Unpregnant

I just watched the movie ‘Unpregnant,‘ and have a few things I want to say. Turns out, most of them are thank you.

Thank you to the writers and those who kept to the story’s vision, for not making Veronica regret her choice. Or worse, change her mind. So often, a woman or girl on our screens discovers she’s pregnant, has no interest in having a kid, but next thing you know, she can’t go through with getting rid of it and decides she really, really wants to be a mother after all. She starts seeing tender mother-and-child moments everywhere. Her heart beats a little faster, she feels a pang of love for the collection of cells that has started growing down near her nethers.

Why is it they don’t suddenly start noticing the little monster haing a tantrum in the grocery store coffee aisle at bleeding ear decibels, or the mother crying helplessly in the corner of the library because her baby won’t stop crying and she hasn’t slept in 17 weeks and is now hallucinating judges and juries pointing at her screaming ‘shame, shame, shame?’

Veronica didn’t waver. She decided early on that she didn’t want a baby, and that doesn’t change. There were no heart-warming montages of maternal bliss. Other than creepy stocker boyfriend and the antiabortionists, no-one tries to change her life plan. In other words, no-one important tries to make her see how adorable babies are, no-one tells her how full her life will be with a child to derail her life. She doesn’t compromise for a bunch of non-viable cells or a guy who should at least be in juvie for his transgressions – hello, he tried to control her life and her body with a broken condom. Next he’ll probably start killing neighbourhood cats and move on to bankers and sex workers.

Thank you for making a female road-trip story without centering a romance/love interest subplot. For a moment there, so used to the traditional plot moves, I thought maybe there would be a subplot with some kind of romance with Jarrod. But there wasn’t. He and his friends were a great experience in what meeting strangers in strange places should be like. I admit, I waited for the writers to make the story loop back somehow to him, a coincidental meeting or something.

Thank you for calling out that really fucking annoying trope that we celebrate as romantic. You know, where the guy pursues until the reluctant love interest until she (usually a she) says yes. And, surprise surprise! she falls in love with our persistant hero and realises what a great guy he is and that he deserves her love after all the work he has put into it. In reality, he should fuck off after ‘no.’ Not wait for ‘nonononononononononono, sigh I’m so damn exhausted with this crap, so okay, yes if it will get you off my back and off my damn lawn.’

Yeah, I probably misused the word trope. I wasn’t a film studies wank, and some of that filmspeak still confuses me. I know what a frame is. And a tracking shot, I understand continuity, so I figure I’m doing well enough. It sounds right. Ish.

I’m tired, it’s almost 1:30am, it’s been a hella long day, and I have another one tomorrow. Hell, long week ahead. I’m sure there is more I have to say about this, and maybe a bit of time marinading will bring more thoughts into focus. As usual, I know no-one’s out there reading this, but I’ll happily talk to myself just to get someone to listen to me. If you are someone other than me, and you’ve read this far, thank you. Welcome.