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Teen Pregnancy: Glorification Through Entertainment Media

Perhaps entertainment medias highest claim to fame is its ability to present a fresh take on things. Mo ies and tele ision sho!s that put a funky t!ist on boring old real life situations are essentially !hat make the entertainment business go "round. Though these sho!s tend to differ in message and medium# they share a daunting ability to influence the minds and beha ior of those !ho !atch them. $ recent and alarming entertainment fad takes a fresh spin on the conse%uences of teen pregnancy. The film Juno and tele ision series The Secret Life of the American Teenager take the ine itable# undeniable# and generally miserable results of teen pregnancy and glorify them into an unrealistically re!arding process# failing to portray all the traumatic results that accompany real&life teen mothers. 'ith ()*#*** teens gi ing birth e ery year +the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industriali,ed !orld-# the teen !orld of entertainment consumerism could do !ithout the lighthearted and ideali,ed portrayals of the li es of teen mothers. The .**( film Juno tells the story of an offbeat girl in high school !ho is faced !ith an unplanned pregnancy. /he is incredibly self&possessed and also has a ery supporti e family and a s!eet# sincere father of to her unborn child. /ounds like pretty ideal circumstances. The message young girls recei e from Juno is that it is really cool# fun# and actually okay to ha e an unplanned pregnancy !hile in high school. /arah 0ro!n# 1E2 of the 3ational 1ampaign to Pre ent Teen and 4nplanned Pregnancy# e5presses her concern: $dults understand the bigger picture and !hat the risks are of

2 adolescence and childbearing. $dolescents see it through the lens of the "me generation. $dolescence is also a self&absorbed time. 6f the baby got handed off and she got the boyfriend back +as happens in Juno-# !hats the problem7 The problem !ith Juno is not only the highly romantici,ed situation# but also its tone to!ard unplanned teen motherhood. The idea of non&8udgmental tolerance is a recurring theme in Juno# and those !ho challenge the irresponsible actions that led to the pregnancy or !ho e5press distaste to!ard the situation are critici,ed throughout the film. This isnt to say Juno is an e il film. 9uite contrastingly# part of the problem !ith Juno is that it is sunny# funny# cute# and endearing. Many of its characters employ %ualities that are likeable and admirable# such as the protagonists remarkably thick skin and !illingness to stand up for !hat she belie es is right. The concern is less !ith the actual e ents in the film and more that audiences !ill fail to understand that the story of Juno is atypical. The protagonist# her actions# the results of those actions# and the reactions to those results are all not !hat one !ould normally find in the real !orld. :eborah ;offman# !ho !orks !ith elementary through high school students as a human se5uality educator in 0altimore and 'ashington# :.1.# says Juno is a story <about a remarkably resilient young person# and that=s !hy there=s a mo ie about her>shes also atypical in that she has a support system# !hich most pregnant teens do not ha e. 6n the real !orld# the process does not !ork the !ay it does in Juno. ?ess %uirky and self&assured# yet 8ust as smart and armed !ith a like!ise strong support system is main character $my on the $01 @amily hit series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. $my plays a s!eet# straight&$ student in high school !ho departs for band camp a irgin and returns pregnant. $t first# $my is scared# confused#

3 guilty# the !orks. 0ut as the sho! progresses# she %uickly o ercomes these emotions and settles into a happy# comfortable life. $fter the initial shock !ears off# her family e entually comes around to be !onderfully supporti e. E entually# $mys mother e en !atches o er the baby !hile $my goes off to school during the day. The response of the male figures on the sho! is perhaps the most ideali,ed of all: on the ery first episode of Secret Life# $mys first reali,ation that shes pregnant is soon follo!ed by a marriage proposal from her best friend 0en. 6n later seasons# $my recei es yet another marriage proposal from ;icky# the real father of her son. $ny fear of commitment commonly associated !ith boys is !iped from the screen# lea ing $my !ith a successful life as a high school student# a thri ing social life# a lo ing and supporti e mother# and a boyfriend !ith a con enient attraction to commitment. Gee# that sounds s!ell. 'ait# !hats that7 6t doesnt usually !ork out that !ay in real life7 3o# it doesnt. 6n real life# A* percent of teen fathers do not marry the mothers of their children# only a third of teen mothers earn their high school diploma# and only B.) percent ha e a college degree by age C*. Teen pregnancies often damage e5isting family dynamics. These are the unrepresented facts that are negated and s!ept under the rug in $mys Secret Life# hidden deeper and deeper !ith e ery episode. Perhaps an e en !orse facet of Secret Life than the glorified portrayal of $mys pregnancy is the sho!s depiction of promiscuous se5 as mainstream. There is not a single main or supporting character on the sho! that has not had se5 at least once# and each main character has had se5 !ith at least t!o different people +usually more- and does so on a regular basis. This fuels the gro!ing idea in teens minds that casual se5 is considered normal and that not to engage in se5ual relations is odd. $ccording to :o/omething.org# an organi,ation for

4 social change in teen li es# most teens +si5 in ten- and adults +three in four- belie e that teen boys often recei e the message that they are e5pected to ha e se5. /e enty&fi e percent of girls and o er fifty percent of boys report that girls !ho ha e se5 do so because their boyfriends !ant them to +duh-. Eight in ten girls and si5 in ten boys say they !ish they had !aited until they !ere older to ha e se5. $n $my !ithout these messages instilled into her teenage psyche ersus an $my !ith the conception of casual se5 as mainstream !ill probably ha e ery different e5periences at band camp. Secret Lifes portrayal of teen se5 as mainstream and as a form of acceptance empo!ers and encourages this type of beha ior amongst teens. Therefore the concern is that the sho! might not only encourage and sugarcoat but also contribute to the rates of +yep# you guessed it- teen pregnancy. Malcolm D once remarked# The medias the most po!erful entity on Earth> 0ecause they control the minds of the masses. 6f the minds of society and# specifically# the minds of societys youth are influenced by the media# then portrayals of teen girls !ith unplanned teen pregnancies# such as those in Juno and The Secret Life of the American Teenager, !ould therefore play critical roles in shaping the minds of those !ho !atch them. The underlying messages of both these stories is that a teen girl !ith an unplanned pregnancy may hit a couple speed bumps in the beginning# but after a fe! !eeks +e en days-# e erything !ill go back to normal# if not better# and the sun !ill shine and life !ill go on as it should be. The real&life conse%uences of teen pregnancy are s!ept under the rug by the creators of Juno and Secret Life# and are drained from the con eyed portrayal of teen pregnancy that manifests itself in ie!ers minds# especially those of the younger fans. $t this rate# !hile $01 @amilys $my returns home from

5 band camp to a day of unpleasant ner es follo!ed by a marriage proposal and a lo ing and supporti e family# real&life $my +2r 0ecky# 2r 1indy# 2r ?inda>- !ill probably be in for a nasty# painfully real surprise.

/ources Gerner# Eackie. <:o TF /ho!s Glorify Teen Pregnancy7< The Missourian .B Ean. .*BB: emissourian.com. 'eb. .G Ean. .*B.. Hhttp:II!!!.emissourian.comImoreJne!sImyJmoJyouthJsectionIarticleJba)cKc .A&.)GA&BBe*&a*fL&**BccLc*C.AK.htmlM.

Eayson# /haron. <:oes =Euno= /ho! /trength or Glorify Teen Pregnancy7< USA Today .( May .**A: 'eb. .G Ean. .*B.. Hhttp:II!!!.usatoday.comIne!sIhealthI.**A&*C& *G&8uno&pregnancy&mainJ3.htmM.

<Teens and $bstinence: 'hat=s the :eal7.< DoSomething.org. 'eb. .G Ean. .*B.. Hhttp:II!!!.dosomething.orgItipsandtoolsIteens&and&abstinence&!hats&dealM.