[A-List] On Abortion, Hollywood Is No-Choice

["Yoshie Furuhashi" <critical.montages@xxxxxxxxx>]

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/fashion/10Knockedup.html>
June 10, 2007
On Abortion, Hollywood Is No-Choice
By MIREYA NAVARRO

LOS ANGELES

IN the hit indie movie "Waitress," the lead character, Jenna, finds
out she's pregnant at a time when she's plotting to run away from her
abusive husband. In last week's No. 2 film, "Knocked Up," Alison
becomes pregnant after a one-night stand with Ben, an ungainly suitor.

In some ways, both movies mirror reality. The National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy says unwanted pregnancies have actually
increased among some adult women, even as they have decreased among
teenage girls. More than half of all unwanted pregnancies occur to
women in their 20s.

But in another way, both movies go out of their way to sidestep real
life. Nearly two-thirds of unwanted pregnancies end in abortion, data
from federal surveys shows. Yet Jenna in "Waitress" is more likely to
ponder selling the baby than to consider having the procedure. And
Alison, who has just been promoted to her dream job as an on-camera
television personality and asked to lose 20 pounds, is torn over
whether to keep the man, not the baby.

The possibility of not having the baby is never discussed by either
woman despite her circumstances. The word "abortion" is never uttered.

Though conservatives regularly accuse Hollywood of being overly
liberal on social issues, abortion rarely comes up in film. Real-life
women struggling with unwanted pregnancies might consider an abortion,
have intense discussions with partners and friends about it and, in
most cases, go through with it. But historically and to this day in
television and film — historians, writers and those in the movie
industry say — a character in such straits usually conveniently
miscarries or decides to keep the baby.

"It's one of those topics that would alienate a portion of the
audience no matter what you do," Sarah Brown, executive director of
the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, said of Hollywood's
reluctance to tackle abortion more realistically.

Perhaps directors of feel-good movies don't want to risk portraying
their heroines as unsympathetic characters.

Jonathan Kuntz, an American film history professor at the University
of California, Los Angeles, said that for the entertainment industry,
"It's a no-win situation."

"It's kind of a tricky topic," he said. "It's something that's going
to turn off people on both sides unless you do it just right. It's no
surprise Hollywood avoids it."

And so in "Knocked Up," a romantic comedy, whose director and writer,
Judd Apatow, declined to be interviewed, when one of Ben's friends
suggests that Alison have the procedure, he says it rhymes with
"shmashmortion."

The producer of "Waitress," Michael Roiff, said Adrienne Shelly, the
film's writer and director, weighed the concept of abortion as the
"good New York liberal" she was. But from a story point of view, Ms.
Shelly, who was murdered last year in her New York office, found
richer material following the pregnancy through, Mr. Roiff said.

"We didn't worry about the political ramifications," he said. "It's a
story about the power of motherhood."

Hollywood doesn't shy away from all controversial topics, some film
historians noted. In fact, sometimes controversy translates into huge
success, as with Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ," which some
critics accused of anti-Semitism.

In the rare instances when abortion has made it into the plotlines of
major films, like "Dirty Dancing" and "The Cider House Rules," they
tend to be films set in the past and the women who undergo the
procedure do not always fare well. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is
the rare American film in which abortion is legal and dealt with
matter-of-factly — and it is 25 years old.

Geoffrey Gilmore, the director of the Sundance Film Festival, said the
subject of abortion comes up more realistically in independent films,
as do other difficult themes like drug addiction, incest, even
infanticide, most recently in "Stephanie Daley," about a teenager
accused of murdering her newborn.

"That's the meat and potatoes of independent filmmaking," he said of
such social issues.

The price to pay, though, is smaller audiences.

"The industry as a whole is getting to be more public-friendly," said
Brian Dyak, president and chief executive of the Entertainment
Industries Council, an organization formed by leaders in the industry
to try to ensure the accurate portrayal of health and social issues on
screen. "That's driven by the cost of the movies and the international
release. Abortion is not big box office material."

But an executive with a Hollywood film production company who spoke on
condition of anonymity, unauthorized to speak for the company, noted
that the film industry has other tough questions to worry about aside
from commercial considerations.

"At a time when women's reproductive freedom is under attack in the
courts, why wouldn't it come up as part of the conversation?" the
executive said. "Are you making a statement by assiduously avoiding
the discussion?"

Some on the anti-abortion side seem to think so. Many conservative
bloggers have claimed "Knocked Up" as an anti-choice movie, in part
because the movie never presents abortion as a serious option.

Television, many agree, is freer to deal with abortion because its
market is more fragmented and it can single out specific audiences
better. But the medium, which has presented the subject occasionally
in dramas and soaps ("Everwood," "Six Feet Under," "General Hospital")
has also struggled because of the risk of alienating advertisers,
affiliates and viewers.

The Viacom-owned cable channel N, for instance, pulled episodes of the
Canadian teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation" in 2004 that dealt
with a character's decision to have an abortion.

Christopher Keyser, co-creator of the Fox drama "Party of Five," which
ran for six seasons until 2000, said that when he tried to have a
leading character go for an abortion, the network vetoed the idea just
as the episode was about to be shot, citing the risk of upsetting
sponsors. The story line was changed to have the 16-year-old character
miscarry before she goes in for the procedure.

"It was a cop-out," he said. "It was an attempt to avoid the issue but
it was the best we could figure out under the circumstances."

Mr. Keyser said he and the other writers wanted to mine a subject they
found "incredible, rich material that happened in real life" without
thinking about the consequences. After all, they had featured other
controversial topics, like unprotected drunken sex and a gay
relationship, in previous episodes.

But he said he understood the network's position.

"In their defense, it was difficult," he said. "Even though a majority
may favor abortion rights, the minority position is extremely active
and vocal." In fact, a New York Times/CBS News poll last month showed
that three-fourths of Americans favor access to abortion, though about
half of those would like to see more restrictions than now.

On a recent episode of "Grey's Anatomy," Dr. Yang, the most
competitive medical resident on the show, decides to have an abortion
but loses the fetus instead during emergency surgery for an ectopic
pregnancy. Even on "Sex and the City," which was shown on
advertiser-free HBO, Miranda, a single, high-powered lawyer, decided
to have the baby — after she had a change of heart at the abortion
clinic. (In the same episode, Carrie and Samantha admit that they've
both had abortions.)

And though "General Hospital" went so far as to portray a character
going through with an abortion last year, Nancy Lee Grahn, a longtime
abortion rights advocate and an actress who plays Alexis on the show,
said the writers made sure they wrote in opposing views, including
dialogue in which another character called the pregnant woman a "baby
killer."

Ms. Grahn, who said she had an abortion in her 20s, said that "women
who have been able to go on with their life without feeling evil" are
not represented on television.

Dr. Kuntz, the film historian at U.C.L.A., said there is little
incentive for such stories to be told. "Hollywood wants to entertain
and make money," he said.
--
Yoshie