Women’s History Month was created to highlight women everywhere that have made a difference in history and impacted communities everywhere. It’s easy to understand why the month was created, but many people don’t know how to properly celebrate it. It is beneficial to devote some of your time and energy into educating yourself on impactful women or supporting female artists, directors, producers, and even actors.
Over the weekend I decided to browse on Netflix for a movie to watch and I stumbled across Moxie. Moxie is a coming-of-age film about a shy young girl named Vivan who learns about her mom’s rebellious past and creates a zine (magazine) about sexism in her school.
I loved the movie and thought it beautifully touched on how powerful collective advocation is, especially for women. Vivian learned many important lessons while trying to balance a relationship and secretly being the creator of Moxie. She originally began the magazine because she felt a lot of the female voices in her school were being ignored. After the women at her school read the anonymous magazine in the bathroom, they were empowered to ban together and actively support it.
The film tackles many important topics like feminism, racism, and even sexual assault, while also teaching the viewers how to stand up for the people around them. Moxie was created to heighten female student voices but even the men at the school decided to actively support and participate in Moxie’s events. I think this was one of the most important aspects of the movie because it highlights the idea that even though you may not be personally involved in an injustice around you, it doesn’t mean you can actively raise awareness and support for it.
There are so many things this movie did right and it’s very obvious. But, I also think there are many things this movie could’ve done better. Many critics bashed the movie for the plot not going into depth enough. The movie had so much potential to really educate viewers on male favoritism in the academic system, the stigma surrounded by sexual assault, and even the issue of racism in the academic system. But instead, the movie briefly hinted at each of the topics and focused more of the screentime on Vivian’s journey into adulthood and her tendency to be selfish and not realize her own privilege at times. However, I do think Moxie is a great movie to get conversations started. I think in a way that’s why the producer filmed the movie in this way; its sole purpose was to have blatant injustices happen in front of the eyes of the audience to get a reaction. I think it plays on the idea that oftentimes when injustices happen around us we tend to look away or actively avoid them instead of actively fighting them.
I think it’s so important for women everywhere to collectively advocate for one another. By standing up for each other and establishing relatability with one another about similar experiences, is one step closer to change. Vivian was ultimately inspirited by her mom’s rebellious past of being a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ‘90s. If it wasn’t for watching this movie, I never would have discovered one of my favorite movements in history.
