Research : Analysis of the opening of Juno.

The opening sequence of Juno tells its audience many things about the way in which the rest of the film will be. For example, we first see Juno walking down a street alone, suggesting that she is a character that is independent and can think for herself. She is holding a carton of sunny D which conveys that she is a typical American teenager. Her clothing shows she makes little effort and does not appear concerned with fashion, her jeans and hoodie convey a tomboyish style. It also shows that she is quite childlike as Sunny D is typically associated with children. The music is a quirky kind of folk track, not the sort of music a typical sort of teenager would listen to. The lyrics convey feelings of a relationship, connoting that the film will have an aspect of romance.  The lyrics state “If I was a tree, you would be the leaves” connoting that she is rather innocent and engaged in a teenage romance and that a ‘coming of age’ story might follow.

Fox searchlight is the indie bit of 21^st century fox, which suggest that this film is going to be quirky. The way in  which it is completely hand-drawn show that to this character nothing is very realistic, she appears trapped within her own bubble and separate to the outside world. The colours used are simplistic, also connoting ideas of childhood. It is also quite comic and cartoon like which also connotes feelings of childhood.

We see the character passing a street full of shops, and the background appears rather dull in comparison to her bright red clothing. This connotes that she somewhat sticks out and is slightly different, in a surrounding which appears normal and banal. It suggests that she may be a slightly “oddball” character, as she appears to stand out from her surroundings whilst not appearing considerably extravagant. 

This shot shows a team of runners passing her, and they appear to go unnoticed to Juno. This shows that other peoples way of life does not bother her and she is much concerned with her own. It also connotes that she does not fit into any typical American stereotypes such as Jocks or cheerleaders, again conveying her as an individual.

We see her balancing on something in a park, which shows she is in her own world and does not appear to be particularly concerned with anything, considering she is on her way to buy a pregnancy test perhaps connotes naivety. It is also quite a childlike thing to do, and her surroundings of a park also connote childlike behaviour.