Post-Apocalyptic and Pro-Love

I've been watching movies lately. Post-apocalyptic type things, like the hyper-relevant (if accidentally so) "V for Vendetta", which brought about all sorts of declarations, debates, and alliteration to the unwashed masses. Others, like "Equilibrium" and "the Island" are cute, violent little gems that show some depressing end-world or human disaster that is not completely devoid of hope. Then there's "Requiem for a Dream," in which the horrors of drugs and a wasted life are pushed into your mind against your will. It is the most hopeless thing I've ever seen on screen, and it makes you feel empty and pained. These movies, even the comedies, are designed to make you think about your life, about what could happen and what could go wrong. There are message movies, zombie flicks, "meaningful" depression rides, and optimistic realism playing like a cautionary tale.

Then, there's "Juno".

A romantic comedy, perhaps? A high school dramedy? Maybe. But as a young woman recently out of school, I saw it as a post-apocalypitc tale in which someone made it out alive.

In "Juno", the worst has already happened. The film starts out with the title character pregnant, scared, and confused. She's sixteen years old and has the possible beginnings of a person inside of her. The decision she must make first is both important and known to the whole advertizing-absorbing world. The zygote turns to fetus, and eventually, will emerge fully suited in armor--wielding a spear--from her mother's head. Wait, that's how Jupiter gave birth, not Juno.

At any rate, Juno becomes an outsider, a stranger in her own home, it seems. She has to explain herself constantly, and must be wary of the freaks around her. People in this movie may not be dripping blood, heads lolling to the side as they trudge towards her, but many of them may well be a sort of metaphorical zombie. They are not in the lives they expected, nor are they living in the world they thought they knew. People change, things aren't what they seem, and Earth is a scary place. But Juno gets through it with a smirk on her face.

The acting is great, the cast is professional and believable. Ellen Page is likeable and smart as the protagonist, and Michael Cera is adorably confused, but at the same time he seems to have to much more together than one would suspect. That's the funny thing about a lot of teenagers. They don't know it all, but they're not as dumb as we think. At the same time, they do crave the stability and love that seems absent from their lives. They need guidance, and sometimes manage to look to the adults in their lives for answers.

These grown-ups are great (all four are dear favorites of mine, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman) and they play like a background that reaches out for you. Sorta like zombies. But cooler. They are in some ways just as screwed up as the kids, but with certain knowledge that keeps them from being quite so naive, or quite so nice.

The music in the movie is cute, the script is sharp and trendy, and I'd wear the cinematography with a hip belt and knee high boots if I could. The way that it barely deals with abortion is honest, if skimpy, but at least it acknowledges the concept. This is less a story of politics, or even romance, and more a tale of survival. Mistakes are made, hearts are broken, and through it all, the panicked mentality hides under a veil of bravado and an unwillingness to look too deeply into the consequences. The result is a darling little end-of-the-world scenario in which you hang out with some fun people, and leave feeling somehow more secure in a world that can easily turn you upside down.