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Post by Marv on Jun 17, 2021 17:01:50 GMT
So I came across a tweet earlier that went into a several tweet rant about manic pixie dream girls.
“ MPDGs are usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.”
I’ve seen the term before but never gave it much thought. Tropes is general lack nuance so I don’t really abide them. But what caught me most off guard is that the tweet featured a picture of three femal movie characters as examples of this trope.
Clementine, the love interest in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer, and Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs the World.
Now, I’ve not seen 500 Days of Summer and I can kind of see what they’re getting at with Clementine although like I said all tropes lack nuance and Clementine had plenty of that so to simply regard her as an MPDG is doing her character a disservice. The one that made me fur my brow was Ramona. Ramona Flowers is not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Not even close. Probably the only eccentric thing about her is her choice to die her hair but that’s it. Her personality and character traits are pretty much the exact opposite of an MPDG. Even Scott doesn’t fit the typical counterpoint as a brooding and depressed male protagonist. I genuinely think people see the pink hair and assume she must fit this trope on that alone because they clearly haven’t seen the movie.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 17, 2021 17:14:28 GMT
There was a really funny two-part episode of Louie that deconstructed that trope, with Parker Posey playing a very stereotypical MPDG but she's incredibly irritating and off-putting to be around, as a person like that would likely be in real life.
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Post by spooner5020 on Jun 17, 2021 17:23:54 GMT
So I came across a tweet earlier that went into a several tweet rant about manic pixie dream girls. “ MPDGs are usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.” I’ve seen the term before but never gave it much thought. Tropes is general lack nuance so I don’t really abide them. But what caught me most off guard is that the tweet featured a picture of three femal movie characters as examples of this trope. Clementine, the love interest in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer, and Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Now, I’ve not seen 500 Days of Summer and I can kind of see what they’re getting at with Clementine although like I said all tropes lack nuance and Clementine had plenty of that so to simply regard her as an MPDG is doing her character a disservice. The one that made me fur my brow was Ramona. Ramona Flowers is not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Not even close. Probably the only eccentric thing about her is her choice to die her hair but that’s it. Her personality and character traits are pretty much the exact opposite of an MPDG. Even Scott doesn’t fit the typical counterpoint as a brooding and depressed male protagonist. I genuinely think people see the pink hair and assume she must fit this trope on that alone because they clearly haven’t seen the movie. Is an example of this, like in the Community episode where Annie tries to set up Abed with that girl who had a scooter that fit into her bag? |
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Post by spooner5020 on Jun 17, 2021 17:27:28 GMT
So I came across a tweet earlier that went into a several tweet rant about manic pixie dream girls. “ MPDGs are usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.” I’ve seen the term before but never gave it much thought. Tropes is general lack nuance so I don’t really abide them. But what caught me most off guard is that the tweet featured a picture of three femal movie characters as examples of this trope. Clementine, the love interest in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer, and Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Now, I’ve not seen 500 Days of Summer and I can kind of see what they’re getting at with Clementine although like I said all tropes lack nuance and Clementine had plenty of that so to simply regard her as an MPDG is doing her character a disservice. The one that made me fur my brow was Ramona. Ramona Flowers is not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Not even close. Probably the only eccentric thing about her is her choice to die her hair but that’s it. Her personality and character traits are pretty much the exact opposite of an MPDG. Even Scott doesn’t fit the typical counterpoint as a brooding and depressed male protagonist. I genuinely think people see the pink hair and assume she must fit this trope on that alone because they clearly haven’t seen the movie. Maybe in the comic version of Scott Pilgrim, but even then that’s pushing it. |
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Post by Marv on Jun 17, 2021 17:35:45 GMT
So I came across a tweet earlier that went into a several tweet rant about manic pixie dream girls. “ MPDGs are usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.” I’ve seen the term before but never gave it much thought. Tropes is general lack nuance so I don’t really abide them. But what caught me most off guard is that the tweet featured a picture of three femal movie characters as examples of this trope. Clementine, the love interest in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer, and Ramona from Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Now, I’ve not seen 500 Days of Summer and I can kind of see what they’re getting at with Clementine although like I said all tropes lack nuance and Clementine had plenty of that so to simply regard her as an MPDG is doing her character a disservice. The one that made me fur my brow was Ramona. Ramona Flowers is not a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Not even close. Probably the only eccentric thing about her is her choice to die her hair but that’s it. Her personality and character traits are pretty much the exact opposite of an MPDG. Even Scott doesn’t fit the typical counterpoint as a brooding and depressed male protagonist. I genuinely think people see the pink hair and assume she must fit this trope on that alone because they clearly haven’t seen the movie. Is an example of this, like in the Community episode where Annie tries to set up Abed with that girl who had a scooter that fit into her bag? I don’t remember that one, but I only got a few seasons into Community. I like it but for some reason I lose interest. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2021 21:15:32 GMT
The thing about Manic Pixie Dream Girls is that I think I've seen more people parodying or complaining about them than I have actual Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Those three examples for instance are set up as MPDGs but deconstructed.
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 17, 2021 21:38:13 GMT
The thing about Manic Pixie Dream Girls is that I think I've seen more people parodying or complaining about them than I have actual Manic Pixie Dean Girls. Those three examples for instance are set up as MPDGs but deconstructed. Yeah definitely, I think it’s been over exaggerated to a certain extent. |
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Post by Spike Del Rey on Jun 17, 2021 21:43:33 GMT
I haven't seen any of the above mentioned movies, the only example of the MPDG I can recall seeing was Keira Knightley in Seeking a Friend For the End of the World.
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Post by pennypacker on Jun 17, 2021 22:04:59 GMT
A lot of stuff aimed at the YA audience is ripe with this trope.
It’s not a trope that bothers me much though, probably because I knew many girls who were MPDG like as a teenager and they were mostly cool.
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Post by vegalyra on Jun 17, 2021 22:25:23 GMT
It’s been awhile since I watched it, but I think the Wackness (2008) fits the bill.
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Post by Ass_E9 on Jun 18, 2021 0:21:36 GMT
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Post by spooner5020 on Jun 18, 2021 11:50:58 GMT
I’d still like to know how Ramona Flowers is one of these. The only way I could possibly see that is cause of her hair, but she does NOT act like one. Again you could make the assumption that in the books she is, but the movie Ramona and book Ramona are almost 2 different characters in my opinion.
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Post by Xcalatë on Jun 18, 2021 13:10:33 GMT
I’d still like to know how Ramona Flowers is one of these. The only way I could possibly see that is cause of her hair, but she does NOT act like one. Again you could make the assumption that in the books she is, but the movie Ramona and book Ramona are almost 2 different characters in my opinion. Agreed, she is not one of them. the only thing that would qulify her as a mpdg is Scott being crazy about her and doing the challenges but thats not enough. |
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Post by kolchak92 on Jun 18, 2021 13:39:30 GMT
I’d still like to know how Ramona Flowers is one of these. The only way I could possibly see that is cause of her hair, but she does NOT act like one. Again you could make the assumption that in the books she is, but the movie Ramona and book Ramona are almost 2 different characters in my opinion. I feel like people who haven't actually seen the movie just assume she is one due to her hairstyle.
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Post by Hurdy Gurdy Man on Jun 18, 2021 14:14:50 GMT
I have read that this trope originated with Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown.
“ MPDGs are usually static characters who have eccentric personality quirks and are unabashedly girlish. They invariably serve as the romantic interest for a (most often brooding or depressed) male protagonist.”
What's missing in above statement is that it is the girl's love and companionship that invariably brings the guy out of his funk.
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Post by FrankSobotka1514 on Jun 18, 2021 16:23:54 GMT
I think in Scott Pilgrim, Knives Chau is more of this type of character than Ramona.
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Post by mikef6 on Jun 18, 2021 17:05:31 GMT
In "L.A. Story" (1991) Steve Martin's girlfriend is a definite MPDG in the person of Sarah Jessica Parker. Her character spells her name SanDeE. 'Nuff said.
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Post by petrolino on Jun 18, 2021 23:25:33 GMT
I think this filtered into independent rock music too.
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Post by marianne48 on Jun 18, 2021 23:59:18 GMT
Would Ruth Gordon's character in Harold and Maude qualify as a MPDG?
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