On top of giving us a healthy high school romance we actually stan (Seth x Vivian), and inspiring all of us girls to take a stand against sexism and body shaming, Netflix’s Moxie is reminding us that representation matters.
WATCH BELOW: Netflix’s Moxie trailer
Moxie, the ragtag group of aspiring radical feminist teens that band together after reading Vivian’s secret zines, are made up of people from varied backgrounds.
There’s Vivian (Hadley Robinson), the daughter of a single parent; Lucy (Alycia Pacual-Peña), a Black outspoken rebel with a cause; Kiera (Sydney Park), an aspiring Black star athlete at school; Kaitlyn (Sabrina Haskett), a large-breasted girl who’s sent home from school for wearing a tank top; CJ (Josie Totah), a young transgirl; Meg (Emily Hopper), a girl who’s wheelchair-bound; and Claudia (Lauren Tsai), Vivan’s best friend and a first-generation Chinese-American.
Ten years ago, many of these types of characters wouldn’t be given the same airtime or genuine care being brought to life, but now, we’re seeing ourselves represented on-screen and, not gonna lie, it’s keeping us FED. And, when it comes to empowering young women to stand up for themselves, as far as Moxie star Lauren Tsai sees it, the key is to be “wholly yourself.”
“I think that being wholly yourself and knowing that nothing about that is wrong is such an empowering thing,” Tsai tells us. “Growing up, especially with representation in the media, I never really saw someone who looked like me on screen.”
“[There was never really] a romantic lead or someone of power or of influence and change, and I think that really affects the way that people see themselves and their own life. I want to make the promise to anyone who’s watching me or following me that I will be myself.”
WATCH: The girls show up in support of Moxie at school | Netflix’s Moxie
“I think that’s one of the scariest things to do. But it also means that these assumptions that people have about us don’t have to mean anything to us and who we are. We tell the world who we are and we say that in our words and in our work, and people will listen.”
[Moxie isn’t] just for one group of people or one audience, there’s something for everybody in it,” adds Tsai’s co-star Hadley Robinson. “It encourages people to really ask themselves what they care about, no matter your age is, and come back to that question, ‘what do I care about?’ ‘How do I take action?’ ‘How do I find my voice?’”
“There are a lot of great messages but it’s also just a really fun movie, and I think people walk away with just a smile.”
“Over the past year, we’ve had to reflect on our lives and who we are and what we think is important to us,” says Lauren Tsai. “I hope people are excited and empowered to say that thing that’s itching, that thing they want to say, and start the conversations that they want to.”
Moxie is available to stream on Netflix.
Related stories
The 3 types of friends every girl should have
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
