The films Juno and American Beauty - Essay Example

?Topic:  Comparison Essay -The films Juno and American Beauty The Movie Juno The Movie Juno is all about the unwanted pregnancy occurring among teenagers in America and the events surrounding it. The movie is ultra comedy and displays the adoption of a baby and how things go about it. The girl Juno here is a 16 year old female, who gets pregnant by her classmate Paulie and both plans to abort the baby. Juno is a girl with carefree attitude and does not care about what other people think about her. Juno in her tender age is ignorant about pregnancy and issue related to it and this quote confirms it. Juno MacGuff: I don't know, I drank like, ten gallons of Sunny D... I'm telling you I'm pregnant and you're acting shockingly caviler. Leah: Is this for real? Later by the influence of her friend she changes her mind and plans with Paulie to give the baby for adoption for this she gets the support from her parents. Juno with her friend Leah finds a couple to adopt the baby and the film later shows the Juno’s experience with the pregnancy and the emotional struggle associated with it. Long before the birth of the baby, Juno also confesses her love for Paulie. Also Paulie accepts the love for Juno and soon after she delivers a baby boy. In the meanwhile, the couple who about to adopt the baby faces a marriage breakdown. In the end of the movie, Vanessa (Single mother) who is supposed to adopt the baby accepts the baby and Juno and Paulie are shown to be passionately in love. The Movie American Beauty This movie American beauty explains the life of Lester who is writer in a magazine who dislikes his job. His wife Carolyn is a rude character, and their daughter Jane despises her parents. “Carolyn Burnham: Are you trying to look unattractive? Jane Burnham: Yes. Carolyn Burnham: Well, congratulations. You've succeeded admirably”. These dialoged shows the hostile relationship held by the mother and the daughter. Lester has a neighbor who is a colonel accompanied by his less social wife and a drug addicted son Ricky. The Lester’s daughter Jane is in love with Ricky and wants to extend her relation with him. Lester on the other hand is deep down inside depressed and wants a person to share his feelings. Meanwhile he gets in touch with Jane’s friend Angela and gets infatuated with her. Lester begins to experience sexual fantasies about Angela wherein red roses are surrounded by Him. On the other side, Carolyn his having an affair with her business counterpart Buddy. Later Lester finds out about his wife’s extra -marital affair but reacts indifferently. Jane in the later part of the movie gets involved with Ricky and Lester too gets friendly with Angela. In between all this Lester gets marijuana from Ricky and uses it and tries to sexually encounter Angela and finds that she is virgin and backs out. The father of Ricky accidently sees Lester nudely exercising and his son watching it, and concludes they r gay mates. Colonel rushes to Lester home and shoot him to death. Comparison between Juno and American Beauty The movie Juno and American beauty is both centered on teenagers and their romantic life and sexual activities. The movie is basically about the culture of teenagers in American and how they lead an unorganized and indisciplined life as this quoted depicts it. “Angela Hayes: Jane, he's a freak! Jane Burnham: Then so am I! And we'll always be freaks and we'll never be like other people and you'll never be a freak because you're just too... perfect! “Both these movies show to the viewers that the sexual life of American teenagers is active at an early stage. The movies also display the marriage failure happening in American society and how fragile relationship is. According to (Sarris) “In American Beauty ,Kevin Spacey plays Lester Burnham, a man in his mid-40s going through an intense midlife crisis; he's grown cynical and is convinced that he has no reason to go on”Both the movies also show the emotional struggle undergone by teenage and adults of America. The movie Juno has an anti – hero who is mark who has an attraction on Juno and movie American beauty has one in the form of Colonel who kills Lester in the end of the movie. Both the movie shows the materialistic way of life of Americans and how less importance they give to family relationship and love and this quote displays that. “Vanessa Loring: What are you saying? Mark Loring: That it feels a little like bad timing. Vanessa Loring: What would be a good time for you, Mark? Mark Loring: There's just some things that I still want to do. Vanessa Loring: Like what? Be a rock star?” This conversation shows the bitter relation between Mark and Vanessa who are adopting couple o f Juno’s baby. The movie also depicts a positive tone to the characters, as Jane and Ricky fall in love and Juno and Pauline get romantically involved in the end of the movie. Juno: “He is the cheese to my macaroni”. This shows the love Juno has for Pauline and how much she wants to be with him. Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) ; I feel like I've been in a coma for about twenty years. And I'm just now waking up. This quote shows the emotional struggle of Lester and the way he had been feeling about life. Same is the case with Juno as she is struggling between pregnancy and life. As per (Lijdnend) “Juno just had sex for the first time at sixteen and finds herself with a bun in the oven. What to do: abortion or adoption”. Both the movies also has comedy has its theme and explains multiple relationship at one time. The movies have explored different aspect of sexuality and focus on teenagers and their “sexual intimidations”. The movie is extensively depicting romance and relationship and affairs between different characters. Both the movies Juno and American beauty has displayed an aspect of anthropomorphism; an attribution of human characteristics to animals and plants. The Anthropomorphism is here is that characters of the movie are showing faithlessness like animals in relationship. None of the couples in the movie are loyal to each other and is showing animalism and infidelity. References Lijnden, Steve V. "Movie Review: Juno." Blog Critics. Technorati, 27 Mar. 2008. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. . Sarris, Andrew. "American Beauty (1999)." Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster , Mar. 2002. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. . Read More