Amy Poehler on why 'Moxie' is a revolutionary high school film

Amy Poehler, who co-stars and directs the new film Moxie, tells Yahoo Entertainment why it's a revolutionary tale about high school.

Video Transcript

- Me and my friends, we protested everything. We made a ton of mistakes. We argued with each other. We weren't intersectional enough. We called our meetings powwows.

- Oh, no.

- Mm-hmm.

- But you're glad you did it all, right?

- Of course. What are you going to do, nothing?

KEVIN POLOWY: Amy, you not only co-star, but this marks your second feature film as a director after "Wine Country." You also did some episodes of "Parks And Rec." I'm telling you things you already know. What was it that spoke to you about this story that made you also want to direct it?

AMY POEHLER: Well, the source material, the book that it was based on by Jennifer Mathieu, was just kind of beautiful story where it took on a really big idea and brought it down to a human level. And I was interested in how to talk about activism, and staying focused, and finding your voice and sharing it with the world, how you could tell that in a human way. So I liked the message behind it.

I also was drawn to the characters. I really related to a lot of the young women in the story. And then, of course, mom. And I was just excited about trying something different, and it was such an awesome experience.

KEVIN POLOWY: There have been so many movies made centered in high school over the years, but I don't think we've ever seen a story told like this, where it's centered so squarely on these girls fighting against sexism, fighting against the patriarchy. And it feels like it just, in general, it's defying tropes, a high school movie tropes, throughout it. Did this feel like very fresh terrain to each of you?

AMY POEHLER: I think we wanted to try to have like all of these characters almost represent a point and a line where you could stay connected and active, so some characters were really focused on the problem at hand and making change happen. Some characters were really enmeshed in the system feeding the evil parts of it, and then everyone falls in the line in between. So the hope is that some of these tropes, or stereotypes, or the way people interact in the world gives you some sense of where do you fall on that line, and can you push yourself? Can you push yourself to go a little bit farther?

I think that high school is just such a great, great place in which to tell stories because it is so emotional, and it invokes and evokes so much feeling. And, you know, also, look, we've spent a year where people have been out of school, so people should just watch the movie so they can remember what it's like to go to high school. That's also a reason why I'm excited that it's coming out.

JOSIE TOTAH: I think most of the films that we've seen in mainstream media mostly depict white cis straight people and their experience, and I think for so many people, especially people who come from disenfranchised and marginalized communities, they feel so often sheltered and that there's no one like them. So this movie is certainly different. It tells an incredible story that is, one, enjoyable and fun to watch but also one that emulates true authenticity and represents so many different types of people from different backgrounds.

ALYCIA PASCUAL-PENA: I think for so long teen movies, or specifically movies about women, have fed into stereotypes, and give us these tropes, and exhibit women tearing each other down rather than empowering each other. So the fact that we get to be a part of this adolescent film that really wants to put a name to certain social injustices and oppression, such as misogyny and you taking down the patriarchy, and gives these beautiful themes such as unity in such a multidimensional way--

- If you keep your head down, he'll move on and bother somebody else.

- Thanks for the advice, but I'm going to keep my head up high.

KEVIN POLOWY: It's the story about a 16-year-old who not only takes on her high school but really toxic societal norms in general. What do you guys think adults in 2021, in general, can learn from today's youth, from today's Generation Z?

HADLEY ROBINSON: I mean, I feel like the universal thing is empathy, and I think it's something that can be taught with every generation because I think it's something that can be forgotten. I think a lot of people start off, you know, you're young, and you're wide-eyed and you feel whole-heartedly. You're empathetic, and sometimes that could be eroded and worn down. And I think that's something that constantly needs to be pushed and relearned. And I think this movie really does kind of teach people how to empathize or rediscover that part of them.

LAUREN TSAI: I feel like sometimes, too, maybe people who are older have lived under these systems for such a long time, and maybe they've been compromising parts of themselves for such a long time because they believe that these things are the way that they are always going to be. And I think that with new generations, people have these frustrations and they're willing to challenge them because they don't want to have a life in which they are always being oppressed, and they want to fight for the people around them.

ANJELIKA WASHINGTON: I'm excited for adults to watch, and to look, and to be like, wow. OK, maybe we should be listening a little more and creating change because this isn't OK. That's right. Oh, yeah, now that we see it in the forefront in a film and the examples are shown right in front of their face, maybe they'll go create change, right, because they're the ones who are working in the high school districts. They're the ones who are working on college campuses and holding authority positions where they can actually create change that's going to affect younger generations that are coming up. So I hope that this film creates conversations that makes people actually take a look at their actions and take a look at all of the rules that they create, and I hope that they create new ones.

JOSIE TOTAH: Specifically, what I think adults can learn from the youth and within this film is to not lose your vigor, to not lose that fire. I think that so much of the world tries to sequester our voices, and kind of demolish that fire within us, and tells us that it's bad, that it's bad to be angry. But it's not, you know? I think it's learning about navigating through the world and using that rage to progress you and wanting to change things.

SYDNEY PARK: I definitely think it's important for parents to talk to their kids and vice versa because everybody complains about Millennials, and Gen Zers, and how we're entitled, and how we're this, and we're going too that, but I think it's more about just the natural evolution of the human species and having compassion and empathy for one another. And even the discussions I've had with my parents, who are super liberal and super cool, there are some things, of course, that I'm still learning from them and that they still learn from me. So I just think having those conversations and not posing as a threat is important, and it coming from a place of love is definitely important.