Duration Choices in Juno
Usually movies and stories have a relatively simple story and plot duration ratio, for example The Dark Crystal's story duration is a couple of days, but I believe the makers of Juno used some very creative visual elements to show the passage of time in Juno's nine month journey through pregnancy. They could have easily shown it just by having Juno's inner monolog say "it's been 5 month's" or just have us figure it out by gauging Juno's belly size, but I think there are comparisons to be made between the seasons and the events that happen within those seasons.
The first season is shown by the images of falling leafs right away in the opening credits as Autumn. Just the fact that it's Autumn has a lot of plot elements in it. Knowing that it is Fall shows that it is the beginning of the school year, new year means new experiences.
The track team is also shown running past in the opening credits almost immediately after the previous leaf shot.
Winter is also shown very clearly through the writing on the screen and the snow. The track team also run across the screen. Winter is known for a lot of people as a dark time where people find themselves in a slump. This is significant because Winter is when Juno faces her toughest challenges and has to overcome them.
Spring is shown again very clearly here, the track team runs past again. You can see on the track that there is still a little bit of snow left, showing us that it's early Spring. The melting snow can also symbolize Juno's troubles melting away as she makes amends with Paulie Bleaker.
Spring also symbolizes new life, so it makes sense in the story that Juno has the baby during this time as well.
Spring also symbolizes new life, so it makes sense in the story that Juno has the baby during this time as well.
There's the track team again as the word Summer is drawn on the screen. Summer signifies the end of the school and a new found freedom, for Juno it's freedom from the burden of being pregnant.
The fact that's it's Summer also shows how much time past in the movies plot, which is a whole year that we've been following Juno. It may make more sense for the movie to end right after she gives birth, but waiting until Summer, in my opinion, gives the movie more closure as you see Juno enjoying her life as a normal teenager again, even though she is far from a normal girl.
The fact that's it's Summer also shows how much time past in the movies plot, which is a whole year that we've been following Juno. It may make more sense for the movie to end right after she gives birth, but waiting until Summer, in my opinion, gives the movie more closure as you see Juno enjoying her life as a normal teenager again, even though she is far from a normal girl.
The makers of Juno greatly empathized these transitions, by having the shot before fade slowly to black before the next scenic shot and the name of the season written on the screen. So they made it pretty important. But why?
Looking at the plot duration I just thought of a possible explanation for the track team motif. The track team may symbolize something that doesn't change despite the passage of time. Maybe. They're always there whenever a clear amount of time has passed, always running no matter the weather or season the track team stays consistent. Almost all the characters in Juno go through some sort of major change, whether it be becoming pregnant or getting a divorce, however the track team is a reminder to Juno that some things don't change, for example, her feelings for Paulie.
Looking at the plot duration I just thought of a possible explanation for the track team motif. The track team may symbolize something that doesn't change despite the passage of time. Maybe. They're always there whenever a clear amount of time has passed, always running no matter the weather or season the track team stays consistent. Almost all the characters in Juno go through some sort of major change, whether it be becoming pregnant or getting a divorce, however the track team is a reminder to Juno that some things don't change, for example, her feelings for Paulie.
Sauces:
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.
Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.