Explaining the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" trope.

Have you ever watched a movie with a female character that is quirky, adventurous and "not like other girls"? If your answer is 'yes', you may have encountered with the 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl'.

The term was coined by film critic, Nathan Rabin, in 2007 to describe a character who serves as a catalyst for the male protagonist's growth and transformation. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl if often outgoing, she approaches the protagonist first; whimsical and, even if these girls are played by beautiful women, men often react with reluctance to their traits; they have very particular tastes; they are often portrayed in a way that the audience thinks that they are "not like normal girls"; they don't care what other people think; and, the accumulation of all these characteristics, is for the purpose of changing the lives of men, they change the life of the protagonist.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

These movies tend to have a male protagonist that is lonely, depressed and, typically, stuck in his career. When the protagonist meets the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, he embraces life and its challenges, ready to put himself out there. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl lacks a backstory and personal goals beyond helping the male lead.

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.

Ruby Sparks (2012)

This term can be used, correctly, as a way to point out bad writing in film for a female character; some examples are in movies like Ruby Sparks (2012), Elizabethtown (2005), Almost Famous (2000), Yes Man (2008), Garden State (2004) and more. But there is something more than just putting this label to classify all of the quirky women we have seen in cinema, because that would be a misuse of the term.

My three biggest examples of a misuse pf the term are Clementine from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Annie Hall from Annie Hall (1977) and Summer from 500 days of Summer (2009). I will deep dive into both Clementine and Summer and the reason why I don't consider that the label of Manic Pixie Dream Girl applies to them.

Annie Hall (1977)

First, there is Clementine. The initial encounter we have with her is when she meets Joel in the train and, if we only take into account this moment of the movie, we can say that Clementine does fit into this trope, but we need more context. Clementine, in this first scene, is not just a quirky woman, she is very outgoing with Joel because she has already met him before (which will be explained later in the film); her development as a character is very clear in the rest of the movie; she is an individual with dreams, hopes, passions, insecurities and a personality totally apart from Joel. Clementine doesn't existe just for the sake of Joel's arc, she has her own story to tell. As Clementine says in the movie:

"Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm gonna make them alive. I'm just a fucked up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assigne me yours."

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

The next character is Summmer. Although Zooey Deschanel is one of the most notable faces to appear when talking about this trope and she, indeed, has played some characters that fit this narrative, such as Allison in the movie Yes Man (2008), I don't that her character, Summer, in 500 days of Summer (2009) can be put into this label without leaving parts of her development out. I think that the idea that Summer is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl comes from the fact that the director is, intentionally, trying to portray her that way, but people misinterpret the message he is trying to give. We only see Summer from Tom's POV, someone who sees her as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl that is there to help him embrace life; she is the immature view of a woman. Summer is, in the movie, Tom's view of a woman. The consequence for Tom, in not seeing her complexity as a person, is heartbreak. We see Summer, but not for who she really is. If Summer was there just to help Tom achieve his goal, she would give him what he wants, which is a serious relationship, but she doesn't. Tom falls in love with the idea of Summer, not with Summer.

500 days of Summer (2009)

Both 500 days of Summer and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind have great commentary on this trope. Women in movies also need backstories, dreams, fears, hopes and so much more; women have more to give than just being for the sake of being a type of muse to the protagonist, women need their own development.

I would like to take this article to put a quote from the movie Little Women (2019), that resonates with the message I want to give.

"Women, they, they have minds and they have souls, as well as just hearts, and they've got ambition, and they've got talent, as well as just beauty, and I'm so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I'm so sick of it"