Societal Differences

Lauren Hamilton

Perez-Tejada

ENGL1102

12 March 2009

Societal Differences

Death seems to be a major fear in all cultures, as every culture has some sort of belief system that attempts to explain what happens to a person’s soul after the body has died. However, the way each culture views these themes and how they are represented throughout society can be very different. Though cultures across the globe vary greatly, most have a few common themes, including a belief in life after death. Juno, a film by Jason Reitman, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, a film by Cristian Mungiu, both explore the journey of teenage pregnancy, but in two entirely different situations. This essay will discuss two global themes in these films and will contrast how the characters in each film handle the situation she finds herself in.

Juno is a sixteen-year-old girl who becomes pregnant by her long-time crush and best friend, Bleeker. After exploring her other options, Juno decides to give the baby up for adoption. She finds a seemingly perfect couple, Mark and Vanessa Loring, to adopt her baby and begins to develop a unique relationship with them, particularly with Mark. Eventually, Mark admits to Juno that he does not want a baby and that he has decided to leave his wife. After the birth, Juno still gives the baby to Vanessa. The last scene presents Juno and Bleeker sitting together as a couple, playing a song on their guitars. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days follows 2 friends, Gabita and Otilia, on their journey to get an abortion for Gabita. The film is set in Romania in 1987, when the nation is still under Communist rule, prohibiting abortions. A communist law makes abortion punishable by up to ten years in prison, depending on how far along the pregnancy was. Because the girls are poor college students, they must find the doctor that will perform the surgery for the least amount of money. The doctor they choose performs illegal abortions; in addition to being unethical, he is also not a trustworthy man. He informs the young girls that they do not have enough money and in exchange for his services, he forces both of them to have sex with him.

One of the global themes presented in both films is the prevalence of unwed pregnant women. Both main characters are young and not currently in any sort of stable relationship. From there, however, the differences begin. While the American film satirizes the situation in which its' protagonist finds herself, the Romanian film realizes the full extent of the consequences. 4 Months "dares to be honest about the high stakes of women's reproductive lives"(Hornaday). Juno's society allows abortions. Though she explores the possibility of having one, she ultimately decides against it. For Gabita, abortions are highly illegal, yet the audience never sees her consider another option. She immediately chooses to have an abortion, but throughout the film, she lies to both the doctor and her friend about the situation. These lies worsen her situation as it goes on. Juno's immaturity does not lie in her impulsive choices which she is prepared to defend and live with, but rather in her "familiar adolescent assumption that she understands the world better than her elders do, and that she can finesse the unintended consequences of her decisions" (Scott). Throughout the film, Juno proves to be capable of handling the situation in which she has found herself, while audiences wonder throughout 4 Months how Gabita is going to blunder once again. 4 Months follows a girl who will learn nothing from endangering not only her life but the life of her best friend, while Juno follows a girl " on a twisty path toward responsibility and greater self-understanding" (Scott).

Another global theme that both movies present is women's universal fear that a man she trusts will hurt her, either physically or emotionally. In Juno, this fear is represented by Mark. He realizes well into the pregnancy that he does not want a child and ultimately does not want to be married. He decides that he cannot handle the commitment that a child would require. When Mark leaves Vanessa, he makes her worst fear come true. She has everything she has wanted finally within her reach until her husband decides to leave her and she believes that her dreams are no longer a possibility. Bleeker is another representation of a man failing to commit to a woman. Throughout Juno’s pregnancy, Bleeker pays little attention to her and even plans to take another girl to the prom, about which Juno confronts him. Only in the end, after Juno makes her feelings clear, does he decide to help her through the pain she experiences after giving her baby away.

The fear of commitment is represented by multiple men in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. First, the audience never meets the father of Gabita’s baby, nor does either girl mention him. Viewers must assume that he wanted nothing to do with the child or Gabita. This fear also represents itself through the doctor performing the abortion. The girls trusted him to simply do the procedure, take their money, and go. He even tells them that he has hidden nothing from them and that he has been completely honest with them from the beginning. He then proceeds to bargain that they both must sleep with him to convince him to follow through with his promise. The third representation of the fear of commitment comes when Otilia finally tells her boyfriend that Gabita has had an abortion. She then asks him what he would do if she became pregnant. He never fully answers her question, but rather tells her that she will not become pregnant, even though she clearly states that it could happen. His lack of response shows that he is not fully committed to her.

The presence of music in a film can completely change how audiences perceive it. The soundtrack for Juno quickly became a hit in the pop culture market, reaching number one soundtrack on the Billboard only two weeks after being released. The film's "passive-aggressive pseudo-folk songs" make audiences feel lighthearted and carefree, much like the main character feels. However, in 4 Months, director Mungiu opted to completely eliminate music from the film. The lack of music forces audiences to "sift through naturalistic conversations that -- much like the dorm's grubby furnishings, its darkly lighted hallways and the mewling kittens Otilia finds in those grim passages -- seem artless, more like real life than aesthetic choices" (Dargis). Once again, viewers of 4 Months fully realize the dangers to which its' characters are subject. The film 4 Weeks has, overall, a more intense feeling and it better resembles real life.

Hollywood films have often been criticized by conservative societal leaders because they present controversial situations and themes such as violence, sexual scenes, and profanity which some believe lead to mimesis. The representation of teen pregnancy in films has been argued to lead to more teen pregnancies in America simply because it is portrayed in films such as Juno. Scholars like Jane Brown feel that teen girls wish to identify with characters such as Juno because the film downplays the negative effects of teen pregnancy on society. Juno seems to have a very happy ending: she successfully gives her baby up for adoption to a caring mother and she develops a happy relationship with her baby’s father. The film portrays only the positive outcome of having a child out of wedlock. The opposite could be said of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, however. This film explores how dangerous and frightening being pregnant out of wedlock can be. Though Gabita shows little responsibility throughout the film, her friend Otilia provides for her in her time of need. The pair fully understands the possible consequences of their actions and takes the necessary precautions. After watching this film, viewers feel catharsis because it puts fear into the audience. The film shows no happiness or celebration; the closest feeling to those might be relief at the very end.

Though the initial situation of the girls in both films is similar, each handles her predicament differently. These films show the overall global theme of pregnancy out of wedlock, but also the local culture differences that change each girl’s outcome.

Works Cited

Ann Hornaday - Washington Post Staff Writer. (2008, February 1). '4 Months': A Time and Place Brought Unerringly to Life. Review of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. The Washington Post,p. C.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1422062821).

A. O. Scott. (2007, December 5). Seeking Mr. and Mrs. Right for a Baby on the Way :[Review]. Review of Juno. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. E.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1393187271).

Manohla Dargis. (2008, January 25). Friend Indeed Who Doesn't Judge Or Flinch :[Review]. Review of 4 Months. New York Times (Late Edition (east Coast)), p. E.1. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ProQuest National Newspapers Core database. (Document ID: 1418175421).

Jane Brown. (2008, June 26). In Cluster of Teen Pregnancies, 'Juno' Comes to Life. National Public Radio.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91906103.