If you were a real person, I doubt you would have settled for the representation John Green dumped you with. I mean, you were always described as strong and self assured. You were an active feminist, albeit a slightly problematic one. So I seriously doubt you could have been satisfied knowing that your personality existed only to provoke the sleazy-male-main-character to reflect on his masculinity. I never really got to know you, because you weren't meant to be understood; you were meant to appear as an unattainable hypersexual enigma. I think you could have been a great girl and a cool friend, but you never had time for me - you were only written to entertain the male fantasy.
Sincerely,
Hannah
In the growing Young Adult fiction genre, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) trope has become a very frequent representation of women, especially teenage girls, in literature, cinema and pop culture. The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl was coined by film critic Nathan Rabin who describes her as "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." Basically we see a growing representation and romanticisation of girls whose purpose is only to further the life of their *much more real, important and developed* male counterparts. On top of this blatant devaluation of women, MPDGs are often hypersexualised, and presented as a beautiful, mysterious prize that the male protagonist aims to own. For example, in Looking for Alaska, Miles' ultimate victory comes in finally "getting through" to Alaska, resulting in her hooking up with him. In the 2009 film 500 Days of Summer, the audience celebrates with Tom as he eventually overcomes Summer's enigmatic defences and can now be sexually intimate with her.
Q- How is this harmful?
A- So many ways...
Firstly, the MPDG trope very obviously characterises women as subservient to men - having no personal agenda that doesn't directly benefit the male protagonist. It's like 21st century "women belong in the kitchen" except this time it's "women belong in men's beds, giving inspirational speeches so men can lead better lives while she remains empty and depressed, but simultaneously sexy and beautiful."
Secondly, it exacerbates the issue of men being conditioned to believe they deserve sex. MPDG's are often romantic interests, and specifically the type who are completely unattainable except to our goofy, deep-and-meaningful male protagonist. Usually from the get-go, the male protagonist aims to get with his Dream Girl, and we as an audience are made to wish their relationship eventuates. However, since the MPDG by definition is not humanised with meaningful personality traits and a meaningful backstory, the inevitable hook up is simply a sexual victory for the male, with the MPDG characterised as "finally agreeing to give him what he deserves". Hello Sam from Garden State.
The other thing we see is that the MPDG trope dictates female beauty standards in a pretty toxic way. These girls are always described as undeniably physically beautiful, but with a mysterious insecurity that makes them all the more soulfully attractive. This causes a romanticisation of mental illness, which adversely effects people living with mental health issues since their very serious medical condition is not properly recognised. When mental illness in MPDGs is a beautifully tragic, attractive aspect of their otherwise non-existent personality, people who actually struggle with real cases of depression, anxiety or eating disorders are invalidated because they're viewed as "putting it on for attention".
Secondly, it exacerbates the issue of men being conditioned to believe they deserve sex. MPDG's are often romantic interests, and specifically the type who are completely unattainable except to our goofy, deep-and-meaningful male protagonist. Usually from the get-go, the male protagonist aims to get with his Dream Girl, and we as an audience are made to wish their relationship eventuates. However, since the MPDG by definition is not humanised with meaningful personality traits and a meaningful backstory, the inevitable hook up is simply a sexual victory for the male, with the MPDG characterised as "finally agreeing to give him what he deserves". Hello Sam from Garden State.
The other thing we see is that the MPDG trope dictates female beauty standards in a pretty toxic way. These girls are always described as undeniably physically beautiful, but with a mysterious insecurity that makes them all the more soulfully attractive. This causes a romanticisation of mental illness, which adversely effects people living with mental health issues since their very serious medical condition is not properly recognised. When mental illness in MPDGs is a beautifully tragic, attractive aspect of their otherwise non-existent personality, people who actually struggle with real cases of depression, anxiety or eating disorders are invalidated because they're viewed as "putting it on for attention".
Problem #1765: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are always white.
Problem #1766: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are objectified.
Problem #1767: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are almost always written by a man under the male gaze.
Problem #1768: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are a projection of what the patriarchy deems to be a "cool girl", which not only cements the idea that an ideal girl is subservient, sexually available to men and conventionally beautiful, but socialises girls to want to be like this.
The list continues, and will grow even more as the YA fiction that utilises this trope keeps on gaining popularity, publishing contracts and movie opportunities. Hooray for positive female representation. So to all my budding writers, directors, film critics and YA fiction consumers out there: be critical when you come across this characterisation; it's pretty damaging to our society.
Problem #1766: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are objectified.
Problem #1767: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are almost always written by a man under the male gaze.
Problem #1768: Manic Pixie Dream Girls are a projection of what the patriarchy deems to be a "cool girl", which not only cements the idea that an ideal girl is subservient, sexually available to men and conventionally beautiful, but socialises girls to want to be like this.
The list continues, and will grow even more as the YA fiction that utilises this trope keeps on gaining popularity, publishing contracts and movie opportunities. Hooray for positive female representation. So to all my budding writers, directors, film critics and YA fiction consumers out there: be critical when you come across this characterisation; it's pretty damaging to our society.
Comment below!
Hannah
Hannah
I really would love to hear John (and Hank) talk more about feminism, and female characters represented in John's books. Those marriage equality episodes Hank did on vlogbrothers couple years ago are still worth watching.
ReplyDeleteI think the be the 'cool girl' theory is very well articulated in Gone Girl, maybe not intended as a feminism lecture, but it certainly revealed some male thoughts.
This could be a complete abstract thought here, but bear with me...
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned a shift from the "women in kitchens" to "women in bedrooms" attitude. Step back to the whole "women in kitchens" for a sec.
Examining a text like Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, would you say that Blanche Dubois as a character has been designed by the playwright to demonstrate that strong, independent women who decide to free themselves from those particular gender roles will often be undermined by strong men like Stanley? Was that the general attitude, crushing the possibility of having strong women in society?
Or, was is a feminist text that demonstrated the inequality women faced in 1930s society, and Blanche was the result of a patriarchal society dominated by primal behemoths crushing the very inklings of social equality?
And tying this back to your original post (it was a stretch, I admit), do male authors creating MPDG characters merely represent modern incarnations of old Tennessee Williams, using powerful male characters to define the true roles of women?