Hollywood influences decision making options for many individuals through seeing and hearing. A good number of people will take action based on something they saw or heard on TV at home or in a movie theater.
Although abortion is legalized in the USA, many people choose to stay on the positive side of the subject. A majority of movies that talk about abortion portray characters who would choose to have an abortion, yet they would rather appear pro-life than be seen to directly support abortion.
Is the representation by abortion movies a reality?
A 2014 study by Guttmacher Institute showed 39% of abortions in America were performed on white patients, 28% on black and 25% on Hispanics.
Most of the stories revolve around accidental pregnancies but miss another side of planned pregnancies where a woman decides later to terminate the pregnancy in favor of her other children she is taking care of. The onscreen abortions show privately arranged abortions and fail to show the professionally done abortions that end up positively, although some portray the discussion well as seen in these movies.
Abortion is seen as a social issue in most countries. In many countries, it has been criminalized and there have been debates over its legalization, even in the UK and US. Popular culture has also not covered it very deeply and only a few movies have been made around this topic.
Many high-quality articles and essays have been written on this and are available on the internet. You can read most of them at https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/pro-choice-abortion/ to find out everything for and against allowing abortion. The free essay samples, unlike films, are enlightening and impressive in every sense that your teachers and audience, in general, will definitely like.
Obvious Child
In the 2014 movie, Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) freely discusses her sex life and gross issues like her underwear but things turn around when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant and lose her job.
She can restart her future again by opting for an abortion, but when she brings up the matter before her mother, she laughs. Her mother asks her if that was all because, according to her, she thought Donna had come to tell her about her moving to Los Angeles.
Two opposite views here are received from a mother and a daughter where the mother would find it okay if her daughter opts for the abortion in favor of her new life in Los Angeles. Still, she would rather not directly speak about it, yet the daughter is straight forward on the issue and faces it head-on.
Star
The musical drama Star aired an Episode ‘Rise from the Ashes’ where Alex performs an abortion in the absence of her sick boyfriend because she could not afford to lose her music career. She is not ready to speak out on the subject boldly and calls it a miscarriage to win favor from her boyfriend Derek and her two friends.
What an irony for Alex? She knows her rights but would not exercise them openly in fear of what others will say, only to find out that Derek supported her. Indirectly? Maybe.
Bella
The 2006 movie portrays Nina as a woman torn between her future and her pregnancy. After being fired from her job, Jose offers help and suggests she keeps the baby but gives her the freedom to decide. She insists she cannot have the baby and see her suffer while sticking within her plan to terminate the pregnancy. Overall, it’s a must-watch movie for students.
Dirty Dancing
Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) realizes she is pregnant, and this will destroy her dancing career. Confused about what to do, she finds solace in crying and Baby finds her in the kitchen and learns of her pregnancy and her preconceived plans to carry out an abortion.
Baby does not support her and wants to publicly shame her for her thoughts and reports:” she wants to have an abortion’ and presses down the point, ‘an illegal abortion.” Penny is not even sure if she wants the abortion or to attend concerts and Robbie, the baby’s father, refuses to give her support.
Conclusion
The topic of abortion is mostly treated as a strange topic in America’s social domain. The onscreen characters seem to work towards a happy ending narrative or a gross outcome during abortions. Only a few are willing to tell the story as it is. If the onscreen abortion characters come out strongly and stop discussing abortion in a hidden manner, the consumers would find it easy to make well-informed choices and full of hope.
Author’s Bio:
James Collins works for a non-profit that works for the welfare of women in poor countries in Africa and South-East Asia. He pens down his ideas brilliantly, posts them on various blogs, and also helps students write essays and research papers around social issues. In his free time, he loves watching sports, listening to rock music and reading newspapers.