Netflix drama “Moxie” lacks just that

By: Rafihat Banjo, Columnist

Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own. 

Feminism,  sexism, rebellion, oh my! What a mouthful, but nonetheless the highly anticipated “Moxie” premiered last month. Well, not generally anticipated, but highly anticipated to me. If you enjoyed watching “Lady Bird,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,”  “The Spectacular Now” or “To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” this movie might be of interest to you.

I randomly stumbled upon this movie on Netflix and the synopsis was enough to draw me in. “Moxie” follows a 16-year-old girl, Vivian, in high school who notices a lot of sexism and unfair mistreatment at school. Vivian confides in her mother about the issues at school and eventually gets the idea to create an anonymous zine called “Moxie” after seeing and hearing a lot of sexist comments from her fellow classmates. 

When word gets out about “Moxie,” the guys at school are furious. The zines showcased sexist comments that were said earlier in the week. The zines alienated the guys featured in the film and made some of the issues come to light.

When I watched this “Moxie,”  I was slightly disappointed. I was expecting to enjoy it and add it to my list of favorite movies. Throughout the movie, I was constantly trying to convince myself to like it. Only to exit the movie ninety-one minutes in. Keep in mind, this movie is only 111 minutes long. I couldn’t bring myself to watch the last 20 minutes of the movie. Maybe one day I’ll go back and watch the last 20 minutes of “Moxie.” Who knows, maybe I’ll have a change of heart.

Personally, one thing I didn’t necessarily like about the movie was the main female lead not being a person of color. The actor, Hadley Robinson, who portrayed Vivian in the movie is a phenomenal actor and exceeded my expectations and played the role well. However, I think having a person of color as the lead would’ve added a bit more “oomph” to the dynamic of the movie. 

The main female lead being a white person, as a viewer, made me view this movie as “oh … just another movie with a white female lead.” When I watch movies with lack of representation, it can be difficult to relate. 

However, some parts of “Moxie” were relatable. The writers of the movie were able to touch on giving women a voice to be heard, even if it was anonymously. Also, the ups and downs of being a woman in today’s society and it is stemming from unfair mistreatment in school or the workplace and lack of women equality.

I’m a huge advocate for people of color and Black people being represented more in the media while being shown in a positive light. Speaking as a member of the Black community, I would like to see more movies where Black people are presented with more roles that don’t revolve around poverty or police brutality.

With that being said, I don’t regret watching this movie. I feel like viewers can take away a lot from “Moxie.” This movie was very inspiring, and I learned more about women’s empowerment and feminism that I did not know before. I recommend this movie to everyone and it is available on Netflix!

3/5

Assistant Editor