Juno is not to blame for the 17 teen pregnancies at a high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts, says Jason Bateman:
“I don’t know the specifics, but I can speak about what sort of responsibility entertainment should hold for social behavior,” Bateman, who starred as one half of adoptive couple the Lorings in “Juno,” told Access Hollywood. “Unfortunately, we’ve had these instances where guys kill people because of what they hear in rock ‘n roll lyrics or some garbage like that. Look, if you’re going to blame a movie or song for your actions, whether they be good or bad, I think you’re looking at the wrong things to influence your life.”
Amen, Brother Bateman.
How about: if you're so easily influenced by movies like Juno, your parents might be to blame? And maybe the Bush Administration for its abstinence-only education?
We, too, are kind-of tired about hearing of the Juno Effect. We would imagine psychopaths are just as impressionable as teenagers, and we never heard about a Silence of the Lambs Effect. But maybe we were too young to remember that?
Anyway, like Bateman says, let the movies remain sources of entertainment. And like we say (as of now), if you child is so easily influenced by the movies, maybe you should save for energy for trying to figure out why, instead of blaming the movies.
[Access Hollywood: Jason Bateman Defends ‘Juno’ In Wake Of Massachusetts Teen Pregnancies]
Related:
Abstinence-Only Education Doesn't Work