Authors Note: I have not read the book, Little Women. This review is based solely on the current film, directed by Greta Gerwig.

Going into the movie, Little Women, being a 15-year-old boy, I did not expect to enjoy it. The movie from my point of view was not targeted at me or really even men at all, as it is a movie about a woman finding her way in life. But despite who the movie was for I still enjoyed it very much, and its message I took to heart. To me that message was that women don’t need a man to be successful and function in their lives. But most importantly to me is that the message was organic, instead of forced, which is something that isn’t seen as much in film today.

When I say natural, I mean that it makes sense in the context of the film. Little Women’s message make sense because A) The message isn’t shoved down your throat constantly and B) isn’t thrown in at the end to appeal to more minorities and therefore a wider audience. An example of mismanaging messaging like this is J.K Rowling’s need to make Dumbledore gay. In March of 2019, J.K Rowling tweeted that Dumbledore was a gay man. The last Harry Potter book was released 12 years before J.K’s comments and to go back and change an essential quality about an essential character like that is unprofessional. It doesn’t even allude to the possibility that he was gay, as the story mentions that Dumbledore had a wife at one point. 

This is why Little Women’s message is so good, it doesn’t delve into all this michegas that the other films have. It keeps its message subtle, in the writing especially, which is fabulous. Little questions like “Why should the women have to get married?” so perfectly weave in the message with the plot. That’s why this movie is so great and easy to watch, it has a quality that certain movies do were you leave the theater thinking you are still in the movie’s universe. It invigorated me with a sense of wanting to stand up for women’s rights like I hadn’t before, and this is why I think it is not only an excellent movie but an important movie. We need more movies with positive feelings like this. It is what our society lacks and what people need to hear, that positive change can be made and that you can do something to change your circumstances.