Juno Essay

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.