Chapter 111: Another Phenomenon
"Recently, a shocking incident occurred in Massachusetts, 17 female students at Gloucester City Middle School became pregnant, all of them under the age of 16, and the youngest of them was 15 years old. The host of the fox news channel, dressed in a blue suit, reported with a serious face: "But the most surprising thing is that they have an agreement, let's see what is going on." ”
As he spoke, the TV scene switched to the campus view of the Gloucester City High School, and the female narrator said: "This is the secondary school where the girls attend, it has 1,200 students, and its medical clinic conducted 150 pregnancy tests last school year, but since the end of January this year, the school has found that a group of girls frequently come to the medical clinic to ask for pregnancy tests, and the number of pregnancy tests far exceeds the percentage of the same period." What puzzled the school was that the girls reacted very unusually, and if they were not pregnant, they would be disappointed, and if they were pregnant, they would react. ”
"They would cheer loudly and give high-fives in celebration, as if they had won the jackpot. The picture, where Principal Joseph Sullivan sat behind his desk, shook his head helplessly and said, "It's really incredible." Girls are usually scared and confused, but they don't, and they seem to be intent on getting pregnant, which caught our attention. ”
A file of documents appeared on the screen, and the camera zoomed in on the title "Operation Juno: Pregnancy Agreement" at the top of the document, and the female narrator said: "After the school's investigation, they found that these girls had a planned and agreed group pregnancy, and the shocking thing is that there are more than 50 names of girls on the agreement, accounting for almost one-tenth of all girls in the school." ”
On the fabric sofa, Wang Yang and Jessica were next to each other, both silently looking at the TV screen. Seeing the huge "juno", Wang Yang exhaled and said softly: "They are so stupid. Jessica leaned on his shoulder and said comfortingly, "Baby, don't blame yourself, okay? ”
Wang Yang smiled faintly and asked rhetorically: "Everyone says that, Mark, Michael, Zachary, Rachel...... Whose fault is that?" Now there are 17 teenage girls who are pregnant, and in a year they will be mothers, and they are only 16 years old! He covered his forehead vigorously and said louder and louder, "Whose fault is it? themselves? their parents? School? America? Juno?"
"You know, I'm not taking myself too seriously, but I can't just say to myself, 'It's okay with you,' and leave it alone. But Sweetheart ......" he looked at Jessica and asked pleadingly, "What can I do?"
Jessica kissed him on the cheek, looked at him with tenderness in her eyes, and said, "Yang, I'm worried about you......" Wang Yang also kissed her cheek, smiled at her, and said, "It's okay, I'm fine." ”
News reports on television screens continued that the 17 girls were pregnant not only by students at the school, but also by men in their 20s, and the mayor of Gloucester, Carolyn Kirk, said authorities were considering whether to bring rape charges against them. So what motivates girls to get pregnant, and why is this happening?
"Apparently they were influenced by a certain movie. Family expert Fran Bryson looks at the camera without naming names, but everyone knows which movie it is, and he adds: "It's a really cool thing that movies make them think they're pregnant as teenagers." They imitated that girl and wanted to be that girl, so there is now a collective pregnancy. It's a bad social culture. ”
The incident has shocked the whole city of Gloucester, and reporters interviewed passers-by on the streets of this port city, a white woman said, "Oh!", and a middle-aged man said: "Unbelievable, I'm ashamed of the men who were involved in this, they should be in the electric chair." ”…… The reporter also interviewed some teachers and parents, who spoke less subtly than the experts.
"It's Juno. Teresa Mader, a teacher with black-rimmed glasses, spoke into the reporter's microphone: "My students are hooked on this movie. I think the story of Juno's pregnancy, the care and understanding she received from her parents and friends, and other warm and touching episodes, all made them yearn for it. She explained: "Over the years, the economy has not been good, many of my students are single-parent families, they didn't grow up with a normal tutor, they want to be as cool as Juno, and they want to get Juno's warm family." ”
So this is the responsibility of the parents? The screen switches to the parents, and a white male parent says sadly: "I also want to spend more time with her, but I have to work 14 hours a day, no work, no money, no life." Another matriarch looked very angry, and she almost scolded the camera: "That director has a great responsibility! He knew that he had the ability to influence the children, but he gave them this movie, and when it was first released, I was worried, I already knew!"
"The director is a bastard......" Wang Yang shook his head self-deprecatingly, leaning weakly on the sofa. Jessica put her hands around his waist, smiled sweetly, and comforted: "You're not, I know that "Juno" doesn't teach them early pregnancy, everyone knows." ”
"Parents always seem to have their reasons, let's hear what the person really thinks! This girl was one of the initiators of Operation Juneau, but she quit at the last minute, what did she think?"
As the narrator speaks, the scene shifts to a girl with a mosaic on her face, who says: "We were watching Juno at the cinema that day, and she suddenly said, 'I have a great idea,' and the sisters immediately agreed, they said it was cool, and it could be the focus of school, and it would be cared for and loved by parents and friends, and there would be a cute little baby." Then we went to get other people to join us, and they thought the same way, and they said, 'We're going to do a big job.'"
"Then why did you quit later?" the reporter asked. The girl shrugged her shoulders and thought for a moment before she said, "I like Juno too, she's cool, isn't she?" but I don't think Magic Jan wants us to be like that, he's saying that early pregnancy isn't a joke. And when Juno was pregnant, she had a lot of difficulties, I was a little scared, I didn't know if I could be as strong and cool as her, so I quit. ”
Jessica suddenly glanced at Wang Yang with a smile and said, "Smart girl!" Wang Yang smiled, and his heart, which had been tense, loosened a little, and he felt a lot better.
The reporter asked her again, "Why don't you tell your parents or the school about this?" The girl laughed and said, "Are you joking with me? I was one of the initiators." The reporter asked, "Don't you think this matter is serious?" The girl shook her head and replied, "I don't know, I didn't know it would be like this...... and she asked again with some doubts: "Is this matter serious?"
After the news was broadcast, the picture returned to the live broadcast room of the program, and the host frowned and said: "Is it serious? There are 1,200 students and 600 girls in the middle school in Gloucester City, more than 50 people participated in the 'Operation Juneau', and 17 people are now pregnant, which is quite a terrible ratio." Think about it, what about other schools in the United States? Anyway, if you have a daughter who is in middle school, it's time to talk to her and give her a little more warmth. Next news......"
As soon as the news ended, the mobile phone on the coffee table rang, Wang Yang sat up and took a look, and said to Jessica beside him, "It's Juno." He pressed the button and said, "Man." Natalie over there said lightly: "I just saw the news, you already know it, right? Why don't you tell me?" Wang Yang explained: "I called you, but you turned off the phone." Are you just telling me that?"
"Wow, that's so angry! I'm calling to comfort you, say, 'It's not your fault'?" Natalie's voice was still very quiet, completely devoid of emotional fluctuations. Wang Yang looked at the quiet Jessica, held her hand, and said, "That's enough." Natalie was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Dude, I need that." Wang Yang smiled slightly and said comfortingly: "Man, it's not your fault!"
Natalie on the other end smiled and said, "I know, that's what I told you, and it's also what you said to yourself, remember!" Wang Yang suddenly understood what she meant, and his heart was indeed a lot more comfortable, and he smiled at the phone: "Thank you!"
Is this serious? It doesn't seem to be serious, it's just that 17 girls are pregnant en masse, and it won't affect the presidency of George Bush, who has just taken office, and it won't affect national security. However, as soon as the "Juneau Operation" was reported by the media, it immediately shocked the whole United States, not only 17 girls were pregnant, but it was the result of a series of social problems, school education, children's growth, parents' care, and attitudes towards early pregnancy...... Wait a minute.
The media, critics, educators, parents, and fans all stirred up, and the serious media discussed its social nature, believing that the girls were "self-willed children, but in the final analysis, their parents did not give enough love"; the Washington Post quickly surveyed 100 middle schools in different states across the United States by telephone, and their pregnancy rates increased by 3-5% compared with the same period, the first increase in 10 years, and the Washington Post ran the headline: "Early pregnancy is inevitable!" ”
Regarding the decision of ABC, CBS, and NBC to launch teenage pregnancy-themed dramas, many critics have expressed doubts: "Underage pregnancy is already the headline, and it is debatable whether it is necessary to add another fire to it." Many comments have directly pushed the responsibility for this wave of early pregnancy to "The Shaolin Abbot Station after Zhu 80 was included in the blacklist of "forbidden to watch", and the comment was: "Be wary of it, it will make your daughter pregnant!"
But the more parents don't show it, the more teenagers want to see it. The rating of "Juno" is PG-13, and no one can stop them from entering the cinema, and in the past two days of collective pregnancy, the box office of "Juno" has risen instead of falling, and it seems that it is going to have a final madness.
The entertainment edition of the Chicago Sun reported on the topic of "Another Phenomenon Created by Wonder Young": "Remember the ghost craze that almost scared people to death and made people crazy in 1998? Do you remember the song and dance craze that made all the young people dance and sing in 1999? This phenomenal director, Wonder Young, after a movie, once again created a Juno phenomenon and a pregnancy craze (bad)." But there is no doubt that he is now one of the most influential people among teenagers. ”
And "Daily Entertainment" said even more jokingly: "Some people call him director baby, which is really the nickname of the prophet, and it turns out that it means 'director who will make people want to give birth to a baby'." Its report was accompanied by a photo of Wang Yang walking alone on the street with a blank face, and at the end it wrote: "In addition to rejecting the invitation of NBC to adapt "Juno", Magical Yang has not made any response to "Operation Juno" for the time being, what kind of mood is he in now?"
"Yang...... Haven't you slept yet?" Feeling Wang Yang on the pillow keep turning around, Jessica opened her eyes in a daze, and sure enough, she saw him looking at the ceiling in a daze.
When Wang Yang heard her voice, he immediately turned his head and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for waking you up." He stroked her long hair on the side and said softly, "You sleep, don't worry about me, I'm just thinking about something." ”
"Thinking about that?" Jessica said, rubbing her eyes. Wang Yang snorted, looked at her and smiled, "Not all, but yes...... I'm wondering what I should do?" Jessica leaned over and propped her right cheek up, "Is that okay? You just told them in the newspaper that they shouldn't learn from Juno, that early pregnancy isn't cool at all." ”
"I don't think that's going to work. Wang Yang frowned and said, "They like Juno, not me, who cares what Wang Yang says? It's like we'll put a poster of Spider-Man on the bedside, but not Stan Lee's." Jessica was also distressed for a moment and asked, "What then?"
Wang Yang looked at her, was silent for a while, remembered the girl who quit last, and said: "You're right, I still have to say it! There are still some people who listen to what Wang Yang says, I can't lie here and say, 'It's useless', just don't do it, that's too stupid!" He exhaled a long breath and said, "I'm not Neo, there are many reasons for early pregnancy, I'll just do my part......"
"Jan, I'll always have your back. Jessica couldn't help but laugh sweetly and happily when she saw that he seemed to have figured it out. Wang Yang smiled at her and said, "I almost have an idea, but I need to think about it again, you go to sleep first." ”
"Hmm. Jessica answered, but her black and white eyes didn't close, still looking at him without blinking. Wang Yang looked at her for a long time, and suddenly hugged her and said, "Okay, I'll hold you." Jessica, who was lying in his arms, smiled crisply: "It's not this, I just want to see you!" Wang Yang kissed her hair, hugged her tightly and smiled: "But I want to hug you, sleep." ”
(To be continued)