The Best Director

“Recently, a shocking incident occurred in Massachusetts. Seventeen female students at Gloucester City High School collectively became pregnant; all were under 16, with the youngest being only 15,” said the FOX News channel host, clad in a blue suit, with a serious face delivering the report, “But what’s most surprising is that they had a pact. Let’s see what this is all about.”

As he spoke, the TV screen switched to a view of the campus of Gloucester City High School, and a female voiceover said, “This is the high school the girls attend, with 1200 students. Its clinic conducted 150 pregnancy tests last school year, but starting at the end of January this year, the school began noticing a group of girls frequently visiting the clinic requesting pregnancy tests, with the number far exceeding the percentage in the same period previous year. What puzzled the school authorities was the girls’ highly unusual reactions; if they weren’t pregnant, they would be extremely disappointed; if they were pregnant, their reaction…

“They would cheer loudly and high-five, celebrating as if they had hit the jackpot,” said Principal Joseph Sullivan, seated behind his desk, shaking his head helplessly, “It’s really unfathomable. Girls are usually very afraid and confused, but they weren’t. They seemed to be intentionally getting pregnant, which caught our attention.”

The TV screen showed a document file, and the camera zoomed into the title at the top of the document, “Juno Operation: Pregnancy Pact,” the female voiceover continued, “After the school conducted an investigation, they found that these girls had a planned, agreed-upon collective pregnancy, and shockingly, the names of the girls on the pact added up to more than fifty, nearly one-tenth of all the female students in the school.”

On the fabric sofa, Wang Yang and Jessica sat together, silently watching the TV screen. Seeing the huge “JUNO,” Wang Yang exhaled and softly said, “They’re so foolish.” Jessica, leaning on his shoulder, comforted him, “Sweetheart, don’t blame yourself, okay? This isn’t your fault.”

Wang Yang smiled faintly, rhetorically asking, “Everyone says that, Mark, Michael, Zachary, Rachel… Whose fault is it then?” Now there were seventeen girls who were pregnant; in a year, they would be mothers, and they were only 16 years old! He forcefully rubbed his forehead, his voice growing louder, “Whose fault? Their own? Their parents’? The school? America? Juno?”

“You know, I don’t consider myself too important, but I can’t just tell myself ‘it has nothing to do with you’ and then ignore it. But Sweetheart…” he looked at Jessica, seeking her advice, “What can I do?”

Jessica kissed his cheek and looked at him tenderly, saying, “Yang, I’m really worried about you…” Wang Yang also kissed her cheek gently, gave her a slight smile, and replied, “I’m alright, don’t worry.”

The TV news report continued. Since all seventeen girls were underage and the men responsible for their pregnancies included not only students from the school but also men in their twenties, the Gloucester City Mayor Caroline Kirk has indicated that authorities are considering bringing statutory rape charges against these individuals. So what were the girls’ motives for getting pregnant? Why did this happen?

“Clearly, they were influenced by a certain movie,” family expert Fran Bryson, looking at the camera without naming names, but everyone knew which movie it was, added, “The movie made them think that getting pregnant in their teens was a very cool thing. They imitated that girl, wanted to be that girl, so now we have this collective pregnancy. This is a form of negative social culture.”

This incident has shocked the entire Gloucester City, and reporters have been interviewing pedestrians on the streets of this harbor city. A white woman said, “This is terrible!” while a middle-aged man remarked, “Incredible, I feel ashamed for the men who were involved in this, they should be on the electric chair.”… And when reporters interviewed some teachers and parents, they spoke more candidly than the experts.

“It’s ‘Juno,'” said Theresa May, a teacher with black-framed glasses, speaking into the microphone of a reporter, “My students are obsessed with this movie. I think the plot about Juno getting pregnant and the care and understanding she gets from her parents and friends, along with the other warm and touching scenes, made them aspire to that.” She further explained, “The economy hasn’t been great these past years, many of my students come from single-parent families, they didn’t grow up with proper parental guidance, they want to be as cool as Juno, and they want a warm family like hers.”

So, was it the parents’ fault? The screen then shifted back to the parents, where a white male parent said sadly, “I also want to spend more time with her, but I have to work 14 hours a day. No work, no money, no money, no life.” Another female parent appeared very angry, almost cursing at the camera, “That director has a huge responsibility! He knew he had the power to influence the kids, yet he gave them this movie. As soon as it was released, I was worried, I knew it!”

“The director is an asshole,” Wang Yang muttered self-deprecatingly, shaking his head and slumping helplessly on the sofa. Jessica wrapped her arms around his waist and comforted him with a sweet smile, “You’re not, I know ‘Juno’ is not about teaching them to get pregnant early, everyone knows that.” “Parents always seem to have their reasons; let’s hear the real thoughts of the people involved! This girl was one of the initiators of the ‘Juno act,’ but she backed out at the last moment. What was she thinking?”

As the female voiceover concluded, the screen switched to a girl with a mosaic over her face. She said, “That day we were watching ‘Juno’ at the cinema, and she suddenly said ‘I have a good idea’, and a few sisters immediately agreed. They said it would be cool and they could become the focus of the school, receive care and love from parents and friends, and have a cute little baby. Later, we pulled in others to join, and they thought the same, everyone said ‘We want to do something big!'”

“Why did you back out later?” the reporter asked. The girl shrugged, thought for a moment, then said, “I really like Juno too, she’s cool, right? But I think Zachary didn’t want us to be like that, he was saying early pregnancy is not a joke. Also, Juno faced many difficulties when she was pregnant, and I got scared, I didn’t know if I could be as strong and cool as her, so I backed out.” Jessica glanced at Wang Yang with a fleeting smile and said, “Smart girl!” Wang Yang smiled, his tightly wound heart loosened a bit, making him feel much better.

The reporter then asked her, “Why didn’t you tell your parents or the school about this?” The girl laughed mockingly and responded, “Are you joking with me? I was one of the initiators.” The reporter asked, “Don’t you think this is serious?” The girl shook her head and answered, “I don’t know, I didn’t think it would turn out like this…” She then seemed a bit puzzled as she asked, “Is this very serious?”

The news segment ended, and the screen returned to the live broadcast studio, where the host frowned and said, “Is it serious? Gloucester City High School has 1,200 students, 600 female, and more than 50 participated in the ‘Juno Initiative’. Seventeen are now pregnant, which is a quite terrifying ratio. Think about it, what about other schools across America? Anyway, if you have a daughter in middle school, it’s time to talk to her, to give her more warmth. Next news…”

As soon as the news ended, the mobile phone on the coffee table rang. Wang Yang sat up, took it, and said to Jessica beside him, “It’s Juno.” He answered the call and said, “Buddy.” Natalie’s voice came through faintly, “I just saw the news, you knew already, didn’t you? Why didn’t you tell me?” Wang Yang explained, “I did call you, but your phone was off. Is that what you called to tell me?”

“Wow, someone’s got a temper! I called to see if you needed comforting, maybe to say ‘It’s not your fault’?” Natalie’s voice was still calm, devoid of any emotional fluctuation. Wang Yang glanced at the quiet Jessica, holding her hand, and said, “That’s enough.” Natalie was silent for a while, then suddenly said, “Buddy, I need that sentence.” Wang Yang smiled slightly, reassuringly saying, “Buddy, it’s not your fault!”

On the other end, Natalie laughed, “I know, that’s what I told you, and what you told yourself, remember that!” Wang Yang immediately grasped her meaning, and it indeed made him feel much better. He smiled at the phone, “Thank you!”

Is this matter serious? It seems not serious, just that seventeen girls became pregnant as a group, it won’t affect George Bush’s presidency that has only just begun; nor will it impact national security. But once the “Juno Initiative” was reported by the media, it immediately shocked the whole of America. This isn’t just about seventeen girls getting pregnant; it’s the result of a series of social issues erupting—school education, children’s growth, parental care, attitudes towards teen pregnancy… and so on.

Media, commentators, the education sector, parents, as well as movie fans, all stirred up, with serious media discussing its social nature, thinking those girls are “self-indulgent children, but ultimately, it’s the lack of love from their parents”; The Washington Post quickly conducted a telephone survey of 100 different high schools across the states, their pregnancy rates during the same period all increased by 3-5%, the first increase in ten years. The Washington Post made it a headline, “Teen Pregnancy Wave Unavoidable!”

Regarding the decision by ABC, CBS, and NBC to launch teen pregnancy themed drama series, many critics expressed doubts, “Underage pregnancy is already in the headlines, do we need to add fuel to the fire, that deserves debate.” Many voices in the commentary blamed the wave of teen pregnancies squarely on “Juno”, clearly branding it as the instigator, the one who let the devil loose.

For parents with teenage daughters, “Juno” was completely “banned”; it was put on the black list of ‘do not watch’ by parenting websites, with the comment: “Beware, it will make your daughter pregnant!”

But the more parents forbade it, the more the teenagers wanted to watch. “Juno” was rated PG-13, and no one could stop them from entering the cinema. During the two days of the collective pregnancy, “Juno’s” box office did not fall but instead rose, seemingly striving for a final frenzy.

Entertainment and movie newspapers naturally could not ignore this incident, Chicago Sun-Times’ entertainment section reported it as “Another phenomenon created by the magical Yang”, “Remember 1998’s ghost craze that almost scared people to death, making them crazy? Remember 1999’s musical craze that had all the young people dancing and singing? This phenomenal director, magical Yang, has created another phenomenon after a movie break, a pregnancy craze (a disastrous one). But without a doubt, he is now one of the most influential figures among young people.”

Daily Entertainment joked further, “Some call him the Baby Director, a prophetic nickname, it turns out to mean ‘a director who makes people want to have babies’.” The report was accompanied by a photo of Wang Yang walking on the street with an expressionless face. It ended by writing, “Aside from turning down the invitation from NBC to adapt ‘Juno,’ Magical Yang has not responded to the ‘Juno Initiative’ for the time being. What is he feeling right now?”

“Yang… are you still not asleep?” Feeling Wang Yang tossing and turning beside her, Jessica sleepily opened her eyes, and as expected, saw him staring blankly at the ceiling.

Hearing her voice, Wang Yang immediately turned to look, apologizing, “Sorry, I woke you up.” He stroked her long hair on the side, gently saying, “Go to sleep, don’t mind me, I’m just thinking about some things.”

“Thinking about that incident?” Jessica said rubbing her eyes. Wang Yang hummed in affirmation, looking at her with a smile, “Not all of it, but… I’m thinking about what I should do?” Jessica turned to him, propping her cheek with her right hand, “Is this a good idea? You could directly tell them in the newspaper not to follow Juno, that being pregnant at a young age is not cool at all.”

“I don’t think that will do any good,” Wang Yang said frowning, “They like Juno, not me; who would care what Wang Yang says? It’s like we would hang Spider-Man posters on the wall by our bed, but not one of Stan Lee.” Jessica was also troubled for a moment and asked, “Then what should we do?”

Wang Yang looked at her, fell silent for a while, remembered the last girl who dropped out, and said, “You’re right, I still have to say something! Some people do listen to what Wang Yang says. I can’t just lie here saying ‘it’s no use’ and do nothing about it, that would be too stupid!” He took a deep breath and continued, “I am not Neo, the teen pregnancy wave has many causes, I just need to do my part…”

“Yang, I will always support you,” Jessica said, seeing him seemingly having figured it out, and couldn’t help but smile sweetly. Wang Yang smiled back at her, “I’ve almost got an idea, but I need to think more about it, you go to sleep first.”

“Hmm,” Jessica responded, but her clear eyes did not close, still gazing unwaveringly at him. Wang Yang and she looked at each other for a long time, and suddenly he hugged her tight, saying, “OK, I’ll hold you.” Jessica, lying in his arms, laughed crisply, “It’s not about that, I just want to look at you!” Wang Yang kissed her hair, hugged her tightly, and laughed, “But I want to hold you now, go to sleep.”