Was 2007 the Year of the Pro-Life Movie?

Photo of Ken Shepherd.
By Ken Shepherd (Bio | Archive)
January 22, 2008 - 16:38 ET

Mark Moring has an interesting read at Christianity Today's Web site. He recalls all the popular movies in 2007 that feature life-affirming responses to unexpected pregnancy in films such as "Knocked Up," "Waitress," "Juno," "Bella," and "August Rush.":

To some, it was a year of war movies and "statement" flicks—including In the Valley of Elah, Lions for Lambs, and Rendition. Meanwhile, David Poland of Movie City News declared 2007 "Oscar's Year of the Man," noting that of the top sixteen contenders for best picture, only three were headlined by women.

But others noticed a different trend: In some ways, 2007 was the Year of Pro-Life Cinema.

From the church-friendly Bella to the raunchy Knocked Up, film after film depicted its main character facing an unplanned pregnancy and opting not for abortion, but for carrying the unborn child to term. Sometimes the mother kept the baby (Knocked Up, Waitress), and sometimes she gave the baby up for adoption (Bella, Juno, August Rush). But in each of these films, the mother, and sometimes the father, made a critical decision that was decidedly "pro-life."

Of course among these films, only Juno got major Oscar nods (nominations for Best Directing and Best Film), but when it comes to the votes that matter most to studios, ticket sales, they did fairly well. [Statistics from BoxOfficeMojo.com]:

  • "Juno" -- $87.1 million worldwide revenue
  • "August Rush" -- $50.8 million worldwide
  • "Bella" -- $7.7 million worldwide ($3.3 million production budget)
  • "Knocked Up" -- $218.9 million worldwide ($30 million budget)
  • "Waitress" -- $22.0 million worldwide

—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters


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And it might have been 2006,

January 22, 2008 - 16:41 ET by Mark Finkelstein

And it might have been 2006, but one of the lead characters in Sex and City decided at the last moment that she couldn't go through with her planned abortion.

I think it was The Year of

January 22, 2008 - 16:42 ET by balboa

I think it was The Year of the Apatow. This guy had a phenomenal year, after all his great TV shows were canceled (Freaks & Geeks, Undeclared).

It was also the Year of the

January 22, 2008 - 16:44 ET by balboa

It was also the Year of the Trilogy, as 4 of the top ten grossing movies were third installments of a series.

It dose seem strange but in

January 22, 2008 - 20:33 ET by mlong

It dose seem strange but in "Pro-Choice" Hollywood that in many movies and TV shows if an unexpected pregnancy comes up many of the characters agree to have the child and in many cases the ideal of an abortion never comes up...the comedy "Scrubs" is one of the few where they did bring it up but it was quickly shot down in favor of having the child.

Now I know it's basically to introduces new blood into a aging series..but you would think after all the big-a-do it was for "Maude" to have an abortion back in the 70's that we would see more TV characters marching down to the local Plan Parenthood clinic to make a "point"...but maybe unknowingly they are by keeping the kid.

 

 

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