Let’s talk about Moxie

You know when you were sixteen and you still believed that you can change the world? Life was limitless and you had a deep certainty that with just the right words and the right actions you could make a difference. Leave your mark on the world.

Then you get older and everyday feels like a battle as you sift through the unwanted madness of your responsibilities, and that mark you so desperately wanted to leave on the world feels more like a stain that you have to wipe clean as to not offend anyone by your existence.

Then I watched Moxie on Netflix and the moment Vivian, the lead character asked her mother who is played by Amy Poehler about Rebel Girl, a song by Bikini Kill I literally felt Goosebumps all over my body. It’s in that instant, with Bikini Kill lyrics blasting their way out from the film into my room that I was transformed back to the sixteen year old me that knew life could be more. In this pivotal scene you can see Vivian change from a girl that wants to make everything OK for everyone to a woman who’s not OK with letting life happen to her or the women around her.

Without ruining this brilliant work of art that Amy Poehler herself directed for anyone who hasn’t seen it I want to share with you a few lessons that we women and young girls need right now.

Friendship

Making friends and keeping friends is a strong theme that keeps the plot of this film together. Vivian and her best friend, Claudia, struggle with their friendship as their values and priorities shift. We see Claudia is ready to make sacrifices for the sake of protecting Vivian from trouble, then choosing to cast her best friend away when she sees Vivian is not ready to do the same for her. It’s only when Vivian herself has the courage to take charge of her own actions and make a sacrifice to save Claudia that we can see both characters are able to raise themselves up to a higher level of womanhood and bravery. This shared respect, which arises from taking responsibility for ones’ own actions, brings the two friends back together.

Sisterhood

There’s something very magical about having strong friendships with your fellow sisters from a young age. In Moxie, the gendered injustice the students share brings together a whole bunch of girls who you’d never suspect to be friends to become just that. It’s a heart warming concept that Amy Poehler has thoughtfully directed throughout the film, from the choice of music played to the news playing in the background, sisterhood is the vibe we experience in this most welcomed masterpiece. In an age where Highs School dramas focus on female-female jealousy and competition, it’s refreshing to watch a film where young woman can be friends and thrive together towards a shared goal.

Action

Women have long been excluded from the decisions of society even after we were allowed to vote and own land. The lingering effects of patriarchy are very much alive and festering in all the places that women dwell, work and receive education. From a young age we are taught to keep the peace and to “act like a girl”, whatever that means. When we do take action or make a stand against injustice we are more than likely met with hostility. Hostility can wear you down and if you’re walking the path alone and your chances of success feel less than slim. But Moxie shows us that there is still hope that we don’t have to wait for someone stronger to come and save us. In this film we see a group of young women take pivotal steps in controlling how they will be treated for the remainder of their years at their school. The young women felt it necessary to take their action with their own hands when their own parents, teachers, principle and those whose job it was to protect them failed.

The truth is I started writing this before I even finished Moxie that’s how powerful the message in this brilliant film shouts. And why not shout it because I’m certainly done with being discreet and convenient. This film has dared me to dream, to start a revolution and be part of someone else’s. I want to stand with anyone who has something important to say and I want them to know that they are heard and their words ring true to me too.

Congratulations to the cast and crew who took part in making this legendary film that definitely should make its’ way to every school’s curriculum.