Some of my friends have gone to see this movie, and I hadn’t heard much about it. So, I read the review at Plugged In Online to get caught up to speed. Here is an excerpt, with the emphasis added:
Speaking of teens, Juno is—if nothing else—a telling inside perspective on the new teenage sexuality (or at least the world’s version of it)… This deliberate moral relativism is also the reason why the film comes off as mildly—almost accidentally—pro-life and pro-adoption, rather than decisively so.
As a snapshot of adolescent culture—complete with crude language—Juno offers a conversation-inspiring perspective to adults who care for teens. Is this really the way things are now? Can anything be done about it? Those questions aren’t exactly posed in the film, but they’re sure to arise in the minds of some viewers afterwards.
For teens themselves, though, who are already swimming in the culture, Juno will only reinforce the complete lack of a moral compass.
I think the last sentence nails what has been swimming around in my head for some time. For some people, certain movies can be initiation into understanding the people to whom we minister, at best. For most of us, we are all too familiar already, and would do better to learn to separate ourselves from the baser aspects of this world, not grow more intimate with them.
I don’t intend to jump into movie reviews in the near future, except when perhaps an exceptionally good or exceptionally poor and dangerous film is released. But, after visiting the theater for the first time in a little while, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.
