Juno: The Shooting Script (a few days late because blogspot wasn't working)

            So I read two books this week since they were both screenplays so they were sorta short. However, the one I would like to focus on is Juno: The Shooting Script. I also read A Streetcar Named Desire, but I didn’t have as much of a connection with the characters as I did with Juno. Diablo Cody really took a look at the average family, and completely rearranged everything about it. I think most people have seen or at least heard of Juno. Basically, it is about a girl who gets pregnant and all of the adventures and misfortunes that unfold because of this.

            The whole screenplay talks about finding yourself, and finding people who can accept you. It sounds really cheesy, but it’s not at all, very quirky and well written. One line that really stayed with me was, “I never realize how much I like being home unless I’ve been somewhere really different for a while.” It’s almost like Juno needs some reassurance that she has a good life, that even though things can get awkward or bumpy she will always have a place to go home. Every “average” family has the basis of a home, it’s the first step in our society, if you want a family you need a home.  But what is home anyway? In Juno, home is her family and friends.

            Home is not a house, a bed, a tent, a car, home is a environment you choose to immerse yourself in. I think home is the place where you are not afraid to make mistakes because you know you can deal with the consequences of your decisions.  Juno realized this after experiencing the world through a different perspective. She got pregnant and suddenly the world saw her as “the cautionary whale”, everything changed, except for Juno.  One stupid mistake cost her her reputation, but it also created a new life for both her and Vanessa. After truly witnessing the ugliness and raw beauty of her newfound identity as the pregnant girl, she became a better version of herself.

            We are constantly changing, evolving, maturing and making mistakes, but does this mean our homes change as well? Just because we are shedding an old personality and trying on a new one, does this mean those who love us, the things that we love all change as well? From Diablo’s perspective no. And I agree with this because no matter what new parts of ourselves we choose to unveil or hide away we will have our core beliefs, which is part of our home.