Discuss how
meaning is created through mise-en-scene and cinematography – Charlotte Bennett
The scene “Doodle can’t be undid” is set in a pharmacy, as
Juno tries to find out if she is pregnant or not. Due to the fact that it is
set in a pharmacy and not a doctor’s surgery creates meaning as it implies Juno
would rather find out on her own and not risk other people finding out that she
is pregnant. The costume used in this scene is contemporary, this highlights
that the film is set in modern day and therefore considers the issues that come
with teenage pregnancy today. Furthermore, the store assistant, Rollo, wears a
name badge which helps establish who the characters are and their role in the
scene. Juno wears her hair in a ponytail with minimal/no make-up, similarly to
the rest of the film, this creates meaning as it infers that Juno doesn’t
particularly care about her appearance and she is not stereotypically feminine.
Meaning is further created through props, such as the sweets that Juno buys
along with the pregnancy test. Therefore highlighting that Juno is still quite
childish and immature at 16, which offers a juxtaposition to the fact that she
might be pregnant and will have to deal with issues way beyond her maturity
level. Character expression/movement is another aspect to mise-en-scene which
helps to create meaning in this scene. For example Juno frantically walks
through the shop which helps to infer that she is anxious about the situation or
it could imply that she really needs the toilet, due to all the ‘Sunny D’ drink
that she drank in the previous scene. The store assistant, Rollo, has a blank
expression for the majority of this scene which shows that he is either bored
or unbothered by the situation this could be because Juno has already used a
Pregnancy test a few times recently in the pharmacy. Meaning is further created
in this scene through the use of lighting, natural lighting is used in the main
part of the store which infers that the scene takes place during the daytime.
However, when Juno goes to use the store toilet, there is very little natural
or even artificial light which could imply that Juno is in the dark about the
pregnancy and has very little clarity and this is represented through the
darkness of the restroom. Therefore, the main meaning established in this scene
is the anxiety and the lack of clarity that Juno feels around the subject of
pregnancy.
In the scene “I’m a planet!” it is set in a school corridor which
creates meaning as it helps to reiterate that Juno is still in school whilst
quite heavily pregnant; which could imply that she still cares about her
education enough to still attend school, even though it would be very difficult
for her, or it could infer that her step-mother or father still want her to get
a good education and not conform to the stereotype of teenage mothers, that
they just quit school and don’t try anymore. Costume is used in this scene to
implement the idea that Juno doesn’t care much for her appearance as she wears
the same red jacket that she wore when she found out she was pregnant,
therefore implying she has other priorities other than buying new clothes. The
character of Bleeker is not wearing his typical attire of athletic wear, a
decision made possibly to show he is not currently doing sport or that the
director wanted to make the scene more serious, which the quite comical
athletic costume would have taken away from the scene. The hair and make-up in
this scene doesn’t add much to the meaning, as both characters have the same
simple hairstyles they have in most of the film. Although, it does help to
illustrate how both characters don’t give much thought to their appearance as
they care about other, more trivial things. The props in this scene are quite
minimal and only consist of things such as lockers and posters to show that the
scene takes place in school, the meaning created through minimal props is
possibly to have the scene focus more on the characters and dialogue between
them, as more props may distract the audience from the quite serious
conversation taking place. Character expression creates meaning in this scene,
as Bleeker avoids eye contact which highlights that he feels embarrassed or
even guilty that he upset Juno and treated her in quite an unfair manner.
Whereas Juno seems to have a blank, almost tired expression which could imply
that she is upset and exhausted of how others are treating her. Meaning is
further created in this scene by the use of artificial lighting, as it makes
the scene feel quite cold and creates quite an emotionless atmosphere in the
setting of the school.
Meaning is created in the scene “Mark tells Juno he is
leaving Vanessa” through mise-en-scene. For example the use of setting, which
takes place in Mark’s hobby room. The meaning this creates is that it hints at
secrecy and being underground. This is further implied through the use of
props, such as: boxes, CDs and beer bottles as this implies how Mark has to
hide parts of himself away from Vanessa. Mark and Juno’s costume is quite
similar, both are wearing band tops over long sleeve shirts, the meaning this
creates is that Mark still thinks of himself as a teenager and isn’t very mature.
This also is comparable to Juno as she has matured more over the course of the
film and Mark hasn’t even though he is significantly older than Juno. The
make-up used in this scene is quite significant and creates meaning as Juno is
wearing lipstick, unlike the rest of the film where she wears no visible
make-up, this could infer that she is trying to impress Mark or that she is mad
at Bleeker and wants to make him jealous. It also highlights how Juno is not
being completely herself, and will make the audience sympathetic towards Juno.
Character movement creates meaning as Juno and Mark dance together, which
highlights the uncomfortable age difference but also showcases how both the
characters feel about each other, as it implies they have different ideas of
what their relationship is. For example, even though Juno wore lipstick to
impress Mark she probably just feels lonely and wants a friend. However, Mark
may see the relationship as more romantic or just knows that he wants a partner
more like Juno than Vanessa. The lighting used in this scene is quite warm,
with closed curtains and a lamp. Which could imply that the scene takes place
at night or that it further implies a sense of secrecy as darkness has
connotations with secrecy.
