The Mycenaean

Moxie, one of Netflix’s many new original movies dropped earlier this month. It is a surprisingly decent story about feminism in a high school. (Photo courtesy of Savannah Sinor).

On March 3, Netflix released Moxie, a movie about one teen’s attempt to stand up for something she believes in.

It begins with Vivian (Hadley Robinson) and her friend Claudia (Lauren Tsai) talking about an essay they are writing for their college applications. They have to write about something they believe in and how it has shaped their lives. Vivian struggles to find a topic until she meets the new girl, Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Peña), who helps Vivian realize she needs to take a stand against the tasteless and rude actions of the guys at their school.

Inspired by Lucy and her mother’s past as a protestor, Vivian creates a magazine that calls out the guys. She names it “Moxie.” It describes everything that happens at the school that should not, from the blatantly unfair dress code to the daily harassment that some female students have to deal with.

Soon a group of girls who feel the same way come together to form a club of the same name. Together they try to change things — sometimes they succeed, and other times they don’t.

Moxie is okay. It is well-paced, and the plot is fairly believable, but it is not perfect.

Too many of the characters do not change throughout the movie, and those who do grow up, do not do so realistically. The chief antagonist, Mitchell (Patrick Schwarzenegger), had no backstory nor any explanation for his actions. The lack of depth in most of the characters keeps this movie from being better than it is.

Despite its faults, the movie was not bad. It actually had a pretty good story. It touched genuine issues that could and do happen in real life. Matched with a quality soundtrack, it made a good movie.

Moxie may not have the best characters or be the most engaging movie out there, but it is relevant.

Each generation differs from the previous one, and Gen Z is no exception. They are more progressive than many of the older generations. Ideas that had been controversial in years past are now merely accepted and expected by them. These ideas include things like LGBTQ rights and gender equality. Many teens support and fight for these beliefs every day.

Teenagers are incredibly diverse, but one core part of our culture is the acceptance of everyone for who they are and belief in equality for all.

These beliefs are how Moxie connects to teens. The movie focuses on how the school rules and male students treat the girls unfairly. The main characters are fighting for gender equality on a local level. Our generation understands that because every day there are teens across the country protesting against gender inequality or posting their support for women’s rights on social media.

Moxie had the potential to really resonate with teens because of its message. The only reason it has not is that the movie is so mediocre that few people have actually seen it.