Juno, Knocked Up, Pollitt, Comedy

Katha Politt's essay "Maternity Fashions, Junior Size". You are Right On that these films, and most public discourse anymore, makes it seem like terminating a pregnancy is the shameful and irresponsible thing to do. When, the shameful thing to do is make a choice that's bad for one's life (boys and girls both, sex is a choice, and birth control is also a choice, and accidents happen even with it). And choosing to terminate a pregnancy can be, and often is, in the context of a woman's life, the right thing to do. If not, she has other choices.

But, it's not funny, or chipper---it's not comedy. But, then, being 14 and pregnant in a family that is dysfunctional/violent/dangerous is not funny. Fortunately, puckish Juno's family is not that. And waking up with a boy-man-slacker on your pillow is not all that funny either, but it happens. This is part of being human, flawed, and occasionally stupid. We do that. And it needs to be comedy, because otherwise, it's just awful.

For instance, there's bad advice.

One of the interesting aspects of both these films is that they are not only comedies, but really funny ones and pretty smart too. About which some serious cultural thinking could be done -- like that it's a Good Thing that these films don't view sex and pregnancy as life threatening sins for which this woman must be destroyed or incarcerated (though that does happen). And in the other direction that, really, the premise of both these films is not funny.

But, comedy is a genre and as such makes demands. Abortion falls in under drama, not comedy. Which does not mean tragedy. And maybe there should be a good drama about a woman who make that choice. It's a really life altering process. And drama is about life being altered. Comedy is about life not really changing, though its threatened with change, and if it does, it goes pretty much back to normal.