Amy Poehler has attempted to talk about feminism in high school in her recent film Moxie. The Netflix film is an adaptation of the book written by Jennifer Mathieu. The plot centers around Vivian played by Hadley Robinson. She is sixteen years of age and has just discovered her interest in politics. She then begins to publish and distribute the zine Moxie in secret. This results in a gathering that eventually promises the beginning of a greater purpose.
The Themes In Moxie
Poehler plays the role of the single mother to Vivian, her only daughter. It also features Nico Haraga as Seth, Vivian’s first boyfriend who provides the romantic interest. Lauren Tsai plays Claudia, Vivian’s best friend with who she increasingly struggles to get along. Alycia Pascual-Pena is cast as Lucy, whose ability to stand up for herself inspires Vivian to start it all.
The film itself attempts to show feminism in a very broad manner. Vivian’s actions are shown to be more inclusive compared to her mother’s brand of feminism of the ‘90s. Her group is diverse: there are students of color, a girl with a disability, and a transgender girl.
Poehler has also attempted to show the limitations in her character’s and Vivian’s perspectives on feminism. Tamara Chestna and Dylan Meyer include in the script Vivian’s inability to comprehend her best friend Claudia’s situation of being the child of immigrants. Moreover, Moxie also shows how Vivian primarily listens to all the other members indicating her intent for inclusiveness.
However, at the same time, the film fails to give enough time to the individual types of misogyny that happen in such diverse settings.
Moxie, according to critics, is an excellent portrayal of feminism focusing primarily on the main character. The reported limitation of the film would be its inability to share that focus among all the characters.
