We've all seen them, the girl that every guy wants to date and every girl wants to be. That girl whose hair is always perfect, but not in an "overdone" way, she's beautiful, but not solely because of her makeup; she is smart, she is brave, she is the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl."
Before we go much further, lets get a proper reference for this terminology; according to Nathan Rabin in the article "Wild Things: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls" describes the term as "to describe 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.'"
So, this is the girl we're all supposed to strive to be, right? Well, to investigate further, lets look at some examples:
1. Summer from "500 Days of Summer"
Quirky, blunt, and stylish as heck; with a name like Summer, of course she's a typical dream girl. Summer was fun and made every little errand an adventure. Summer was honest about not wanting a defined relationship, even when Tom REALLY didn't get the hint; she stood her ground and ended up happier for it.
2. Beth Cooper in "I Love You, Beth Cooper"
Blonde, open-minded, and adventurous. Beth Cooper has just about every checkpoint to become a "Manic Pixie Dream Girl". Beth was kind, and extremely charismatic; she had a lot of regrets but was interested in getting her life together. She lives every night like it's her last, and sure, she hasn't really looked into the future that much, but these memories will last a lifetime, right?
3. Daphne Reynolds in "What a Girl Wants"
Ahh, Amanda Bynes; who seriously DIDN'T want to be Amanda Bynes when all these movies were coming out? Anyways, this spunky, loud, and determined young woman literally left the COUNTRY to go and find her father. Daphne Reynolds showed promise as a model and a debutante. She was nice to everyone, but also wouldn't take any of your shit. She even had that whole Cinderella thing going for her with the stepmother and all that.
4. Sam White in "Dear White People"
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Intelligent, savvy, and always one-step ahead, Sam White was able to pretty much single-handedly expose her campus' problem with racism through her broadcast "Dear White People," and some events at the school's fraternities. We were fortunate enough to see her passion for radio, and campus politics. She was passionate and persistent, two qualities every college-aged activist needs.
5. Ramona Flowers in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World"
The straight-forward and colorful Ramona Flowers (again another 'dream girl' name), the girl that didn't want anyone to save her, but still ends up making you almost die. She is a caring introvert and has a past that anyone would be lucky to survive through. She would give her life and future for yours, even with that "I don't give a f*ck" attitude.
The "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is a trope we see in today's cinema constantly, just about every girl you see is a girl that 'every guy would want to be with'. We dissect what we perceive to be excellent qualities of people that don't actually exist.
Now given, many of these female characters are strong and kickass, I just want to ensure that is truly shown. I also want this "dream girl" ideology to stretch. I literally had to google "POC Manic Pixie Dream Girl" for this article because every list I found was completely whitewashed and heteronormatized. The fact that I had Ramona, a character who was, and I quote, "bicurious", for a stint of time is still somewhat shocking to me. If we don't get more diverse performers in these roles, we're only limiting ourselves.
And another huge thing I take from this, is just the fact that these girls are expected and seen as perfect, but their romantic interests aren't held to nearly the same standard, (Michael Cera? Come on.) The casting of these characters is misogynistic down to the core, and is giving young girls a goal they can never achieve, and boys a girl they can never have.
We can strive and strive for this "perfect" sense of being, but even this idea of "dream girl" stretches from blonde to pink and geeky to popular; and most of us are somewhere in between.
So, ladies, gentlemen, non-binary folks: the next time a movie comes on, with a nice guy, and the "perfect girl", please don't look at these characters as a goal, an accessory, or girlfriend (dating fictional characters goes nowhere good, trust me. I am still recovering from Augustus Waters).
To my ladies especially, please understand that even if you're not the cheerleader, or in London, or Zooey Deschanel; you ARE a "dream girl." Not because of your looks or your wardrobe; but because of your strength, your resilence, and your intelligence.
Afterall, it's the one way to true love.
Especially if that means loving yourself.
