A smart discussion in Slate’s movie club:

As far as the third-rail issue of abortion is concerned, I don’t know that I have anything useful to add to my colleagues’ thoughtful considerations. But since that’s never stopped me in the past, here goes: In movies (and on television), the harsh realities of teenage sex and its consequences—economic, psychological, physical, lifelong—are rarely part of the cultural conversation. As a result, young women, most without the resources of Jamie Lynn Spears, are surrounded by images of glowing young mothers, complication-free miscarriages, and happy adoptions rarely enriched by discussions of responsibility. (Juno chooses her partner and plans her deflowering though neglects to include contraception.) For all the visible penises onscreen, I have yet to see one successfully sporting a Trojan Corrugated Extra Comfy (or whatever thoughtful young men would be wearing these days if Seth Rogen didn’t make it look like such hard work).

And here’s the thing about choice, to answer Stephanie’s comments: It’s not about believing Juno herself made a “wrong” choice but that movies like Juno (and Knocked Up and She’s Having a Baby and Nine Months and on and on and on), by fielding characters who never choose abortion (and, in most cases, never even discuss it seriously), suggest that abortion isn’t a choice at all. (This squeamishness is actually addressed, very cleverly, in Knocked Up.) And you don’t need a menacing Virgin Mary to convey the message: Juno’s grungy clinic works just as well. For the record, I don’t think it has anything to do with pro-life propaganda, just the usual corporate fear of controversy and attendant financial consequences.

Quick coda: For a healthy, unsensationalized, straightforward treatment of abortion, I heartily recommend High Fidelity. Remember that one?