except for her wit - and her untimely pregnancy. During a rare scene in school, pregnant Juno attracts silence and stares as the crowds allow her to pass undisturbed, although it is clear that she has been branded a marked woman.
But Juno is remarkably poised for her age; she's thought through what she wants to do - put the baby up for adoption - and she's handling the pain with surprising humor. Juno is the bravest girl in school, and she's considered the freak. It's unclear why that happens; Juno's boyfriend/best friend's mother was the only person who had given Juno a reputation. Maybe Juno's classmates are afraid, not for her, but themselves.
Maybe the movie's writer's have left that for us to figure out.
It's good meat for a father-daughter talk after the movie's over.
After seeing Juno for the second time, I picked up a book, Restless Virgins, a non-fiction story about teenage hook-ups at a nationally respected New England prep school. This was a rare opportunity to take a back-to-back look at a movie and book along similar themes.
The authors of Restless Virgins, Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley, both graduates of the school, told a true story that appeared to be more like the formulaic high school movies: take the social cliques of the school, peer pressures, and mix them in with a scandal reminiscent of the Duke Lacrosse case. Only this time, the boys are expelled while the girl's reputation is embarrassingly showcased in court. The school is spared no embarrassment as well; a headmaster is forced to concede that hooking up has been par for the course for some time.
I understand why a publisher took on Restless Virgins; the school is one of the nation's elite and its' students considered among the best of the best at gaining admission to the most selective colleges. We expect to be surprised when they behave just like "public school kids" who lack the same advantages. We expect them to abide by a code of conduct, inside and outside school, for the good of the institution, and for the sake of tradition.
But Restless Virgins showed me that the elite are just like anyone else, except that they can afford better lawyers. All high schools, public or private have their cliques and they change, while the traditions that should probably die take a long time to go away. This came out quite strongly in Virgins. The students were ready to ignore, or let go of the school's past, while the administrators were asleep at the switch, incapable of cleaning up the mess.
Unlike Juno, there were no pregnant young women in Restless Virgins. But Juno MacGuff didn't see sex as a game, or something she had to do, but something she wanted to do, with a guy she really cared about. The fictional Juno was far more mature, and also far more interesting, than the real-life cast in Restless Virgins.
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/art-and-entertainment-articles/juno-and-the-restless-virgins-310871.html
About the Author:Stuart Nachbar has been involved with education politics, policy and technology as a student, urban planner, government affairs manager, software executive, and now as author of The Sex Ed Chronicles. Visit his blog, Educated Quest
|
Submitting articles has become one of the most popular means of generating quality backlinks and targeted traffic to your website. Join us today - It's Free! |
|
Latest Art and Entertainment Articles
Bootleg Movie Download: Are Bootleg Movie Download Making Everything From Bad to Worse?
By: Anu Kool | 13/10/2008
So you think that maybe one or two (or more) bootleg movie download wouldn't be that bad, right? After all, how can it possibly affect the rest of the world's film industry when it is just one movie, after all? Or is that, one movie download at a time? Unfortunately,...
Divx Full Movies Download - Thinking About DivX Full Movies Download
By: Anu Kool | 13/10/2008
The worldwide web is continually gaining its popularity in today's era. And along with this popularity is the recognition that is being acquired by the movie download activities. As a matter of fact, we can now download movies and other videos online without any cost at all. This is due...
Download Free Movie Trailers - How to Download Free Movie Trailers?
By: Anu Kool | 13/10/2008
Nowadays, almost all information that we need can be found on the worldwide web. Indeed, it acts as if a huge storage of different information readily available and accessible to everyone which is just a click away. Not only that, we can also have the chance to watch all the...
Online Bootleg Movie Downloads - How to Have the Best Online Bootleg Movie Downloads?
By: Anu Kool | 13/10/2008
Worldwide web has been offering a lot of benefits on our part. As a matter of fact, we can already watch our favorite movies by way of it, which is commonly known as the online bootleg movie downloads. This term may sound so absurd and negative but it is just...
Choosing the Best Scissors Or Shears For Sewing
By: Pat Lyne | 13/10/2008
If you're going to do any sewing, you need some scissors. In fact, even if you aren't doing any sewing, every household needs some scissors! They're a useful tool, so it's important to have at least one pair.
Scissors vs. Shears
First off, though people often use the name interchangeably, scissors and...
Understand How to Read Guitar Tabs
By: Jason Wallace | 13/10/2008
There are many different ways to play guitar and all of these different styles and variances are huge and all have an impact on the way you learn. No matter what style you wish to play though, it is important to grasp the basics and this is why beginner guitar...
Angel Wing Tattoos - Different Styles and Meaning
By: Danny K | 12/10/2008
Have you been thinking about what your next tattoo design should be? If you want a mythical design that will amaze all who look upon it, the best choice may be angel wings. These heavenly instruments of flight have a long history over the past millennium of art. Let your...
The Pluses of Playing Video Games
By: Art Gib | 12/10/2008
Although parents need to make sure that video games do not become addicting, there are many skills that these fun and entertaining games can teach a child. For more information, read the following article on the pluses of playing video games.
More from Stuart Nachbar
Should TV Bring Back Room 222?
By: Stuart Nachbar | 11/01/2008 | Education
Every profession could use a good TV show to help it flourish in tough times. With No Child Left Behind, maybe teachers need one more than ever.
I've heard most of the arguments on why this happens: pay, working conditions, job satisfaction, bureaucracy, lost tenure, ad infinitum. If you're reading this...
The Rutgers 1000 Is Baaaack!
By: Stuart Nachbar | 29/12/2007 | Education
I have lived in New Jersey practically all of my life.
The Garden State has been in fiscal crisis practically all of my academic life and my working life. I realized this almost thirty years ago, as a student taxpayer; the tuition at Rutgers tripled between from my freshman year to...
Rutgers To Reorganize Alumni Association For The Better
By: Stuart Nachbar | 14/12/2007 | Education
From time to time, I write about Rutgers, the state university I know best. Rutgers is a very good school; U.S. News ranks my alma mater as one of the nation's top 20 state universities - and quirky enough to be interesting to an education writer.
Rutgers is the state university...
An Honor Roll, Not A Watch List, For Colleges
By: Stuart Nachbar | 08/12/2007 | Education
Members of Congress on the House committee on education have come up with an absolute bonehead idea: to publish a "watch list" of schools that have increased tuition at rates higher than inflation.
I am surprised when members of the House speak of reigning in college costs with measures such as...
Back To Back: Two Good Reads On Entry Level Leadership And Culture
By: Stuart Nachbar | 01/12/2007 | Writing
This month, I read two books back to back: Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet and Punching In by Alex Frankel. Both of these works are an excellent introduction into entry-level corporate culture and leadership development.
Soldier's Heart is a civilian English professor's take on the leadership culture of West Point, based...
Tales Of Two Harvards
By: Stuart Nachbar | 22/11/2007 | Education
Journalist Hanna Rosin has written God's Harvard, a wonderful book about Patrick Henry College, a Christian school that its chancellor calls "a Harvard for the home-schooled."
Rosin, who has covered religion and politics for the Washington Post, has crafted an insightful - some of more moderate or liberal political persuasions might...
Colleges Make Web-Based Response To College Rankings
By: Stuart Nachbar | 16/11/2007 | Education
Americans love rankings; educated consumers want to know what's the best on the market for autos, electronics, airline services, and hotels among other things. Educated businesspeople take high rankings seriously, loudly shouting independent praises through their advertising.
But college administrators dislike rankings. I understand some of the reasons why; it's...
College Or Pros, What Pays For Young Baseball Players?
By: Stuart Nachbar | 05/11/2007 | Baseball
If your son is a professional baseball prospect, you might want to know what makes more sense for him: continue playing at the collegiate level, or turn pro right away. The price where it pays to go pro might surprise you.
Of the four major U.S. sports, only baseball and basketball...
|
|
Art and Entertainment 
