Is papa gonna preach or what?
Josh Glenn of the Boston Globe has pulled together an incredibly comprehensive list of what's happened with women and pregnancy in popular culture since ye olden times. Now in three parts! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - for reals, you'll need some time to read through it.)
Deeps suggested the list is worth reading for lots of context with respect to our discussion/review of Juno on the latest episode of the Big Red Podcast. From a storytelling perspective, Juno has to go through the birthing process and put the kid up for adoption.
But the story kind of ignores the whole question of abortion - in that it doesn't really explain why she chooses not to have one. Is it a religious reason? Is it a moral reason? Is she afraid? Is she feeling guilty? We have no idea.
Apparently bad lighting and paneling lead you to decide to give birth. It's not a big deal, but it is kind of a moment where you're thinking - what kind of girl is Juno? She's so articulate about a host of other issues that her silence on this issue is noticeable.
Anyway, the list is huge and makes for an interesting read about the evolution of the social and political attitudes about abortion and how they are reflected back to us in the mirror of popular culture.
There