Netflix’s feminist movie Moxie is about young people, not by them and it shows – ABC News

One of the most-watched shows on Netflix this week is about teenagers calling out sexism.

Moxie, directed by Amy Poehler of Mean Girls fame, tells the story of shy 16-year-old Vivian, who publishes an anonymous zine criticising sexist behaviour and misogyny at her high school after becoming inspired by her mum's feminist roots.

It's a timely tale that celebrates the power of grassroots activism and it leaves viewers feeling hopeful that today's girls might just save the world.

But film and gender experts saythe film is far from perfect in its attempt to reflect the concerns of a new generation of activists.

There's no doubt that Moxie, like other Netflix young adult offerings before it including Sex Education and Never Have I Ever, represents a leap forward from the shows endured by previous generations.

On shows like Porky's, Happy Days, The Benny Hill Showand The Paul Hogan Show"women were blatantly objectified and sexism and harassment were normalised and often celebrated", says Catherine Manning,chief executive of Self-Esteem Education and Developmentwhich runs in-school programs covering respectful relationships andsexism.

In the '90s, on-screen favourites such as Beverly Hills 90210 all too often blamed the victim of sexual assault.

Supplied: Netflix

Moxie succeeds in illustrating how small, everyday gender microaggressions exist on the same spectrum as sexual assault and violence, says Dr Jessica Ford, lecturerand researcher in the gender-based violence research group at the University of Newcastle.

"It's not that in one category over here we have microaggressions and dismissing of girls' feelings, and then over here we have stranger rape; they're all part of the same thing," she explains.

Thus, when a male character antagonises a female classmate early in the film, she refuses to let him be dismissed as merely "annoying", telling her friend: "You know that annoying can be more than just annoying, right? Like, it can be code for worse stuff."

It's an apt observation and, indeed, that character goes on to do worse things throughout the course of the film.

Despite these successes, it's not enough for teen stories to successfully depict or even call out sexism.

"The challenge is to make films that young people can engage and identify with," Ms Manning says.

One difficulty in this regard? Moxie as with most films and TV shows targeting teens and young people was not actually made by young people, says Dr Radha O'Meara, a screenwriting lecturer at The University of Melbourne.

Supplied: IMDB

"For something to be produced on that scale, it is usually led by people who are middle-aged, as Moxie and Promising Young Woman were," she says.

"And funding approval usually comes from older white men."

There's also the risk that the film will come off as talking down to younger audiences.

"The thing that strikes me about Moxie[is that] I can't imagine a 15- or 16-year-old girl being like, 'Yeah, Riot grrrl, 1990s, Bikini Kill, Kathleen Hanna.' I love that music but that's the music of my generation, that's not the music of their generation," says Dr Ford.

"If we were going to have a musical figure that was going to instigate and enrage and incite the sort of feminist impulse of these young women, why wasn't it Billie Eilish and Lizzo or somebody who is of the moment now?"

Lacking that zeitgeist can turn some audiences off: "At the slightest hint of cringe they will turn off and away," says Ms Manning.

Films that fail to engage young audiences can still serve as "great conversation starters for parents to open up discussions with their teens and check in about how much they understand about consent, respect and autonomy," she says.

But that's not the same thing as directly engaging young women (or young men, whom Ms Manning says are also key to social change) with their message.

Moxie is a film that tries hard to be inclusive. In reality, the film problematically centres on the experience of white feminists.

Supplied: Netflix

"We have the figure of [Afro-Latina character] Lucy, who is the one who inspires and encourages the whole movement at the school," Dr Ford says.

But Lucy is sidelined as a friend rather than the film's protagonist.

"The movie is about the young white girl, which is sort of frustrating. I want to see the movie about Lucy's character, but that movie doesn't necessarily get made."

Ultimately, young adult films like Moxie are "a great start and certainly have the potential to impact",as Ms Manning puts it.

"We still have a long way to go in ensuring stories are told by people of diverse backgrounds that tackle social issues in positive and powerful ways for change to be far-reaching."

To really reflect the social activism of today's young feminists, we'd need to hear directly from young people in all their diversity about what troubles and inspires them.

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Netflix's feminist movie Moxie is about young people, not by them and it shows - ABC News