Whether you realise it or not, probably half of the romance movies you’ve seen features a ‘manic pixie dream girl’ in one form or the other.
In layman terms, a ‘manic pixie dream girl’ is a whimsical, quirky female character who doesn’t seem to have any purpose in life besides saving the brooding, male protagonist from himself. And the thing is, this ‘perfect’ girl only exists…in the imaginations of these lost and troubled men. She is also often painted as miserable, unhinged, and wildly adventurous without a care in the world about the consequences coming her way.
Lonely and depressed male characters desperately seeking adventure are often seen projecting their feelings and fantasies onto her, forgetting that she is a real person with her own agency.
Clementine (played by Kate Winslet), from ‘Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind’ is a devastating manifestation of the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope. Throughout the whole movie, she is often moody and struggling with something deep within herself, and we only see her from the male protagonist’s (Joel, played by Jim Carrey) point of view.
But Clementine is quick to slam the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ trope by saying “Too many guys think I’m a concept, or I complete them, or I’m gonna make them alive. But I’m just a girl who’s looking for my own peace of mind. Don’t assign me yours.” This sharp statement cements the fact she does…to put it simply, have a life of her own — one that we are unable to see beyond Joel’s perspective.
The same can be said about the titular character in ‘500 Days of Summer’, played by Zooey Deschanel.
The male protagonist Tom, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, seems to find Summer mysterious and undecipherable. Yet, he falls hopelessly in love with her and inherently believes that she feels the same…except she doesn’t.
As the audience, we see Summer repeatedly mention that she is not interested in dating and that she is “not looking for anything serious.” Trapped in his own ideals of being a happy couple with her, Tom is disillusioned by his own fantasy and blames Summer for leading him on.
The fact is, these female characters have a lot of depth to them that runs deeper than the trope that they have been lumped into. It diminishes their voice into one-dimensional supporting characters to these self-absorbed male protagonists.
It takes genius writing to be able to add hidden layers to a character that is supposed to be depicted as shallow!
*Cover image via Fox Searchlight Pictures