Coined in 2007 by film critic Nathan Rabin, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a term that defines girls who are ‘quirky and ethereal’ but are otherwise blank slates with no other traits.
The trope has become a subject of criticism and mockery as more people have caught on to the term and noticed the trends in how these types of female characters are portrayed. Rabin first used the term to take aim at Kirsten Dunst’s character in Elizabethtown and cited Natalie Portman in Garden State as another prime example.
Jennifer Gouck, a professor at University College Dublin, focuses on girlhood in the twenty-first century, specifically in the young adult (YA) genre. She has written two academic works about the problematic effects of the Manic Pixie Dream Girls in popular culture.
“The Manic Pixie Dream Girl has been something that has been extensively published in YA books over the years, most notably or recently with John Green’s books,
“And then the further adaptations of them have further cemented the manic pixie in popular culture as an ideal trope or girl to behave like.”
Green’s books have come under fire for their female protagonists, and the film adaptations haven’t done much to remedy this. These include Hazel (Shailene Woodley) in The Fault in Our Stars and Margo (Cara Delevingne) in Paper Towns. These characters have their differences but are essentially the Manic Pixie Dream Girl in different fonts.
Gouck noted: “Funnily enough, in a deleted Tumblr post, John Green said Margo in Paper Towns was devoted in its entirety to destroying the lie of the manic pixie dream girl, which he doesn’t do.
“He doesn’t destroy or go against the manic pixie because Margo still plays into the trope heavily.”
Beyond the world of YA books and their subsequent adaptations, the Manic Pixie can be found in many original forms in film.
One actor stands out for Gouck as epitomising the entire trend.
“The manic pixie was exemplified in Zoey Deschanel after the financial crash of 2008,
“In my paper, I talked about the crash and how it led to a lot of societal upheaval and uncertainty, how the manic pixie became an ideal image for people to look at, and how Deschanel became the poster child in (500) Days of Summer and New Girl.”
In 2008, a new era of the manic pixie entered our lives and left a mark with her iconic quirky attitude and the introduction of her vintage style, which included polka dots, ballet pumps, ribbons, and frills.
“It was a nostalgic and regressive thing to idolise the manic pixie in a time of political uncertainty because people made her more childish and ‘adorkable’, which suggested she wasn’t someone to root for [their] progress and power.”
In Goulk’s paper, she shares how another academic compared Deschanel’s physical features and personal brand to perfectly fit the manic pixie trope and image.
“With big blue eyes, porcelain skin, long brunette hair with thick full bangs… she’s like a doll”
However, on the flip side, there is massive juxtaposition and disparity within the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Many Pixies opt for a rather challenging look with coloured hair and misfit outfits that aren’t as doll-like as Deschanel’s.
There’s an eccentric subcategory of the genre with a different fashion and aesthetic, like Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, with her dyed pink hair and alternative clothing.
These are two case studies of differently-looking Manic Pixies who still display symptoms of the trope like being a free spirit, relentlessly optimistic and essentially a vehicle for everyone else’s growth other than her own.
Related: Manic pixies to corsets as film features of control
Ironically, a persistent flaw for Goulk with Pixies is how rarely persistent the characters are.
“She is very fleeting and go with the flow and is almost always reduced to a one-dimensional character that is there to aid a male protagonist.”
Another blatant issue with the Manic Pixie is that she is how often they are white.
“I don’t think I can name a single person of colour and manic pixie crossover, which is really sad.
“It goes back to the view of how damaging that is for the trope and characters that people idolise because she is never presented with any real traits or quirks that have meaning, which isn’t realistic.
“I think it’s disappointing the trope never changed or adapted with diverse or modern audiences, even with her fashion or body type being as singular as her personality.”
The Manic Pixie is an outdated trope, but that doesn’t mean having some of these traits automatically makes a character fall under the banner of Manic Pixie. Quirky or off-beat characters are not the issue, but ones who have no interiority and serve to prop up and support the male lead are.
Goulk summarises this, saying: “It’s a trope and concept that can lead to damaging ideals for young girls and women to look up to and take on without questioning.”
