On March 3, a Netflix original called “Moxie” was released just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8. Based on the novel written by Jennifer Mathieu, and directed by Amy Poehler, who also acts in the movie, Moxie is a call to action on sexism and other important issues. 

Moxie depicts life as a high schooler like many other movies do: crowded hallways, bullies, popular kids and drama. Instead of regular, unimportant and unrelatable drama that most high school movies highlight, Moxie brings up issues that need to be addressed. 

This movie follows 16 -year- old Vivien, who is in search of something to write about for a college application essay asking what she cares about and how it’s changed her. As an introvert, Vivien is voted “most obedient” in her schools ranking list that the football team comes up with each year, which sexualizes girls and ranks them based on their looks and personalities.

When Lucy, a new girl, shows up to school and stands up to harassment from the captain of the football team, insisting that she keeps her head up high instead of letting him get away with his behavior, Vivien becomes driven to do something about the unspoken issue.

Vivien creates a zine called Moxie, inspired by her mother’s rebellious and feminist past and leaves them in the girls bathroom anonymously. She soon finds the whole school buzzing about it when class begins. 

Students show their support of the issues related to feminism that Moxie brings up, exposing the overall sexist nature of certain people at school and influencing people to stand up and boycott the ways that women are being controlled and treated. 

Moxie brings to light the double standard, even amongst women, and how a girl with a flat chest is alright if she wears a tank top, but a girl with a bigger chest is considered distracting. These ideals only influence boys to continue acting as if women are objects they can sexualize. It’s justifying their actions, and women suffer even though they are not responsible for boys’ behavior.

The movie promotes women to stand up for themselves by not submitting to their socially constructed boxes and being the one to lead a revolution, the one to make the first move and the one who will fight for what they want and what they believe in. 

Feminism isn’t a “women’s issue,” it’s a societal issue that has much more to do with sexism as a whole, the movie teaches. “I am angry and I want to scream!” is a line in the movie that captures the feelings of suppressed women. 

Moxie, unlike other high school movies, leaves you feeling empowered and driven to be a loud woman who doesn’t apologize for her existence.