Saturday afternoon my wife and I occasioned our usual haunt, the local dollar theater. There wasn't a lot to choose from, but she picked Juno (last week I picked National Treasure 2). Juno was an interesting and artsy sort of movie, from the sketchy pseudo-animation of the opening credits to the soft, whimsical vocals of the soundtrack.
The movie was billed as a comedy/ drama/ romance, and took us into the life of a sharp-witted, smart-alecky teenage girl who finds herself saddled with an unplanned pregnancy. As the story unfolds, she decides against getting an abortion and finds a young couple interested in adopting her baby. The situation becomes complicated by her ongoing involvement in the lives of this couple, particularly after the husband becomes enamored with Juno upon discovering they share many common artistic interests. Throughout the film, Juno's candid comments and quirky outlook on life provide for comic relief in a way that seems to come naturally for the actress.
There was a lot to like about the characters, and the way that the movie doesn't concern itself with political correctness. I really liked the fact that Juno isn't wearing a helmet when riding her bike; it's refreshing to see a modern movie depicting reality rather than moonlighting as a safety video. When Juno visits an abortion clinic, she meets a classmate who is protesting outside. Her presumably religious friend - who, non-stereotypically is Asian and female, not a Caucasian male as I am supposed to be ashamed to be - tells Juno that her unborn baby has fingernails, which seems to resonate in her mind as she enters the clinic. After sitting in the waiting area, Juno suddenly decides against going through with the procedure and flees the clinic much to the joy of her pro-life classmate.
Overall, I think Juno was well scripted and produced, and the characters were mostly believable. There were some positive messages in the movie, particularly concerning Juno's choice to carry her baby to term. In the end, she realizes that the baby's father is the friend she's loved all along, and he proves his love to her throughout her ordeal. Juno learns that her step-mom is actually pretty cool, and her father is also a nurturing figure in his own way.
There is one image, however, that I can't get out of my mind. About 12 minutes into the movie, there's a scene where Juno is rummaging through her school locker. While it only appears for a few seconds, there's a sticker inside her locker that appears to read "No Religion." [Update: The sticker actually reads "Bad Religion," and is the name of a punk rock band, as a reader has pointed out. That doesn't really alter my original comments, however.] Right below that phrase is a picture of a cross contained within a red circle, and a line through it - like a No Smoking sign. I've pasted a screen shot of the image at the top of this blog entry, although the text doesn't show up clearly. Now why was that in there? I can hear some people objecting that this is an inconsequential decoration in the locker of a high school student. Maybe. But somehow I doubt that the movie producers just randomly grabbed that particular sticker as a prop. There's a message in that sticker, and it's not one that reflects favorably on the faith of many American moviegoers.
For those who might think it silly of me to point out such a thing, consider the parallel image of an anti-semitic symbol displayed in the Ukraine. If Juno had opened her locker, a
nd there was a Star of David with a red slash through it, would anyone take offense at that? I would suggest that if such a symbol had been placed in her locker, the Jewish Anti-Defamation League would have been all over it in a heartbeat. Remember that Jewishness is not an ethnicity - there are converts to Judaism from many other ethnic groups, not just physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So if anyone is going to take exception to even a fleeting anti-semitic display on the grounds of "hate speech," surely they ought to take umbrage at the most basic symbol of Christianity being attacked as if it were a cancer-inducing substance.
It saddens me that an otherwise charming, coming-of-age movie has to take underhanded swipes at the rawest symbol of my faith. Don't tell me it's not important what details a producer includes in a movie; when you've got 100 minutes to tell a story, every detail is significant. As a Christian who enjoys the arts, it concerns me that so many young people think it's impossible to be both creative and a Christian - as if Christianity were all about humorless conformists who drive SUVs and buy cheesy, mass-produced, propagandist "artwork" from Christian Stores. Let's not allow those who hate Christ to make all the good movies. I spend a lot of time enjoying amateur artwork over on deviantArt, and I see artists denying the God who gave them their skills almost every day. Just last weekend I saw a picture of a smirking individual wearing a t-shirt that read: "If Jesus comes back, we'll kill him again."
It's time for Christians to get back to making art that is authentic and communicates the wonder of God's creative mind. In the words of my favorite hymn: This is my Father's world. So let those who glorify him make beautiful art that reflects the majesty of our Creator in all areas of life.