0515NOTHera_Cody

0515NOTHera_Cody

Hes. Theog. 326-32
HH 12
Juno at IMDB

Diablo Cody, writer. Juno. Film. 2007: Fox Searchlight Pictures.

There are a number of parallels between teenage-Juno and goddess-Juno beyond the name. Most obviously, teenage-Juno is a representation of feminine fertility. In some ways, teenage-Juno acts as a vengeful lover, sarcastically berating her best friend and the father of her child when he asks another girl to the prom. At the end of the film, teenage-Juno tries to save Mark and Vanessa's marriage. Classical depictions of Juno often portray her as the goddess of marriage, the deity who would be called upon to save a marriage in trouble.

This unconventional comedy follows sixteen-year-old Juno MacGuff as she navigates an unexpected pregnancy. While it's by no means the most unconventional aspect of the film, Juno's unusual name draws a fair amount of comment from the other characters in the film. She explains where she got her name:

Juno MacGuff: My dad had this weird obsession with Roman or Greek mythology or something and he decided to name me after Zeus' wife.

Mark Loring: Zeus' wife?

Juno MacGuff: Yeah and I mean Zeus had tons of lays but I'm pretty sure Juno was his only wife. And apparently she was supposed to be super beautiful but really mean, like Diana Ross.

Mark later remarks that "super beautiful but really mean" describes Juno's character well.

Slide by CB

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1300 - 1990's, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.