fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2596 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2596 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

[Star Trek: The Next Generation]

__________________________________________________

03.

[The Croods]

__________________________________________________

04.

[Elementary]

__________________________________________________

05.

[Final Fantasy XIII]

__________________________________________________

06.

[SCP Foundation]

__________________________________________________

07.

[Philip Seymour Hoffman]

__________________________________________________

08.

[Twin Peaks]

__________________________________________________

09.

[Richard Armitage]

__________________________________________________

10.

[Reign]

__________________________________________________

11.

[The Hobbit]

__________________________________________________

12.

[Hunger Games]

__________________________________________________

13.

[Don't Hug Me I'm Scared]

__________________________________________________

14.

[Teen Wolf]

__________________________________________________

15.

[Panic! at The Disco/Dallon Weekes]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 063 secrets from Secret Submission Post #371.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At least in its original sense, Manic Pixie Dream Girl didn't just mean "someone who is weird, smart, and fun." I think the "Dream" part of the appellation is important, because the term as originally used applied to characters who were male fantasies. It was talking about a role certain kinds of female characters played as much as the attributes they had: characters who were spontaneous and quirky and intelligent, but who only existed for the purpose of teaching Sensitive Nerd Guys lessons about life and how it's worth living. They come into the lives of the narrator-protagonist in some indie movie and they only exist insofar as they interact with that character's life. And that's why they suck and are sexist - because they're a fantasy about some awesome woman who exists in a work to serve some specific purpose in the life of a male character. It's not a term that should just be applied to any female character who's quirky and smart, and if people are using it that way, it's fucking bullshit and you're right to be angry.

ayrt

And I can completely understand and get behind all of what you've described. The problem is that I haven't actually seen that. I've just seen certain characters get saddled with the label without it making any sense to me.

Perhaps it's a function of your last sentence, in the sense that there are some who apply it to any quirky, smart female character. They are doing so because they have been exposed to the negative archetype, but they're painting with too broad a brush.

This. And not only that, but their quirkiness is always seen as something cute and endearing and never as something that causes them any issues despite the fact that sometimes they can be rather out there in terms of personality.

The whole basis of the trope is just as you said: the "Dream" part, the fact that they're supposed to be some sort of fantasy rather than an actual person.

ayrt

That's actually a little strange to me. Why should a narrative have to show that a quirky person faces problems for being quirky?

Here are the problems that I've seen people face for being quirky in the way that these types of characters are:
1). some people don't want to hang out with them;
2). some family members think they're strange.

That's it. That's seriously it.

Those are still problems and things that make the person less than perfect. The issue with the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope is that the characters are presented as being an ideal, without any discernible flaws. In real life, quirkiness can be a negative trait at times, and something that people can find off-putting. Manic Pixie Dream Girls, however, are always seen as endearing even when they do something that would normally make people raise eyebrows. The worst reaction they typically get is an affectionate "oh, that _____."

They are never presented in any sort of negative light because they are meant to be the depiction of a fantasy.

How would demonstrating that Character B is sometimes seen as weird by other people serve the narrative?

I know I'm being pedantic. I'm thinking about why that is, and I think it's because, well...I hang out with weirdos (some of whom have weird families. I've got two friends who help their parents with Ren Faire-associated businesses). I am kind of a weirdo, and I just reign it in when I need to. When I think about writing the sort of character that might get labeled a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, it doesn't occur to me to show them being seen as weird by a certain set, because it's neither interesting to me nor integral to the story (generally speaking).

The more I think about it, the more I think that my world and my experiences are just so contrary to what people are drawing upon when they criticize this type that I can't completely grasp it. This is despite my being able to grasp the concept of a character being two-dimensional or too perfect. I may just have a blindspot when it comes to a certain set of traits. :(

[ SECRET POST #2596 ]

Re: Secret #1: Manic Pixie Girl

Re: Secret #1: Manic Pixie Girl

Re: Secret #1: Manic Pixie Girl

Re: Secret #1: Manic Pixie Girl

ayrt

Re: ayrt