What will it take for film critics to be satisfied with movies about young, unmarried pregnant women?
For most, a clever script and outstanding performances will suffice, but not so for Lisa Schwarzbaum, a film critic for Entertainment Weekly. It must also carry a weighty discussion on the "hard-won, precious rights" to choose.
"Juno," the latest film about an unintended pregnancy carried to term, opens nationwide December 14. The movie reportedly depicts Juno, the pregnant 16-year-old lead character, deciding to place her baby for adoption after a chance encounter with a pro-life protester at an abortion clinic.
Schwarzbaum said in her review of the film, "The old-school feminist in me wishes ‘Juno' spent more time, even a tart sentence or two, acknowledging that the options taken for granted by this one attractive, articulate teen are in fact hard-won, precious rights, and need to be guarded by a new-generation army of Junos and Bleekers, spreading the word by text message as well as by hamburger phone."
It's particularly strange that Schwarzbaum would choose to launch a feminist argument at the one movie tackling unmarried pregnancy in which abortion is considered a viable option.
Apparently Schwarzbaum's "old-school feminist" was on summer vacation when she wrote her review of the crude summer hit, "Knocked Up." She failed to criticize that movie for not containing serious discussions of abortion, even while many other critics did so, as the Culture and Media Institute reported last July. Surprising decision considering that the only references to abortion in "Knocked Up" are from a friend who when discussing options, said "I won't say it but it rhymes with shmashmortion" and from the lead character's mother who urges her to "take care of" the pregnancy so she can have a "real" baby when the time is right.
Is Schwarzbaum's real problem with "Juno" the fact that abortion isn't depicted as a "hard-won, precious right" or because it depicts an abortion-minded young women who decides to carry her pregnancy to term?
Schwarzbaum did overcome her feminist qualms to give "Juno" an A-, which is in line with what other critics are saying about the film. As of December 6, it's rated a solid 92 percent on rottentomatoes.com.
—Colleen Raezler is a research assistant at the Culture and Media Institute
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Comments Policy
well now
December 6, 2007 - 18:11 ET by candanceLet's not be harsh toward a movie just because we disagree with a subliminal message. We don't want to send a signal that pro-life people are forbidden to make movies.
This critic is clearly trying to stir up controversy among pro-abortion zealots to color their perception of a film they have not seen yet.
That's so true!
December 6, 2007 - 19:12 ET by motherbeltLOL! (I caught that).
"The old-school feminist in
December 6, 2007 - 19:34 ET by motherbelt"The old-school feminist in me wishes ‘Juno' spent more time,
even a tart sentence or two, acknowledging that the options taken for
granted by this one attractive, articulate teen are in fact hard-won,
precious rights,
Right. <sarc> At some point "Juno" should have had a conversation with someone in which she said:
You know, I really appreciate the fact that thanks to the untiring efforts of women's rights advocates over the years, I have the hard-won precious right to an abortion, I mean if this were 1965, I'd have no choice, but I do have that choice today, and I'm grateful for that. But I think keeping the baby is the right thing for me. It might not be right for someone else, but it's right for me.
<sarc off>
Apparently it doesn't bother Schwarzbaum that there's no discussion of adoption....(isn't that another option?)
Hard-won? (Sound of coffee sputtering ...)
December 6, 2007 - 19:49 ET by KC MulvilleWow. That’s staggering. “Hard-won” connotes that the “right” was acquired through a long campaign of numerous battles, where the pro-abortion side won --something-- through their diligence and superior argument.
Let’s not kid each other. The right to abort was stolen by an embarrassingly flawed argument, whose rationale has since been widely rejected. The only credible argument keeping abortion alive is the Supreme Court’s reluctance to overturn itself and admit it was wrong. The post-Roe justifications have all been aimed at the supposed civil disruption it would cause to reverse course, even though half the Court considers the legal precedent to be ridiculous.
Nothing was "won." It was stolen, and the “moderates” on the Court are simply too weak to reject it outright. Hard-won? Jeez, revisionist history is alive and well, isn’t it?
Well they like to think
December 6, 2007 - 23:35 ET by motherbeltWell they like to think they "took to the ramparts" and "convinced" SCOTUS to rule their way.
Perhaps
December 7, 2007 - 05:17 ET by KC MulvilleLet me mention why the phrase "hard-won right" is so offensive. Let's consider a contrast. I happen to be against capital punishment. But, I fully agree that it's the law of the land. It's in the constitution, and my fellow citizens want it to remain there, and that makes it legitimate. It doesn't make it moral, but it's part of a legitmate process and that's what majority rule is all about. We voted on it, at least when we ratified the constitution. In other words, those in favor of capital punishment played the game fair, and they won. I may not like it, but I respect it.
Abortion is entirely different. We never got the chance to vote on it. In fact, the Roe decision declared that we couldn't vote on it. The Roe decision was based on an interpretation derived from the principle of substantive due process, suspiciously implied from a clause that was never intended to address such an issue in the first place. And it wasn't as if the judiciary all agreed to this; it was widely disputed, even at the time. In every other intellectual discipline, when a dispute arises on a fundamental principle, there is a process that gives consideration to each side. Blackmun exploited the power of the Supreme Court to eliminate any other consideration. Roe was a judicial decision that denied both the judicial and political process, explicitly removing a public moral issue from the will of the public.
If Roe is overturned and the issue returns to the states, and they accept it, OK, then I have no right to feel cheated. Like capital punishment, I'd see it as a legitimate law of the land. But abortion wasn't "won," it was stolen. That's why I feel cheated by abortion where I don't feel cheated by capital punishment.
Schwarzbaum is trying too
December 6, 2007 - 18:17 ET by balboaSchwarzbaum is trying too hard. It looks like a great little movie, and it doesn't have to give a nod to "hard-won precious rights" if the writer doesn't want to. Nor should the writer feel compelled to do so.
I suspect that Schwarzbaum
December 6, 2007 - 18:53 ET by TEI suspect that Schwarzbaum would denounce a film that showed an actual abortion and the arms, hands, feet, legs, heart, eyes, ears, nose, torso and skull of the human being killed by the abortion. Schwarzbaum does not want an actual abortion shown because that would distract from her objective, to wit: the celebration of her most holy religious sacrament (i.e., abortion).
I agree. There were 4.2
December 6, 2007 - 19:38 ET by jdhawkI agree. There were 4.2 million live births in 2006 according to the CDC. While there were about 1.3 million abortions. Stated another way, 1 in 4 prenancies in the United States ends in abortion.
Schwarzbaum ought to take her criticizm further. She ought to demand that for every four movies that depicts a pregnant women that in one of them the character has an abortion.
And, like TE, it ought to be depicted in all its "glory." I mean after all, it is a regular and every day occurrance in American life. And, I do mean every day - about 4,000 per day.
Put another way, there are more babies killed via abortion in a single day in the United States than all of the soldiers killed in Iraq in over five years of combat.
Hey, instead of those corny "fright" movies that are so popular. How about if Hollyweird does a late term abortion extravaganza. It would be bone crushing cinema at its best, literally. It will surely become a cult craze and significantly raise revenues after Hollyweird's string of antiware movie disasters.
Schwarzbaum'sproblem
December 6, 2007 - 19:02 ET by c5thenHer problem is (IMO) that the movie depicts someone being talked out of killing an innocent child because she simply doesn't want it. That is a blow to the murder-for-any-reason crowd.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08. RenewAmerica.us
Feminism has been hijacked
December 6, 2007 - 19:06 ET by wiwfFeminism has been hijacked by crazies. Susan B. Anthony was pro-life.
The Rocky Mountain Collegian: Illustrating Idiocy
"The old-school feminist
December 6, 2007 - 19:21 ET by fitzfong"The old-school feminist in me wishes ‘Juno' spent more time, even a tart sentence or two, acknowledging that the options taken for granted by this one attractive, articulate teen are in fact hard-won, precious rights, and need to be guarded by a new-generation army of Junos and Bleekers, spreading the word by text message as well as by hamburger phone."
Apparently her problem is that a smart, cute chick didn't abort.
spreading the word by text
December 6, 2007 - 19:33 ET by motherbeltspreading the word by text message as well as by hamburger phone."
I saw that....what's a hamburger phone?
I really feel old! LOL
Hamburger phone. It's
December 6, 2007 - 20:23 ET by Jack BauerIt's a disposable cell phone which you eat after making a call.
It's a disposable cell
December 6, 2007 - 23:37 ET by motherbeltIt's a disposable cell phone which you eat after making a call.
Oh, sure, Jack, that clears it all up. :-p
art hypocrisy
December 6, 2007 - 23:09 ET by MikeknaJComing at it from another angle... I'm reminded of Ken Burns' recent WWII documentary, where he was attacked for not including enough Latino stories. Nevermind the fact that he tried to, but no soldiers originally came forward. Under pressure he had to go back and change his original piece of art to satisfy the liberal critics.
Now Schwarzbaum is critical of a film's creator for not including what she personally believes would balance out the story to her liking. Nevermind the artistic freedom and intent of the story's writer and director.
This coming from the same liberal community of critics who then cry out the matra of artistic expression and freedom when things like the Piss Christ are exhibited. So apparently freedom of artistic expression exists for all, unless you're dealing with a non-PC issue, in which case the artist really needs to take into consideration the viewpoint of others who might somehow be offended...
I see how it is.
http://www.xanga.com/mikeknaj
Alternate ending to appease
December 7, 2007 - 00:38 ET by JerryAlternate ending to appease the NOW gang...
Juno's mother, who holds an executive position in the National Organization for Women, rushes to the hospital, but alas, it is too late. Juno has delivered.
Mother: "Juno! What have you done?!? How could you be so stupid! Of all the options you had, why!!! You could have used the morning after pill. You could have had an early term abortion. You could have had a mid term abortion. You could have had a late term abortion. You could have even had a partial birth abortion! Why didn't you come to me! I could have helped you through this. I could have helped you make the RIGHT decision! But now it's too late, this mistake will haunt you for the rest of your life."
Juno: "Oh mother, I am sooo sorry. I know you raised me better. I know it was stupid. I just had a moment of weakness. Can you ever forgive me?"
Mother: "Oh Juno, I forgive you! Everyone makes mistakes. I even made the same mistake once."
Juno: "No way! You too!?! You failed to abort? ...... oh.... yeah... never mind."
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
I've not heard of this movie...
December 7, 2007 - 10:02 ET by sockmonkey....but then again, I don't get out much for movies featuring non-cartoon characters. However, I did have the opportunity to see "Bella," which was fantastic! Wonderful story, great acting, life-affirming, and not preachy in the least. Two thumbs up!
Oh, and thanks for the "hamburger phone" definition....that one had me scratching my head!
Curse these pro-life movies!
December 7, 2007 - 15:14 ET by greenfairieLisa's probably dismayed young people are going to see the film and become no-good pro-lifers.
Ha ha!