Breaking down the patriarchy one movie at a time, when will boys take the lead?
Movie: Moxie
Rating: ★★★
Smashing down the patriarchy is no small feat but it’s what director Amy Poehler has set out to accomplish with the 2021 Netflix original movie MOXiE!
Released in March 2021 the movie is based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu. It follows 16-year old protagonist Vivian played by Hadley Robinson who sets out to empower the young women in her school as they grapple with bullying, sexism, and sexual assault.
By definition ‘moxie’ means having energy or pep. It is also described as having the courage and determination it takes to pull up roots and go to a land where the culture and language are foreign.
In the movie, the word stands as a catchphrase by the ignorant principal Ms Shelly whose outdated way of thinking facilitates an unsafe school environment of sexism, and harassment.
After finding a box of old things from her mother's teenage years, Vivian is inspired to protest against the patriarchy, or at least the entrenched sexist culture at her school, by creating an anonymous femenist zine (a home-made magazine) she calls MOXiE!
Image: Netflix
The Moxie Movement in the film is inspired by the real life movement Riot Grrrl, a subcultural movement combining feminism, punk music and politics that started in the United States during the early 1990s.
It is a genre of music coming out of indie rock that inspires women to express themselves. Riot grrrl songs often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, clasism, anarchism and female empowerment.
Growing from this music scene, Riot Grrrl became a larger subcultural movement with local meetings, zines, art, political action and activism all gearing towards ending the oppression of women.
Image: Dazed
Encapsulating the entirety of the Riot Grrrl movement is a large task, but it seems to be what this movie set out to do, and in some instances it may have bitten off more than it can chew.
Representation is the key sub narrative of the film, with a highly diverse cast, the film explores greater representation of black, asian, queer, and disabled bodies on screen. While this is usually something to celebrate, throughout the film, these efforts came off as somewhat tokenistic.
Many of the intersecting issues facing characters of non-white backgrounds were briefly swept over, like ticking a box for each of them. When Claudia explains how coming from an immigrant family means it’s harder for her to protest and take risks the way Vivian does, the box is ticked and the next big issue is afoot.
If greater intersectionality was the goal here then it missed the mark, perhaps starting by breaking up the all-white production team would have been a better approach.
Instead, the effort to be ‘all-inclusive’ and ‘woke’, at some points felt like your mum trying to over-validate her okayness with using gender neutral pronouns.
While encouraging girls to use their own voice, the narrative fell into the trap of framing the issue of sexual assault as a womens issue.
In the climax of the film we see the girls rally together to protest against an anonymous letter by a girl who had been sexually assaulted. With a few brief moments of male support sprinkled in from teacher Mr Davies and Vivian’s feminist boyfriend Seth, it’s not enough.
The overdone narrative of ‘just stand up for yourself’ is getting old. The problem is not in young women’s lack of motivation or knowhow to protest against the patriarchy; it's the fact that the patriarchy still exists.
In 2021 we shouldn’t still be talking about what more girls need to do to break down the barriers of living in a patriarchal society but insead what men and boys can be doing to change the social system they continue to benefit from.
While this movie is a feel-good for young girls looking to be inspired, it may prove more useful for older generations and men alike to watch and reflect on what they are doing to smash down the patriarchy.
