Once upon a time in a middle school far, far away, I was an awkward adolescent reading the novel my seventh grade English class was assigned. The novel was "Stargirl" by Jerri Spinelli. The novel followed the perspective of a young man in high school and his friendship with the unique Stargirl, who’s real name is Susan. She wears odd clothes, has an unflinching curiosity for life and positivity towards it, and plays the ukulele. She upsets the status quo in the best way possible. Spinelli’s "Stargirl" was my first introduction to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope.
Coined by film critic Nathan Rabin after observing Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown (2005), describes the MPDG as "that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." Rabin has since denounced the term, but actresses who portray these characters feel there is a slight problem to the trope.
Natalie Portman’s portrayal of the character, Sam, in the beloved hipster film "Garden State" has fallen into the trope. Portman’s response to this label was, “When I read [the Garden State script] I was like, ‘Oh, this is a character that’s wacky and interesting, and no one’s ever given me a chance to play something like this. It’s this sort of unusual girl. So that was my incentive to make it. But of course I see that trope and I think it’s a good thing to recognize the way those female characters are used. I mean, I appreciate that people are writing characters that are interesting and unusual, rather than some bland female character as the girlfriend in a movie, but when the point of the character in this movie is to, like, help the guy have his arc, that’s sort of the problem, and that’s why it’s good that they’re talking about it, because it certainly is a troubling trope.”
There’s a definite black or white when it comes to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope; you either love it or you hate it. For me, I’m a huge fan. With the misrepresentation of women in film, and the small percentage of women behind the camera, for me, it is refreshing to see characters like Sam and numerous others such as Ruby, from "Ruby Sparks," Clementine, from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," and everyone’s most beloved or most hated MPDG, Summer from "500 Days of Summer."
Granted, I am heavily biased; "500 Days of Summer" is one of my favorite movies. Having watched the film numerous times, I can say I identify with Summer a lot. Not because of the main fact I have a striking resemblance to Zooey Deschanel, but because her mentality and purpose are very self defined. Summer is one of the rare female characters, I find, who doesn’t follow the rules. She is not placed in the story to simply become a male’s love interest but to test him, thereby giving the audience something more to think about.
When it comes to defending the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, for me it’s fairly simple. The function of a MPDG is cause an arch in the male character. But in doing this, the MPDG also forces the audience to redefine the types of women we see in film. From the strong, to the timid to the stereotyped damsel in distress, the continuation of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope offers for the audience a new lease on the types of female characters we see. These women may have a primary function connected to the male protagonist in the film, but they often exemplify characteristics such as independence, self-awareness and confidence in themselves; all these qualities young women today should be exposed to more.
For all the haters, I get it. These Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters are annoying with their quirkiness and incessant ukulele playing. But the fact is, if you have a problem with them you should keep it to yourself. Because another positive trait of a MPDG, they probably don’t care what you think.
