1. Juno
Junois a comedydramabout a streetwise 16yearoldgirl whogetspregnantanddecidesto give the
baby up for adoption.
It was submittedtothe BBFC with a PG request but got given a 12. The reason why this film is not a
PG is because the filmhas sexual situations,obviously, but no nudity, it insinuated sex because she
took her nickers off then went to the guy, or violence and not much swearing, violence/gore and
substance use. I think that one of the reasons why it was given a 12 is that it includes discussions
betweenteenagers,includingone whoispregnantasa resultof unprotectedsex. Substance use was
seen because a woman drank wine and a teenage girl carries an unlit pipe in her mouth. Violence
and gore was seenbecause she screamedwhilst inlabourandalittle bitof goo and blood was seen.
The filmalsocontainssexual referencesforexample; ‘vag’, ‘boners’, getting ‘snatch’, condoms that
‘make his balls smell like pie’. Some take place in a sexual clinic where Juno goes when she is
consideringatermination. The film also uses two uses of strong language (f**k) are not aggressive
nor directed at anyone. They occur firstly when mark (the prospective adoptive father for Juno’s
baby) is trying to appear ‘cool’ in a conservation about horror movies, and secondly when Juno
realisesthatshe isgoinginto labour. Another reason why it was not classified as a PG is because of
the brief scene from an old horror movie The Wizard of Gore which was rated an 18.
The brief clip from The Wizard of Gore, though it isn’t a strong focus in the film, was an interesting
classificationissue.ItisshownwhenJunoandmark bondovertheirshared love of music and horror
films. Each is trying to impress the other with their knowledge of what is ‘cool’, and their shared
viewing lays the groundwork for the narrative development. The clip itself is well-flagged – they
discuss horror directors, and mark then shows this short illustrative clip of The Wizard of Gore.
Though the horror film itself would probably be passed at a higher category, the short clip from it
here is acceptable under Guidelines at 12A.
The films trailer received complaints during its theatrical release. The trailer cut together some of
the film’shighlightsincludingsome comicsex references, a passing mention of hard drugs and sight
of a character givinganother‘the finger’.Thisgotcomplaintsbecause itwasshownbeforechildren’s
films.
The director of this film is Jason Reitman. The writer is Diablo Cody and the three main stars were
EllenPage,Michael CeraandJenniferGarner.JasonReitmanis also
the director of Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking and Young
Adult. Diablo Cody wrote Young
Adult,Jennifer’s Body and United
States of Tara. Ellen Page has
starred in Inception (2010) with
Leonardo DiCaprio, the hit film
Hard Candy (2005) and X-Men:
Days of Future Past (2014) alongwithJenniferLawrence andJamesMcAvoy.Michael Cera starred in
the hit film Super Bad (2007) alongside Jonah Hill, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Nick and
Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) alongside Kat Dennings. Jennifer Garner has starred in Alias (2001),
the hit film Dallas Buyers Club (2013) alongside Mathew McConaughey and Daredevil (2003).

2. In my opinion the film was rubbish it had no purpose. It should have been given a PG because it
doesn’tglamourizeteenpregnancyone singlebitanditwouldshow people that if they did become
pregnant then they could give it to a couple who are struggling to start a family. So if anything it’s
sending out the message that if you do end up pregnant underage then there are other options
other than abortion and it’s not the end of the world. Some criticism of the film had suggested it
might advertise teen pregnancy but the BBFC took the view that the film’s treatment of an
importanttheme was‘suitableforyoungteenagers’asitpresentedJuno’spregnancy and its effects
on her relationships realistically, rather than sugar coating it.
The distributorof the filmisFox SearchlightPictures. Fox Searchlight Pictures has distributed other
films for example Slumdog Millionaire and 12 years of slave which have both won the Academy
Award for Best Picture at the 81st Academy Awards and 86th Academy Awards respectively. A
further seven academy awards was awarded to Slumdog Millionaire and a further two academy
awards was awarded to 12 years of slave. Other films that were distributed by Fox’s Searchlight
Picturesinclude BlackSwan,starringMilaKunisandNatalie Portman,alsothey have distributed 127
hours, starring James Franco and Amber Tamblyn. Around the time that Juno was distributed Fox
Searchlight Pictures distributed The Savages, starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Phillip Bosco,
also distributed was La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon), starring Kate Del Castillo and Jesse
Garcia.
Films related to Juno are;
 Young Adult – starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson
 Jennifer’s Body – starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried and Adam Brody
Junowas passed12A and receivedcritical acclaimandOscarnominations.The BBFC insight for Juno
was ‘Containsstronglanguage andmoderate sex references’.The theme,tone and horror moments
were alsomentionedinthe expandedversionof the BBFC insight, particularly for parents. The DVD
version was passed at 12 in 2008.