An Introduction to Film

Comparative cultural analysisA comparison of Juno’s

treatment of unwanted pregnancy with other films featuring

the same subject matter is but one of the many analytical

approaches that could be used to explore cinema’s function

within culture, as well as the influence of culture on the

movies. Such an analysis could compare Junowith American

films produced in earlier eras, from [1] D. W. Griffith’s

dramatic Way Down East(1920), to [2] Preston Sturges’s 1944

screwball comedy The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, to [3]

Roman Polanski’s paranoid horror film Rosemary’s Baby

(1968). An alternate analysis might compare Junowith the

other American films released in 2007 that approached the

subject with a similar blend of comedy and drama: [4] Judd

Apatow’s Knocked Upand [5] Adrienne Shelly’s Waitress. A

comparative analysis of these movies’ international con -

temporaries, such as [6] Cristian Mungiu’s stark 4 Months,

3 Weeks and 2 Days(2007), might reveal differences between

American and European sensibilities.

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WAYS OF LOOKING AT MOVIES 21