In Moxie, the new Netflix movie directed by Amy Poehler, a high school protagonist and her compatriots force adults to choose sides in the feminist culture war, painting a brutally accurate picture of the failures of modern feminism.
Barely eight minutes into the film, the young activists of Moxie are “smashing the patriarchy” by canceling The Great Gatsby. Opening his discussion of this classic novel, the literature teacher asks, “How are women treated?” One of the leading feminist activists in the film, Lucy, responds: “Well, I think the real question is, why are we still reading this book?” Lucy dismisses the book as “written by some rich white guy about some rich white guy.”
After the protagonist, Vivian, develops a newfound resentment with the state of gender equity, she demands that everyone be as outraged as she is. In one instance, as the gender debate in the school become more and more heated, Vivian leads a brigade of women to wear tank tops in protest of the school dress code. The teacher, Mr. Davies, who did not institute the dress code and likely has little say in whether it is removed or not, tries to stay out of the touchy issue.
This, of course, is not enough. Everyone must take sides. “You get to just say this is a women’s issue so you never have to actually do anything,” one student says. The professor tries to reason, “You understand I’m in a tight spot,” but she responds: “If you’re doing nothing, you’re part of the problem. So where are you gonna stand with these tank tops?” The teacher reiterates that he “stands on the side of equality and freedom for all and diversity,” but the teenagers want more. They must be assured that everyone has an opinion — the “right” opinion.
At the end of the movie, a rape victim comes forward and names her attacker, Mitchell. It’s one of the few redeemable parts of the film. Mitchell, the teacher’s pet and high school football star who spends his school days belittling women and leading his sycophantic friends to do the same, gets what he deserves.
But even in this scene, there are overtones of the overwrought, selfish feminism of the film. As each woman in the crowd comes forward with something she has done to create a more equitable environment, one girl says, “I tripped Bradley in his dumb pirate costume.” Bradley is the bumbling, lovable, oblivious game mascot who, in several instances, tries and fails to be sufficiently feminist for the girls of the school. “And that’s feminism,” the girl says. If it is, I think I’ll pass.
Moxie could have been a story of how the power of virtuous women and men together can keep misogynistic men from getting away with assaulting and denigrating women. Instead, it’s a picture of what happens when you see the entire world, and all those who thrive in it, as nothing but a game hopelessly stacked against women.
Sarah Weaver is a freelance writer and a graduate student studying political philosophy and American government at Hillsdale College. Find her on Twitter: @SarahHopeWeaver.
