thanks for watching everybody. Given current events, it felt weird to just sit here and make jokes about Disney Channel movies or whatever, so I wanted to do something a little more serious (but not too serious, I mean this is ME after all). I don't do video essays too often, so some of you may have never seen one of mine. On UA-cam, most video essays are really just like fancy wikipedia articles or college thesis papers. But with mine I like to make them more personal, more about my experiences and opinions, rather than like "look at how many big words I can use". In this video, I use the words "quirky" and "manic pixie dream girl" somewhat interchangeably. This is technically not correct, but I wanted to focus more on my experience with these kinds of people, rather than a dissertation about the trope itself and how it manifests in different kinds of media over time or whatever. Like I mentioned in the video, I was REALLY into the idea of the MPDG back when I was in High School, so it was interesting for me to think back on why that was, and why I can't stand them now. And again, as I touched on in the video, these roles of "sad boy" and "MPDG" can easily be reversed. But, at least in movies and tv shows, the trope is overwhelmingly portrayed in the way I talk about in the video. The MPDG doesn't really exist in real life, but I have met more than a few girls (and guys too) who, either on purpose or by happenstance, are emulating one. I used to think dating these girls would be a dream come true. I was wrong. It was agony.
With the incel movement as the radical ( and dangerous ) spearhead of a pretty common phenomenon of a state of loneliness in young men and with an absence of relationships and a very high suicide rate for men ( ua-cam.com/video/Q3WDw-DBKLA/v-deo.html ) ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_differences_in_suicide ) - the male part of this story is a pretty common character. Keep in mind, the examples I used are only the peak of a phenomenon that is pretty familiar in sociology and psychology alike. If I were to put this bluntly, many men are sad bois.
@@m.meghana2365 He actually was one of Smeyers top choices for edward (Henry Cavill also made the list) and MCR (vampcore) inspired the series, the production of twilight also asked them to write an original song for the trilogy and they said obviously no I'm convinced that if twilight was less "sexually repressed conservative" and more "angry queer punk" that the band would have said yes
@@dauser4 this! It's true, trust me. Wanting to believe that love is this all powerful thing. That it can fix him, if you fight hard enough and show him you love him despite his flaws, that will be enough to give him the strength to fix them. Its dark.
@@HetLedie No. A supportive SO is very different from a therapist. I have never seen, nor heard, of a relationship that could possibly be considered happy and healthy when one of them is the other's therapist. The one who plays as the therapist will only ever really feel like a therapist in the long run, and feel overburdened with the other partner constantly laying down ALL of their issues, big and small, on the therapist partner. Which is the antithisis of a healthy relationship. A supportive partner is very different from a partner who acts as the other's therapist.
ary After was a One Direction fanfic on Wattpad which was later published as an original novel after changing the character’s names and got turned into a movie. The Kissing Booth was also a Wattpad story that got published as a novel and got a Netflix adaption. And there’s plenty of other Wattpad stories which have been published as novels due to their insane popularity. Hardly any of them are actually well written though.
He's done them before with his Spider-man and 13 reasons why videos. Nonetheless i do really like this style and kind of wish he'd do more videos like this more often.
I feel like 500 days of summer is one of the most misinterpreted movies ever. The movie is not about a manic pixie dream girl, but about how Tom is viewing a three-dimensional person in a one-dimensional way. For example in one scene she is sharing very personal and vulnerable feelings with Tom and the narration is something like: “...and Tom knew he was the first person to hear this...” He’s not actually paying attention to anything she’s doing or saying, he’s just thinking something along the lines of: “Wow, I unlocked the backstory. I’m in for sure now!” It’s clear that Summer is a deeper and more complex character, and Tom barely pays attention to her. The problem is not with Summer, but with Tom. He chooses to view her the way he wants to. He’s not in love with her, he’s in love with the idea of her.
I think both are a problem as incompatible people who want to be compatible in some way. Summer being too open for an average relationship and Tom being too closed for a relationship with Summer.
It’s an anti-romcom that calls out the immaturity of the manic panic pixie dream girl trope and how romance movies and tv shows give people an unrealistic expectation of relationships. He thought Summer would make his boring life worth living and make him be a better person and pursue his dreams. His view was selfish and childish because it was one dimensional. He only begins to grow out of it once he decides to better his life for himself and not because of some girl that he’s infatuated witho
The film is about manic pixie dream girls. Exactly as you described, Tom makes her into a manic pixie dream girl, when really she’s a full human being. It shows the problems with the trope
In real life: Sad boy meets quirky girl, who likes adventure and likes living life. The sad boy becomes a bit happier but in the process sucks al the life out of the girl, leaving her sitting in his room staring at the ceiling thinking of the person she once was.
Every time I see that trope of "I'm not like other girls", I automatically think of Syndrome from the Incredibles when he says "if everyone's special, no one is"
I don’t trust the other review platforms because they are so biased and pass judgement on something based off of if it fits the agenda they want it to fit.
Yeah the constant reviews can get a little exhausting since this is what I subscribed for. That being said tho I always prefer a creator making what THEY want.
why is every main girl character in a book is “not like other girls” and either extremely girly or a huge tom boy, people need to learn to be more creative
I wanna see the basic bully (wears pink, wears pearls, makeup, plastic, blonde, blue eyes, bully, probably has 3 other bully friends etc. you know the gist) become a main character
@@panigbrowardcollege yes and the plot shows us that she’s so mean because of tons of mental issues and traumas, and till the end of the movie she starts seeing a therapist who makes her feel better, she gets her shit together and gets rid of her shitty social behavior !
When I was dating a guy I wanted to “help” and “fix” because he was broody, sad, and mean my mom told me it was most often that people would never change. She asked me if I could live with all the things I didn’t like if he didn’t change. The answer was no so I moved on. Best advice I’ve every received
The thing about "500 Days of Summer" I will say is that they do subvert your expectations and reveal that Joseph Gordon Levitts character was putting her on a pedestal and falling for his fantasy of her rather than for her. Still the same concept but the way they did it was better than how most go.
Nathan Rabin the guy who came up with the trope wrote an article where he was pissed of that people said Annie hall or summer are manic pixie dream girls
He put her on pedestal and she wanted the pedestal and played him like a flute, cause doesn't want to be alone at the moment. He saw only what he wanted and she didn't care beyond it was nice for now. He should have listened more and she should have told him to go away.
The best example I know of a Manic Pixie Dream BOY isn't Edward Cullen, it's Jack from Titanic -- and his bubbly, charismatic self DOES change Rose, and then he disappears forever. Ya know, at the bottom of the ocean. And if you want to imagine an alternative ending, there's Revolutionary Road XD
This is actually a really good point, ive never thought of titanic from this perspective, only from, damn, there was room for both of them on that door, dick move rose, dick move. Lol
The thing about 500 Days of Summer is that Summer herself is NOT a manic pixie dream girl, but the idealization of her figure by Tom turns her into one.
i was looking for a comment like this, thank you! I kept thinking the same thing to myself. The point of the movie is that he sees her as he wants to see her, which is a manic pixie dream girl. That's not who she is tho, she's a person with thoughts and feelings, but he doesn't care about that as long as she just makes him feel "good". She's not there to make him a better person, if anything he becomes worse by showing his true colors. She's there for her own selfish reasons and doesn't actually want to be with him. His little sister even calls him out in the movie! When she rightfully leaves and married another man he finally pulls himself together and *fixes himself*. That's the whole point! You can't be with someone you build up in your imagination and expect them to be exactly how you imagine and also make you a better person. That's not how it works.
Ana Beatriz F. Thank you for this comment, I was looking for it! I think if anyone thinks Summer is a manic pixie dream girl then they don’t understand the movie.
@@Stormy_Cloud and Summer even said in the beginning that she doesn't even want to be in a relationship. I mean, what she did was still wrong but Tom knew from the get go that what he wanted wasn't what SHE wanted but he still pushed for it
This trope needs to die out. It’s setting unrealistic life expectations for both boys and girls. No, finding “the one” won’t fix all your problems. No, your relationship won’t just succeed on being “the one.” Uncertainty and impulsiveness won’t work in a good relationship.
It depends on how it's done. At the end of 500 Days of Summer, there isn't anything definite about the girl he met. Maybe she's the girl Tom marries;maybe she's just another step in Tom's journey. However, Tom is now testing dating out again and chasing jobs he actually wants rather than the crap at the greeting card company. Summer wasn't the "one" but still helped him in his life. It actually says that breaking up with people is not always the end of the world.
i think instead people need stop expecting movies to 100% portray real life all of the time and thinking that all ideas in movies translate into real life no matter what.
IMO That's the same thing as saying superhero movies should die out, you can't just put on a cape, train really hard and become a superhero. These movies are suppose to be a fantasy, a thing that while you watch it, pulls you away from reality so you don't have to think about your own life and you can just live in this fantasy for a while.
The perfect single father whose wife is out of the picture and he has a perfect big house in a quaint small town. That's pretty much every Hallmark perfect guy.
Lol I was just thinking Margo Roth Spiegelman. Although I wouldn’t exactly consider Hazel Grace a mpdg. She’s like, depressed. Aza also clearly wasn’t perfect but Paper towns and looking for Alaska both seem like they fit into the category
I think he is using this trope but is subverting it. In paper towns when the protagonist finds margo she bashes him for fantasizing about how he finally found her and they could be together. If he had been looking at the situation without the rose-colored goggles he would have seen that see didn't want to be his pixie girl, she just wanted her enemies to die in a fire and he was a simp willing to help her.
@@selmaluvbees yeah as he showed in the video i think augustus was the ‘manic pixie dream boy’ (i use this term because i forgot what it’s actually called lol I hope you understand).
Boys' method of escapism: manic pixie dream girl Girls' method of escapism: brooding bad boy with a heart of gold My uncle's method of escapism: 24 pack Coors Light and verbally abusive Facebook posts
Same tho but me as a person I will probably fall for that type of a relationship because I love helping people and if I can’t fix those closest to me I feel useless and not needed anymore.
@@bhavanabharath5192 Just fyi, and this is some proven-to-work personal advice - the best way to help a guy out a lot of times is to yell at him about his shitty behaviour. If you have an actual reason to do so, it gets fun after a while. Lol great way to let off steam.
@@bhavanabharath5192 And that's a bad mindset. I deal with it aswell. I feel like I have a responsibility to help people out, but you *don't* . They can only change if they show a desire to change. You'll only hurt yourself if you go for people who don't.
except that in 500 Days of Summer, it was Tom's fault, and Summer was not a mpdg. He just treated her like one, completely disregarding her, not listening to her and just fantasizing and projecting his wishes onto her. 500 Days of Summer is a movie that tries to break the mpdg trope...
Pepino Corino both of them was at fault. Because she did lead him on like persisting him to sleep with her e.g shower sex. This is while her being full aware that he likes her. But at the same time, she made it clear to him that she doesn't want commitments. He set himself on a trap, he didn't think this through😃
I think is because they really developed the character of Kaori and she is not only a random girl that wants to fix Kouseis life. She knew him and admire him since she was a little girl so it makes sense that she wanted to help him getting back to music. Also, they do show shes not perfect.
There’s always movies that have this exact plot: Shy girl moves to a new school. On her first day, she makes two new friends (one boy who clearly likes her, one girl) and they become besties. The new girl ends up developing a crush on the popular girl’s bf and the bf is kinda into her (which pisses the popular girl off.) The popular girl’s bf gets mad that she’s jealous and breaks up with her. The shy girl and popular guy end up dating and the shy girl gets popular by default. She gets caught up in the popularity and ditches her friends. She later realizes she made a mistake, breaks up with her bf and goes back to her friends. They take her back and her boy best friend confesses his feelings and they become a thing. The friend group continues to thrive and they lived happily ever after
And then the sad thing is if you TRULY aren’t like everyone else that comes with the price of being ignored or left out because no one likes you. Then everyone says stuff like that when they don’t know what it’s actually like
@@Peculiarpossum Same, it's not a gift. When you're not like other girls, you're not happy-go-lucky like this manic pixie dream girl (at least I'm not) you're not being seen as quirky, you're just weird. I do have a strong desire to help people (and animals too) though because I have a lot of empathy. Not just guys, women too. Fixing seems like the wrong word to use. You fix an object, not a person. I stay true to myself or I try to anyway. It's not easy in the world we live in. But unlike those girls in those movies I don't do whatever I want. I always consider how another person would feel. I try to mentally take a step back to look at my thoughts objectively. It doesn't always work, but I don't mind anyone else setting me straight. I actually welcome that and apologize whenever I'm wrong. I see that as a learning experience. My sense of logic often tends to be different than other people's logic too, so that makes for some awkward situations sometimes.
The idea that a girl HAS to fix a boy is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. No person NEEDS fixing by someone else and no one should have to fix someone else.
Plenty of people need fixing, and a lot can't do it on their own. The problem is movies apparently can't be made without a romance plotline, so the guide/helper role is merged into the romantic interest role.
My own hypothesis is that it's a couple of different layers Layer 1 is that often, by being the fixer-upper in a person's life, you're automatically on a different pedestal; you're more special than the rest of the people in that person's life, and feeling special and feeling needed often feel interchangeable to many who haven't yet felt a difference Layer 2 is that often, guys get to act out their more negative behaviours with less of an impact to their own value; as such, every guy around you seems like a not-so-great SO; the fantasy then becomes that hey, maybe he's an a-hole to everyone else, but amazing to me! Or that, even if he has these red flags, I know that his heart is good, and he must be behaving negatively for a reason. If I can just fix those reasons, we'll have a decent guy on our hands! Which is like, what never happens and why it's such a staple in fiction, but combine the fantasy of being special and having a decent partner if you just make enough effort, if you just dig deep enough, and it's one hell of a potent combination, and even better, is whole-heartedly backed by mainstream society
Doctor Corgi yh but that’s different, being a therapist is a career path. Now I’m not saying people shouldn’t help out their friends or significant others, like yh talking it out and comforting each other is a good thing from time to time. However, it should not lead to co-dependency because in a healthy relationship, both people will compromise with each other and then go off and take care of their own responsibilities while having support for one another. It’s really important to have faith in yourself in order to have faith in the relationship. And that goes to any type of relationship
@@its_just_me6183 I agree, and couldn'thave said it better. What I was trying to imply(but I'm terrible when it comes to talking) is that people exist to help you. You shouldn't rely on you significant other(or whoever) to do so, and you shouldn't have to fix people. However you should listen to them, and try to persuade them to get help by talking to a therapist.
opened my eyes to see how much media has affected my life and that I am the stereotypical sad boy. Makes me wanna reconsider how I approach relationships and how I view myself. Great video by the way now I want to watch all these movies.
I feel the same, as I am the "manic pixie dream girl", how I do what I want and that is fantastic, but often I don't make compromises and I don't care enough for other people's opinions even when I should. I try to fix people under the premise to "make them a better version of themself" but really I try to mold them into my perfect companion because I don't want to change for someone else and I've come to realise how toxic that actually is. I'm having a hard time fixing myself because I don't know how without losing the good parts of it, but I'm trying. I only hope that's what matters.
@@mistyminnie5922 it does. Keep trying to improve yourself. Nobodys perfect but everyone is able to become a better person if they try hard enough. 🧐 (Still working on that part myself, not a mpdg myself more like a lazy squarehead who would like to do something important with her life instead of dreaming about it)
Misty Minnie thanks for sharing a little bit about yourself, it’s nice to know that other people resonated with the video like I did. I’m glad you recognize your toxic behaviors and are willing to work on that. We can work on it together.
The series "The End of The F**king World" Isn't about the girl but she's the main focus of the story line and everyone refers to her as the main attraction. Over-all really great to watch
I think a better example would have been “Jack” from Titanic. Rose doesn’t change Jack, but Jack is there only to fix Rose. On top of that he disappears...I mean. He dies.
I hv to disagree. Rose has always been the type of girl who was unhappy being told wat to do/how to live. She had her life basically planned out for her. Jack just helped her gain the courage to break free/be herself
Nah. In manic pixie dream girl trope, the most focus is on phisical attractiveness of a girl judged by the sad boi. Not like the other girls is probably "creepy silent kid" or "insane woman". You know, a character that is mostly hated for being different.
@@youraveragestalker8438 how so? It doesn't insult all women, it just happens to trash on a group that believes they're special for doing/going through things every girl goes through. It's not misandrist to joke about incels right?
@@notisttt1240, I think in the "not like the other girls", it's thought that there are "normal girls", which are "unlikeable" (e.g. conforms to feminine standards!), unlike the "other girls". You do not need to directly insult women to be misogynistic.
@@californium-2526 Noone said normal women are unlikeable. What we joke about is the hypocrisy behind "I'm not like other girls" when, yes, she is like other girls. It's like those people that put in their tinder bio "I like travel, food and dogs". It doesn't undermine average women, it undermines women that think they're better than others(which is not mysoginistic, as we mock those that think they're special all the time, from both genders)
"Boys Need to be fixed" "Girls need a project" I loved how you touched on this. I hate how women are expected to change a man or vice versa. A relationship is wonderful but it won't bring full on confidence. That's your job. This is a tiring trope in romance movies tbh.
Totally agree with this!! And the other side of the coin: Men are not something inherently broken that needs to be fixed. Men.Are.Not.Broken. Women.Are.Not.Saviours.
I kind of touched on this in a separate comment, but it's not so much an expectation as it is a power fantasy. They don't actually put any effort into the relationship, it's like their presence fixes everything on its own. That's why women are attracted to it. Putting any actual effort into changing a person, whether they're worth it or not, is a massive headache if actually attempted.
I have a friend that is very close to being a MPDG, at least on the surface. She's bold, she says and does what she wants, she's beautiful, and she's a little bit weird. I'll tell you what happened when a MPDG stayed with the man she inspired. Everything was great, he fell for her instantly, she was super excited because it felt like they just clicked. But after a bit, things started getting bad. She has an aura about her that attracts people to her, and shes beautiful, so whenever they went out other guys would look at her or hit on her. The guy, who started off insecure, became more and more jealous, despite her never engaging with the other men. Over time, he stopped taking her out because he would get too jealous. He would go out to drink while he made her stay at home. He became possessive and controlling. Slowly he started to tear her down. The clothes that he liked before, the ones that made her 'different,' instead made her look like a boy, he said. The random noises and gestures that were just a part of who she was, suddenly made her 'immature.' While he used to lovingly stare at her at dinner, now he said that the way she eats is ugly. She would sing when she was happy, but now it was annoying. Every little thing she did was something to critique, and slowly she began to wilt like a neglected bird in a cage. What you don't see in a MPDG is that while they seem confident on the outside, some times the inside can be pretty sad. After two years of systematic abuse, we were finally able to pull her away from him, but she was with him for so long that by the time we got her out she was a shell of who she had been. It took months to get her to genuinely laugh again. Months for her to recover her sense of individuality and self worth. Months before she would stop apologizing to me just for eating. Now she is back, back to being her normally abnormal self, and she is wiser now. But that's just a hint of what could happen if a MPDG stays with the guy she fixes or inspires.
This was me... I experienced all of this, for only two years. But it has shaped my whole adult life. I've decided that it was hard, but a growing experience. Still hurts sometimes to think about. The age from 17 to 19 changed everything. Now I'm 30, and I'm basically who I always wanted to be, but it took so much work to get here. From quirky, to childish, to mature, to broken, to selfless, to self involved, and now, I have balance. It was incredibly hard, and sometimes it still hurts, but now, I'm not a MPDG, I'm just... Me. And I love me. 😊
You talking about a real person as a movie trope though... Calling her a MPDG or drawing a parallel between her and a movie trope limits her as a person and dismisses her genuine character that's weird, fun and free-spirited. Real people are not tropes. We are more complex than a few hundred pages describing a simplified version of a real human by script writers. Zoey Deschanel herself was dubbed a MPDG even though she's a real person and all we see about her comes down to 10 minutes of edited talk show interviews. That's a no from me.
Same freaking thing, except looking the MPDG part. One day you inspire them, the next they hate everything you are. Sorry that your friend experienced that
@@_BirdOfGoodOmen Both are bad, but the former is incomparably more common in media throughout history as there are many times fewer stories about multi-faceted women.
@@joratto2833 "Both are bad, but the former is incomparably more common in media throughout history" lol, did you ever hear... well... almost the whole romcom / romance / teen drama genre? And did you ever wonder why young females are the target audience? Both character tropes exist equally for their target audiences. Stop trying to make another gender war out of it for the love of god.
Why is everyone so against "I'm not like the other girls" thing? That's stupid. Most girls who think like that are victims of peer abuse or are just lonely and don't fit in. Stuff like that, liking my difference from others, is what gave me strength to survive when I was a teen. I can only imagine how hard it is for girls like that now when apparently everyone hates them. Victim blaming at it's purest.
I’ve actually been in “relationships” where the guy projects me to be a manic pixie girl. It gets to a point where you feel less like a person and more like this idealized object that belongs to someone because they say they “need” you or that you’re different and spontaneous. And you don’t wanna breakup with them because you start to think that it wouldn’t be fair to THEM. I think that’s why the manic pixie girl shouldn’t be something people romanticize because most of the time both people in the relationship are just looking for some type of validation in their on way and they both end up unhappy.
I couldn’t agree more !!! I happened to live the same thing and yes it becomes unbearable to even think of breaking up with them, because it would be too mean to them.
I wish I had a coin for every time a guy has told me "you're not like other girls". Glad some of them didn't idealize me and actually wanted to know my personality too!
Dude me too!! I had a good friend of mine who had a huge crush on me. He would say things along the lines of “oh you’re not like other girls cause you don’t wear makeup” and “I’m so glad I have you in my life, you make me so happy” like I’m honored but I want him to see me as a friend. I think my relationship with him helped him become more confident and happier in life but I don’t want him to see me as a manic pixie dream girl, maybe a “manic pixie dream friend” lmao because I feel like I’m an object. Now that I’ve made it clear, I don’t want to be with him, he dropped me like a hot potato.
I went through something similar with a guy I dated for 3 months...it’s a lil sad but he’s still open to a relationship with me and it’s been 2 years 😩 he’s a nice guy though, just didn’t actually understand ME.
So it’s kind of like a boy gets a sun and a girl gets some clay. The sun gives warmth and light to the boy just by existing. The boy gets an opportunity to grow as the sun provides life to them. The clay gives the girl an opportunity to mold something into what’s perfect for them, fixing the original shape’s mistakes. That’s kind of the analogy I was thinking of lol. Also if you look at the sun too long you’ll get burned, as the sun is not mindful of the pain it can cause. The clay would be completely dependent on its creator, as it’s entire identity is defined by a fantasy. Edit: Had another thought so I wanted to share lol. Another thing is that this shoves unbridled expectations onto both parties: that one is expected to be a constant source of comfort over being a human being, and another is expected to change their personality and identity based on someone else’s preferences. The boy is consistently unsatisfied as their partner can’t hold up to the expectation that they should only exist to make the boy happy, and the girl is left with nothing as their partner becomes just a shell of a human being.
Mistakes are subjective to ones beliefs. Maybe the guy is fine and in our society girls go with the bad boys often cause they think they’re different and that they can fix him.
I feel like Breakfast at Tiffany's actually shows how unhealthy this quirky girl facade can be and shows a vulnerable side of both characters that are starting to change for the better
Also, I feel like the whole interpretations of the characters could have changed if the movie was truly adapted to the book by making the male lead gay.
Quirky seems to mean an attractive girl who is weird and unconventional. You see the same traits in characters who are not supposed to be attractive but they're presented as a weirdo outcast.
Manic pixie dream girl in other films: *Leaves the story because in breaks or has to move out* The bridge of Terabithia: Haha, pixie girl goes *splash*
This trope: Makes it seem the only way you can change is if you have a woman in your life Women are only there to help men It some how ends up being sexist to both sexes.
Because a relationship with a girl and to care for her/help her with her daily struggle is understood as a way to compensate for a lack of responsibility (=meaning) in your life. But that's not how it works.
@@tinyxgremlin well, it's maybe not 'homophobic' as we think of it, but it is heteronormative in a way. If life for men was really solved entirely by the women if their lives, gay men in that case would never change for the better. On the other hand, if women only exist to help men, lesbians existence itself is questionable as being 'fulfilled.' Anyway, the whole idea of manic pixie dream girls is bullshit so pay it no mind.
I saw a video essay saying that Summer from 500 days of summer isn’t actually a manic pixie dream girl because it was all in his head and he’s an unreliable narrator.
It is a deconstruction of the manic pixie dream girl because it is actually about how these girls do not really exist but it is put upon them from others - and I guess that is true for all media in which they are featured in any real sense, then it's just not a male character projecting the trope onto the girls then it is the writers, directors and producers.
@@cocoquito4ever "Evil" is too big of a word to describe that. It's on par of saying "jaywalking" or "swearing" is evil, only if you have an insane Black and White morality could that be classified as "evil" to anyone. The reality is, by that time in the movie, she had no real obligation to Tom. They had separated and weren't on speaking terms, so why would it make her bad? Sure, she could have been more thoughtful, but the movie gives no reason to believe that she had any malicious intent over it, she invited him on the heat of the moment because she wanted to, because as Tom realizes in the scene where they're sitting on the bench, she just does what she wants to (without thinking of how her actions could affect others), that's a flaw Tom always ignored about her because he was too hang up in seeing her as his ideal "perfect girl" (his fatal flaw). None of the characters are "evil", they're just in a gray area of morality because they're flawed human beings with some growing up to do like everyone else.
I really enjoy these types of videos because it can really show how professional Alex can get. These videos show that even the most professional videos can have humor and non professionalism and still feel serious. (I really connect with this because I suck at writing without not being serious so seeing Alex do these videos has let me seen that it’s possible to do this type of thing without screwing up) thanks Alex.
I really enjoyed this type of video. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the movie/show reviews but this was something fresh. It dived deeper into why? what? And how? Which I found pretty interesting. It would be cool to do these more serious videos more often.
if you enjoy this type of content there is plenty of similar stuff on youtube titled “film essays”. got into watching them a while back and helped me really appreciate the art that movies are
I used to be a manic pixie dream girl, unironically too. It's just who I was. But so many people broke that part of me, and I'm still picking up the pieces. I wasn't trying to fix people, I was just living and being happy. Don't find people like manic pixie dream girls to fix you or break them because you're angry, its cruel.
@@suides4810 yeah pretty much this. people think the quirkiness and weird stuff i do is because i'm soo random and funny but it's usually either stims or needing to regulate or just not getting some social cue. i'm not trying to be different, often the opposite is the case. they also never want to see the actual weird part, it's only the climbing on trees and funny accidentally inappropriate jokes. but when the person they liked specifically for their non conformity turns out to genuinely be interested in niche weird things or god forbid, has problems connected to that, suddenly they're not interested any more.
The manic pixie dream girl is the manifestation of the script writer's ideal woman. She is effortlessly beautiful, whimsical, spontaneous and eternally bright, like the sun. The whole purpose of the manic pixie dream girl is to brighten up the main male protagonist's life and shine a light on his darker, brooding qualities, so that he may reach his full potential and lead a happier life. The manic pixie dream girl is a literary device that is only essential to the male protagonist, she is an idea, a philosophy, a new way of life, the embodiment of a better you. This trope is not targeted at girls/women who love to fix men.The trope was created by men, for men, as a way to show them that this is what you could be, but choose not to be. In movies, the manic pixie dream girl is never fleshed out as a full character, we never get to see inside her perspective, she remains a fleeting mystery. This is because we only get to see her through the male protagonist', (or the writer's) eyes. Which points to the fact that she represents an idea, a dream, rather than a real woman/ reflection of a female audience's desire's and traits.
@@aureliofelix3335 not really? The essence is that both male and female creators/writers/etc. often make wish-fulfillment characters with little nuance and purpose other than being a crutch or plot device for the main character to acheive their goal.
Ok this makes sense, but I still find this kinda garbage. Also: what you intend to show, what you actually show and what people see are three completely different things. And I'm sure that especially when we get to the "what people see" part, that alot of the things that are beeing critiqued is what actually sticks with people.
There's a deconstruction of the Manic Pixie Girl in "Ethernal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - really like that movie for it. There's something else I've been thinking about. I've been diagnosed with BPD about two years ago. I've been in therapy for quite a while now and my symptoms have diminished. Yet, before, I was very impulsive, what can be perceived from the exterior as "random" or "adventurous". I would also be highly energetic and have high intensity emotional responses to what was happening around me, though more on the positive side. From the outside I think I would have looked like what is portrayed as the manic pixie girl. And I think some of the boys I have dated back then might have seen me like that as well - most likely influenced by the media. But my relationships back then went through this pattern of being adored in the beginning to not being accepted for how "fucked-up" I was. And yeah, I know, there's always idealisation in the beginning of a relationship, and it's best to go through therapy before committing to a relationship if there are signs of a personality disorder. Yet, I can't help but think this manic pixie girl trope helps idealising what could well be signs some mental health issues, and that has a negative impact on the audience. I wish there were more films that showed us both perspectives, or at how a relationship would develop long-term.
In Stargirl's defense, She was willing to compromise when she thought that acting normal would make her and Leo happier in the end. It was after acting normal and seeing that it changed nothing and just made her unhappy, she leaves Leo for her own good. Even when she acts like herself, many of the quirky things she does is for other people's sakes. That's why I think Stargirl is different than most Manic Pixie Girls because she doesn't act out of selfishness but actual love for other people.
This reminds me of paper towns, only in the end he realises his happiness is with his friends, and she would stay away anyway, so he stopped chasing her
Exactly, the first movie that came in my mind when I saw this vid. The movie MPDG Cara Delevingne felt extremely farce version of it though... The book had a better explanation imo.
I haven’t seen paper towns, but I’m reading a book by the same author called Chasing Alaska. The main girl screams manic pixie to me, so your comment shows me that the author has a pattern. I can’t judge considering I fell for the bad boy trope most of my childhood
I once read that John Green wanted to break that Stereotype. The boy thought she wanted him to find her and have an exciting life but turns out she wants not. She escaped for herself not the "sad boy".
When I was younger, I idolized Stargirl and Summer and Holly Golightly. I did what I wanted when I wanted, regardless of what the future may hold. I just wanted to be happy every day, no mattwr the cost, because I was horribly, wildly depressed. It wasn't until I tried to off myself that I got slapped in the face by reality. Being impulsive and spontaneous wouldn't make me happy; in fact, it made me more miserable. So now, I'm planning for my future instead of going crazy every day. I'm just trying to be content with my life. And you know what? I'm pretty damn happy with that. Edit: great video as always, Alex. I really love your video essays; they're on par with the great Lindsay Ellis's.
But that was kind of the message of breakfast at Tiffany’s. Holly was just running from her past and she was avoiding to make deep and meaningful connections. She seemed happy throughout the whole movie but she was actually sad.
@@marvel096 mainly because living in the moment was a way to blind herself from her own sadness, but the moment you slow down and catch your breath, you have time to mull over the things that make you sad which just compounds over time. which is why when people use that as a coping mechanism, the moment they stop the sadness is multiplied a thousandfold and can lead to intense depression and thoughts of suicide.
I think it's a little bit different. This "quirky girl” I not there to "fix" a guy. It's never been her own motive - she never goes straigt to the guy and says: "You seem to be broken, sad and unloved. Well guess what. This is your lucky day because I'm here to save you from this borring life! " No. .It's more that the guy sees her as that miracle cure that she might not actually be. He sees her as they way to FINALLY escape thet situation he has found himself in. Like in "500 days of Summer", he sees her as this pure, fun, true love quirky girl that is his "true love" althogh it's clear as day that there is much more to her than what he wants to see. She shows her ture self and expresses her feeling, but he doesn't really see it and want to see that more as a gitch in his vision of who she is. She tells him time and time again that she doesn't want relationship or she feels differenty than he does, but he just doesn't want to hear it. If you whatch this movie again and try to look to it from her stand point - I think it's pretty clear. "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is a man's projection of his dream girl to a actual person with personality trates that might not be there to begin with or are just a shell to hide her real broken self. "Paper Towns" is a good example of this kind of story where in the end she says: "That he doesn't even know her...". "The Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is a depiction of a free spirited woman of a mans fantasy.
I’ve lost so many people in my life bc i was trying to emulate this stereotype unintentionally so i could be the fun friend whose super free spirited etc, but people get really tired of this when they want to settle down with you or not just follow everything you do. It ends up causing more pain for everyone involved.
The sad thing with movies like twilight is the girl is expected to fix the boy and what's sadder is that's how some people think women should actually be like in relationships basically a therapist to there lovers when we're not. We're partners not therapists and it isn't are job to defeat someone else's demons that's what therapy is for
I mean, if you look at the girl's behaviour she doesn't actually do anything therapist-like, it's more like her presence by itself heals him somehow. It's less of an expectation and more of a weird power fantasy wherein the power of her vagina alone defies the laws of human psychology and fixes years of trauma and/or bad habits in a matters of days or weeks. Because, you know, unlike professionals or those other girls, this one is so special despite how boring she is that she made a miracle happen without putting in any effort. Because she's just THAT good. No one knows why, we just know she has some vague, undefined special power. You can almost insert your own reason, like whatever you, the female reader, are insecure about. And look, she's quirky and hobby-less just like you, you can almost imagine yourself in her shoes and be just as special! It's not that you're awkward around boys or that even if you're decent person you have to face the unfortunate reality that the guy you like might not be looking what you have in a girl - no. You're actually super special and reality can bend itself to your will! See how it works? These stories just tell women what they want to hear, and because confronting an ugly reality is painful, they fall for it every time.
Yes! When I first started dating this guy, he would constantly come to me when he was depressed. At first, I didn’t mind because he had depression and was in toxic household. But after a few weeks I just felt like a damn therapist, realized I started hating it when he came to me with his issues. Luckily I talked to him, and explained that I want to be treated like a girlfriend and not like a free therapist. We are so much better now, but I had to tell him that no, I’m not going to be a therapist.
@@lemonjane384 Yes exactly, women constantly try to turn their partners into their own versions of perfect man/boyfriend. It's not at all about women fixing men because they "have to".
@@ValD98 I think it's also telling boys what they want to hear; or more like an unrealistic expectation to have of a girl. Nobody is that perfect or can do things like that.
i remember reading stargirl as a kid, the fact that they're remained faithful to the book which was published 20 years ago has kind of resulted in stargirl's 'quirkiness' being even less effective. so many teens have ukuleles and wear colourful clothes now lmao
"Stargirl" was always a shit book, it was an obvious attempt by the author to show how deep and meaningful their writing was. Case-in-point: He didn't even write the actual name of the book on the cover, because he was too "unique "for that.
@@trianglemoebius I disagree, I like the book. I like that stargirl is a real person, and that Leo is a real person. They changed each other in the book.
She also IS herself and she in no way sets out to change the protagonist. He thinks he's changed but she did not intend to do so. She just had a crush on him.
I finished the book, then watched the movie, and walked away from many times, and quit halfway through. Not my favorite book, because of the ideal girl trope. But my least favorite movie. It was cringe.
They ARE as hated though?? Why else do we not have as much quirky male characters as quirky female characters? Because they are less popular than the quirky female characters.
I think they are not AS hated because most of them are accompanied by the most disgustingly stupid "would not ever exist as a sane human being" girls and they get all the hate for putting up with those guys.
I used to be treated like a MPDG when I was younger. I had dyed hair, dressed funny, and did "whatever I wanted". Truth was, I was messed up. I had severe mood swings, my home life was abusive, and all I wanted to do was escape. I would date these guys who expected me to come in and make their lives more exciting. Meanwhile, I'm trying to fix my own messed up self. I stopped dating for years and there would always be that one guy friend who wanted to be more, but wouldn't accept that I needed to figure my own shit out. I needed a friend and they took advantage of that. It wasn't until I met my husband who didn't want to be fixed, didn't need to be fixed, that I was able to have a real healthy relationship. He is his own motivation. I was able to fix myself. And that's the thing. Women who act like these tropes--they are just as screwed up inside as everyone else. Whether they want attention, lack care, lack introspection, whatever--it's not the sign of a healthy person. I still have weird hair and dress how I want. I take medication and go to therapy. I'm better and constantly trying to improve myself.
And that's what's missing from this video. He completely ignored that these movies focus entirely on the fantasy without actually giving the MPDG an actual interior life. She doesn't care about the impact of her actions because she has no reason to; if it doesn't promote the Sad Boy's character development, then it doesn't merit discussion. The reality of "quirky" girls is far from the fantasy of MPDGs.
Wurdnurd's Guide to Life Yeah, I feel the boy is secretly the bad guy is all of these stories because they ignore everything they don’t want to see and ignore what the girl is telling them. Holly Golightly can’t be a girlfriend because she’s an escort and she tells him she was just lonely, Summer is up front with Tom before things get too serious, and Leo is a coward who lacks the integrity to stand by his his weird ass friend because he wants to fit in with people he doesn’t even like. And when there is a critique of MPDG it really needs to be a critique of these basic ass characters who just project whatever they want on to people especially women. And while everybody knows the dream boy is fake and totally a fantasy, The comments are full of people always waxing poetic about how they dated this girl and she wrecked their life...no asshole you dated an actual person with actual problems and things going on in their life. You just wanna make people feel shitty for having dyed hair.
@@FreyaEinde Holly was a terrible choice for illustrating MPDG; 1) she had an interior life, including backstory, developed motivations, and character growth; and 2) Truman Capote originally wrote her to be a platonic foil to the gay writer (Paul/Fred), and the romance was wedged into the movie adaptation, which is why it's so awkward. Sorry, one of my favorite movies, despite the absolutely disgusting Mr. Yunioshi role. Instead of B@T, I wish he'd used Roman Holiday; while both characters are locked into their rigid societal roles, Smitty had the inertia to break free from her shackles, albeit briefly, to express her MPDG-ness. I'll be honest, I've never seen 500 Days of Summer, though I'm familiar with the plot and characters. The biggest thing to remember is that MPDG is almost *always* written by males and, by that very fact, are functions of the male fantasy. So a YT video about the MPDG from the pov of a young man is....well....redundant.
If she was flawed she wouldn't be a dream girl 💁 edit/ I still would call her a flawed mpdg. I was commenting on why women characters tend to be written like that. Media industry is a big boys club after all
Actually, I think you're forgetting the flip side of a manic pixie dream girl: the sad boy spends so much time idolizing her, somewhere down the line he forgets she's a human being, and actually isn't the fantasy he's been building up in his head. She's a real person, who actually isn't there to make everything better for the sad boy. She's just herself in a way that people happen to respond to. To borrow from another comment, Paper Towns is actually a perfect example of this. Whether you've seen the movie or not, the story is still intact. Margo Roth Spiegelman was another manic pixie dream girl, but unlike the others, she actually knew that was how people saw her, and played it up every chance she got. She even got a reputation because of it. And why did she do that? Because she was doing everything humanly possible to cover up the fact that she had no one in her corner, no one that really knew who she was outside of her reputation. And finally, she decided she had enough. She couldn't keep pretending to be someone she wasn't anymore. So she left.
Exactly! I kinda didn’t agree with what he was saying cause it made it seem like the girl was the problem... but he says he was in the same boat as those guy characters a few months ago so he’s probably still in that mindset 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, that's the reason why I actually like Paper Towns. The story wasn't about Margo fixing Q (and she never actually tried to do that), it was about him realising that the Margo he saw was all in his mind, and letting go of her and moving on. The ending made that pretty clear from what I remember. It was never a love story between Q and Margo, they never had an actual relationship. 500 Days of Summer was in the same vein, so I don't think it was a good example. But I totally agree with the video in general.
I literally was thinking “is the girl in paper towns this type of person” bc I was thinking of an example and I haven’t seen any of the movies he mentioned so I’m glad I saw this comment :))
He didn't forget, he explicitly said that he wanted to explore the boy point of view as the sad slob and also how no girl would probably like being with such a guy. And yes, on that perspective many of the girls are portrayed like on one way or another
The whole point is that the boy is so sad and lonely that the girl is suppose to be the ideal that makes the boy a "better" person... It's not about idolizin her to the point of not seein her as human.. Way to make a video from a guys point of view into somethin else.. LOL.
I've realized that a lot of my boyfriends first liked me because i fit the trope of "manic pixie dream girl" but I never liked that they didn't think of me too far past me being unpredictable or doing what I want. It's dehumanizing to do so because every relationship always ends with them claiming I'm not who I said I was or some bullshit like that, and it got to the point where I refuse to watch movies with that trope
Also in these movies the “sad boy” characters are usually relying on the girl for their happiness and to turn their life around when it isn’t her job at all to fix them. It’s a big burden that shouldn’t be placed on the MPDG.
Thank you for this comment. Honestly I don't think there's anything wrong with the character type of the MPDG or MPDB, it's the trope of when they're matched with a "sad boy" or "sad girl" and the expectation to improve the lives of said sad bland individual is put entirely on the Manic Pixie. The relationship trope is what's toxic, not the character imo. I may be biased because I've been a best friend to the "sad boy" a few times and found I was the MPDG in those relationships. Partway into the friendship you typically learn that they have expectations about romantic relationships and how said relationships will go and that their lives will FINALLY take off and be "right" once in that relationship. Then before long even as their friend you see that they aren't seeing you authentically. Your flaws are turned down in their filter and you eccentricities are turned up. They get jealous of your other friends and time taken from them. They start to resent your way of being the center of groups. And when you can't handle it anymore and start drifting away, they label you as a mynx who leads guys on. These same friends usually never work up the nerve to ask you out so you never learn that's what they wanted from you till after the fact. (Seen in both male and female friends, but the females are better at staying friends afterwards typically.) Sometimes you part on good terms, but it takes a lot of work as you experience their anger for not fulfilling their wishes that they...rarely expressed to you.
Have y'all ever been manic pixie dream girled, like you want to be friends with a guy but he suddenly falls in love with you and wants to live in a rom-com with you and fix him and his personal problems when you are just not interested. Edit: thanks a lot for paying attention to my comment and giving it a bit of love I feel so honored
i did this to a few girls when i was middle school and high school. Ruined some really cool friendships. every time i think back to those girls i kind of want to die because shit's really cringy and my mental health would have been way better if i quit trying to use girls as some cure all solution and actually worked on my problems.
Yes, because unfortunately, we also teach boys that the only meaningful and close relationship they can have is with their romantic/sexual partner. :( Boys and girls can be just friends and that's alright dammit, and boys can have close friendships with boys without it being sexual as well!!!
Alexa It is an attack on males Because it’s saying that guys absolutely need a girl to fix them. That they won’t be anything without a girl in their life Are you really that ignorant?
Exactly. as ennui blue said, it wasn't her throwing some quirky tantrum. She was having a break down because she'd just found out that her brother, the only person she really cared for and the one she was prostituting herself out to someday make a home with, was dead. Holly is even more obviously broken in the novel, where she doesn't count "anything that happened before she was 13" among her list of lovers. She and her brother were running from an abusive home, and they found a...slightly better one, where they could stay, but then the doctor proposed and Holly (Lulamae) became a child bride. Likely thinking this was the only way to keep a roof over their heads. She's not so "random" because she's being true to herself. It's explicitly stated that she's a phony. She's re-inventing herself. Hiding from that abused child behind a thin veneer of sophistication and using men for what they seem to want from her. It's just that she'll never be able to run far enough to get away from herself.
@@symphonyhioco5093 Seriously. She's a manically broken girl, not a manic pixie dream girl trope, haha. Despite the romcom ending of the film in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the main character, Paul, actually does the opposite for Holly and helps her realize she's the one who is running away from herself and trying to find superficial happiness, instead of confronting her own problems.
I think the book is far better than a movie and really shows the manic pixie dream girl side of the story. I mean it starts by a rumor about a statue showing up in Africa or Australia that resembles Holly and the author going to the bar that they used to go to often to try to find out what happened to Holly. Capote was the kong of the manic pixie character trope
Thank you! And doesn't she sneak out of her apartment and crawl up to Paul's fire escape because there's a man literally beating down her door and she's trying to get away from him? Not to mention that Holly was supposed to represent the new "single girl in the city" of the 60's that was breaking tradition and living that single life to the fullest.
I mean, to be fair... that's the whole point with 500 days of Summer though. To show how the manic pixie dream girl is unrealistic. Tom is projecting his own feelings on her, without listening to her.
I dont think its his "fault" alone. I agree with you but dont forget Summer intentionally did this. She knew what she was doing and she was smart enough to know that he would see her as said "dream" girl.
the manic pixie dream girl trait is not cute, its creating a female character thats 'interesting, quirky and exciting' without giving them any depth or humanity making the characters entire personality and storyline about making the 'sad boy' happy as if that is their job
yeah, but it's also a hurtful stereotype for boys, because they apparently "need" her to change themselves. either, you both change, (i. e. good relationship), or no one changes, (i. e. breakup/bad relationship). is this so hard to understand storywriters!!🙄
I feel like Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind was a good example of how they took the manic pixie dream girl trope and actually added depth to her character
yeah, because god forbid the story could focus on struggles of a boy while imbuing him with romantic notion of a saviour-like girl. When its a reversed situation, its called romance, when its not - its oPprEsIvE tO wOmEn.
the girl being like "i wanna do what i want you just deal with it" is not narcissistic, it's being a one-dimensional character who is only there to show you how to be spontanious and then she has nothing left to offer because she was written that way and fantasized about in that way - one dimension. Yeah, her freckles are nice, her heart-shaped thing is cute but.... what about her ideas man lol didn't you fall in love with something else besides ankles and elbows, like, aspirations and opinions on shared dreams... im glad a guy understand that though, i was really scared this would go downhill lol thank you, i like you even more now
this is exactly it, in every version of the MPDG story the male character never actually loves her as a person but as the thing he wants to see. he never cares about her family, her dreams, her attitude about the future. Just she’s so pretty and different, not like all the girls i’m not interested in or turn me down!
Yep, its because the guy objectifies her and sees her as that one thing, and then gets possesive. They always blame the MPDG for leaving, but what woman would want to stay with a guy that treats her like that? And what happens when the guy finally notices that she isn't just that image but a more complex person who is as flawed as everyone else? Will he resent her for it?
Came here to say something similar. First: I totally agree with you. Second: I think this video kind of misses the point. The mpdg is a fantasy of men. This woman solely exists to make him a better/more desirable/happy man. Once he's "better" in whatever way he was lacking, her work is done and she is no longer needed. Men like to complain that they don't want women to fix them, but this fantast of the mpdg contradicts that as she is only there to fix. ALSO and super important: Summer is not a mpdg!!!!!! The main guy in that movie thinks she is and he keeps treating her like she is but she's not. That's why he's not any better off at the end of the movie for knowing her. And also why the movie ends on something about Autumn (sorry, its been a long time since I've seen it).
When Tom asks why summer danced with him at the wedding and summer says “because I wanted to,” I always saw that as confirmation that she wasn’t actually a manic dream girl. Sure, the line definitely reflects her spontaneity and unpredictability, two typical characteristics of the MPDG, but MPDGs almost never do anything to the detriment of the sad boy. They are there solely for his enjoyment/growth, and because of this they don’t really have their own wants or desires. But summer admitting to doing something selfish shows that she is her own person, and doesn’t exist just for Tom. I actually don’t think it was selfish. She made no insinuation that she wanted to get back together and didn’t tell Tom she was engaged because he didn’t even ask if she was seeing anyone. In fact it’s kind of refreshing to see a female character have these kinds of desires, especially when they’re in contrast to the expectations of the male character. Also, Tom has almost no personal growth while he’s with summer. It’s only when they’re broken up that he makes any real progress. Anyway, neither of them are perfect and they both make some really selfish moves throughout the movie, but a lot of Tom’s disappointment comes from the fact that he treated summer like a manic pixie dream girl when in reality, she’s not.
The movie was somewhat of a deliberate deconstruction of the romantic tropes it talks about. That's why it's smarter and more critical than the movies that play it straight.
I dated a M.P.D.G. for 5 months when I was 21. It was a whirlwind that definitely changed me for the better. She broke my heart when she moved on to the next guy. It's been 10 years now she's an exotic dancer and married to a man with numerous face tattoos.
I watched this movie a few years ago, I cannot remember the name of it, but the main character is a writer and he writes his dream (a manic pixie dream girl who will get him out of his shell) and she suddenly exists, and does exactly what he writes her to do. and it starts amazing, hes so happy, they are fun and spontaneous and go crazy. but then he gets tired of it. hes burned out so he writes her to be someone different. then he falls out of love with her because of it. It was years ago so I could be misremembering it, and I was too young to really Get It but this video reminded me of it, and now I'm wondering if it was a deeper commentary I didn't get. EDIT: I looked it up, the movie is called Ruby Sparks.
Keefa Shine omg I was thinking about the same , thanks for the name of the movie. When I watched it I was like okay finally someone portrays the problem w this concept and why nobody should be obsessed w this type of personalities
What I love so much about this movie is that while Ruby is clearly a MPDG through and through, created straight from a guy’s imagination, she still wanted to be her own person. Have her own friends, her own hobbies. It suddenly became too real, and the message to me is there is never going to be anyone who will want to center their entire life around you (and if that is the case it’s a GIANT red flag that something isn’t right). No one deserves love, and an absolutely unconditional relationship. You have to earn that. A good bond is formed from trust and learning to respect and care for the other person as an individual. That’s a healthy relationship. If one partner is devoted to the other 100% it’s an absolute nightmare.
@@abloodstore I did a college project on this movie and how it personifies the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea (the idea that the perfect woman can be only be crafted from the imagination of a man). I really did love the ending where he demonstrates how he can force Ruby to act like a dog if he wants to before letting her go. It really hit across the idea that a relationship in which one partner has no power to change or improve themselves without the permission of another is not healthy and will inevitably collapse in on itself.
@@daneray9594 TBF Pygmalion and Galatea was written in a time when artists couldn't earn a stable living, even more so than now, so their relationship prospects were completely down the drain. Galatea is less an example of perfection and more so a "as good as it can get" bandaid for a lonely dude.
I thought about it at first, but the thing is, the ending (at least of the movie) is actually about her living for herself and telling him he shouldn't have went out of his way to find her. She just wanted him to know she was okay. She didn't disappear for him, but to find herself.
Yeah and shes the main character who exists for her own sake and gilbert is the love interest. And actually she isnt that happy and carefree all the time so i dont think she qualifies as the most extreme manic pixie dream girl
thanks for watching everybody. Given current events, it felt weird to just sit here and make jokes about Disney Channel movies or whatever, so I wanted to do something a little more serious (but not too serious, I mean this is ME after all).
I don't do video essays too often, so some of you may have never seen one of mine. On UA-cam, most video essays are really just like fancy wikipedia articles or college thesis papers. But with mine I like to make them more personal, more about my experiences and opinions, rather than like "look at how many big words I can use".
In this video, I use the words "quirky" and "manic pixie dream girl" somewhat interchangeably. This is technically not correct, but I wanted to focus more on my experience with these kinds of people, rather than a dissertation about the trope itself and how it manifests in different kinds of media over time or whatever.
Like I mentioned in the video, I was REALLY into the idea of the MPDG back when I was in High School, so it was interesting for me to think back on why that was, and why I can't stand them now.
And again, as I touched on in the video, these roles of "sad boy" and "MPDG" can easily be reversed. But, at least in movies and tv shows, the trope is overwhelmingly portrayed in the way I talk about in the video.
The MPDG doesn't really exist in real life, but I have met more than a few girls (and guys too) who, either on purpose or by happenstance, are emulating one. I used to think dating these girls would be a dream come true.
I was wrong.
It was agony.
O shoot I’m first
second-
fourth
fifth
How was this commented a day ago?!?!
Pixie girl personality: lol i am so random
Main guy personality: sad boi
pretty much yeah
With the incel movement as the radical ( and dangerous ) spearhead of a pretty common phenomenon of a state of loneliness in young men and with an absence of relationships and a very high suicide rate for men ( ua-cam.com/video/Q3WDw-DBKLA/v-deo.html ) ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_differences_in_suicide ) - the male part of this story is a pretty common character. Keep in mind, the examples I used are only the peak of a phenomenon that is pretty familiar in sociology and psychology alike. If I were to put this bluntly, many men are sad bois.
@Arcaryon Incel movement? Are you making this up or?
Ardian No, Incels are real
Why am I a mixture of both...?
Edward: Say it
Bella: A vampire
Edward: What no, I'm just emo
Underrated comment
If Gerard Way got the role
LMAO
Ahahah this.
@@m.meghana2365 He actually was one of Smeyers top choices for edward (Henry Cavill also made the list) and MCR (vampcore) inspired the series, the production of twilight also asked them to write an original song for the trilogy and they said obviously no
I'm convinced that if twilight was less "sexually repressed conservative" and more "angry queer punk" that the band would have said yes
As a therapist I see a lot of women who are in a lot of terrible relationships cause they bought into the "fix the guy" fantasy
haha me
thats how you get into an abusive relationship
People are so surprised when they find out what others put up with, it’s so much harder to leave an abusive relationship
just like they wanted to fix their father (to love them unconditionally). And once again everything comes down to childhood and coping mechanisms. :/
@@dauser4 this! It's true, trust me. Wanting to believe that love is this all powerful thing. That it can fix him, if you fight hard enough and show him you love him despite his flaws, that will be enough to give him the strength to fix them. Its dark.
A girlfriend isn’t a boy’s therapist. A boyfriend isn’t a girl’s patient. A relationship isn’t a case of poor mental health.
*A good relationship isn't a case of poor mental health.
Sounds like someone doesn't understand emotional support they partner when they struggling
RIGHT?? Like get a therapist dude
@@HetLedie No. A supportive SO is very different from a therapist. I have never seen, nor heard, of a relationship that could possibly be considered happy and healthy when one of them is the other's therapist. The one who plays as the therapist will only ever really feel like a therapist in the long run, and feel overburdened with the other partner constantly laying down ALL of their issues, big and small, on the therapist partner. Which is the antithisis of a healthy relationship.
A supportive partner is very different from a partner who acts as the other's therapist.
@@HetLedie There's a difference between providing needed support and being their therapist or trying to "fix" them.
this is literally every Wattpad book ever -- the girl is always super happy and quirky and ends up changing the " bad or sad boy "
Honestly the whole time I was watching this video I was thinking about that
But you can’t forget the lonely shy girl that needs to be saved
those are the straight wattpad stories
ash Teal heh
Summer Hold Or she gets a makeover and suddenly every man is fawning over her
*Wattpad novels have left the chat*
Niharika Newaskar I can so relate. I’m on watt pad and like- fr 😂👌🏻
there are Wattpad NOVELS too? shit
ary that’s the whole point of Wattpad....
ary After was a One Direction fanfic on Wattpad which was later published as an original novel after changing the character’s names and got turned into a movie. The Kissing Booth was also a Wattpad story that got published as a novel and got a Netflix adaption. And there’s plenty of other Wattpad stories which have been published as novels due to their insane popularity. Hardly any of them are actually well written though.
@@arycogito Yes and he Hulu series Ligt As A Feather is also a wattpad book
Ok but why is no one talking about the beautiful watercolor transitions
Yess I really love when it happens >< whoever makes the watercolor transitions are really amazing!👏🏼👏🏼
He's done them before with his Spider-man and 13 reasons why videos. Nonetheless i do really like this style and kind of wish he'd do more videos like this more often.
Just made a comment about it😂😂
Yeah they were really pretty!
tru
I feel like 500 days of summer is one of the most misinterpreted movies ever. The movie is not about a manic pixie dream girl, but about how Tom is viewing a three-dimensional person in a one-dimensional way. For example in one scene she is sharing very personal and vulnerable feelings with Tom and the narration is something like: “...and Tom knew he was the first person to hear this...” He’s not actually paying attention to anything she’s doing or saying, he’s just thinking something along the lines of: “Wow, I unlocked the backstory. I’m in for sure now!” It’s clear that Summer is a deeper and more complex character, and Tom barely pays attention to her. The problem is not with Summer, but with Tom. He chooses to view her the way he wants to. He’s not in love with her, he’s in love with the idea of her.
I think both are a problem as incompatible people who want to be compatible in some way. Summer being too open for an average relationship and Tom being too closed for a relationship with Summer.
It’s an anti-romcom that calls out the immaturity of the manic panic pixie dream girl trope and how romance movies and tv shows give people an unrealistic expectation of relationships. He thought Summer would make his boring life worth living and make him be a better person and pursue his dreams. His view was selfish and childish because it was one dimensional. He only begins to grow out of it once he decides to better his life for himself and not because of some girl that he’s infatuated witho
The film is about manic pixie dream girls. Exactly as you described, Tom makes her into a manic pixie dream girl, when really she’s a full human being. It shows the problems with the trope
well said and very interesting. i might have to watch that movie
This reminds me too much of ruby sparks
I genuinely like this format, the more serious and analytical tone is actually pretty refreshing. The editing is really interesting as well.
Was about to comment the same
I totally agree! His comedy and analytical tone is spot on- it’s so refreshing
agreed!!
Check out his earlier post. He originally started with this format. Recommended 👍
I agree!! 😁
The only manic pixie dream girl i will ever enjoy is Ellie from up.
Good catch I never thought of that.
Yep.
Omg is she one?! I never thought of that! Well UP is so good she doesn't count hahaha.
I forgot about her :0
She never was made to fix him so that’s why
Audrey once said that her character of Holly Golightly was the hardest to play because it was nothing like her personal self
She played her well, though. And Holly had her redemption at the end
That movie was awful tho..
ChimChan nah, it wasn’t. Except Mickey Rooneys japanese character
that's a relief. i tried watching that movie and she just irritated me.
They should remake Breakfast At Tiffany’s based on the original novella. It was much darker.
In real life:
Sad boy meets quirky girl, who likes adventure and likes living life.
The sad boy becomes a bit happier but in the process sucks al the life out of the girl, leaving her sitting in his room staring at the ceiling thinking of the person she once was.
It goes both ways, trust me.
White girls love adventure amirite
Yep
Happened to me but I’m better now
if someone else takes your identity from you, its up to you to get it back. dont be weak, u got this.
Every time I see that trope of "I'm not like other girls", I automatically think of Syndrome from the Incredibles when he says "if everyone's special, no one is"
69 likes :)
Girls who say that are the basic ones
Or the twilight zone: if everyone is beautiful, no one is
Literally. There are so many 'quirky, im not like the others' girls that the basic girls are now special 🥶
That’s the “everything is nothing” logic, not necessarily true
It's funny how I rely more on Alex for my movie reviews rather than Rotten tomatoes or anything else
Same
wow same here
Same
Alex and LME are the only movie reviewers i trust 😔👌🏽👌🏽
I don’t trust the other review platforms because they are so biased and pass judgement on something based off of if it fits the agenda they want it to fit.
I'm not going to lie, I'm really happy to see him doing this type of content again
same! He's so good at it and I love the editing style he uses
Again?
Elisa van den Berg somebody’s new here
Indeed!
Yeah the constant reviews can get a little exhausting since this is what I subscribed for. That being said tho I always prefer a creator making what THEY want.
why is every main girl character in a book is “not like other girls” and either extremely girly or a huge tom boy, people need to learn to be more creative
yea we need super girly girls that look like tomboys and tomboyish barbie looking girls !!
I wanna see the basic bully (wears pink, wears pearls, makeup, plastic, blonde, blue eyes, bully, probably has 3 other bully friends etc. you know the gist) become a main character
@@panigbrowardcollege yes and the plot shows us that she’s so mean because of tons of mental issues and traumas, and till the end of the movie she starts seeing a therapist who makes her feel better, she gets her shit together and gets rid of her shitty social behavior !
@@panigbrowardcollege Legally Blonde has the main character that’s a blonde- haired blue-eyed pink-wearing popular sorority girl. 🤷♀️
A lot of young girls are really into to the idea that they're inexplicably unique.
When I was dating a guy I wanted to “help” and “fix” because he was broody, sad, and mean my mom told me it was most often that people would never change. She asked me if I could live with all the things I didn’t like if he didn’t change. The answer was no so I moved on. Best advice I’ve every received
your mom is right, we shouldn't expect to be able to change anyone
Sis same, never been happier
We as men don't like when women try to change us he has to be motivated if he isn't leave it alone
@@kylelindsay6390 I'd phrase it that we don't want to "be changed" we want to be "Inspired to change"
Wow u r selfish 😂
Imagine ever dating.
To unrealistic
What's dating?
Somebody knows?
.
.
.
Hello?
Daniel Isozaki
SIN
Yesterday my mom told me I can't date until I'm 21 😭
@@carolinemm9478 how old are you now?
The thing about "500 Days of Summer" I will say is that they do subvert your expectations and reveal that Joseph Gordon Levitts character was putting her on a pedestal and falling for his fantasy of her rather than for her. Still the same concept but the way they did it was better than how most go.
Exaclty.
Yeah she wasn't a manic Pixie
Nathan Rabin the guy who came up with the trope wrote an article where he was pissed of that people said Annie hall or summer are manic pixie dream girls
He put her on pedestal and she wanted the pedestal and played him like a flute, cause doesn't want to be alone at the moment. He saw only what he wanted and she didn't care beyond it was nice for now. He should have listened more and she should have told him to go away.
This was the first one where they really told you the guy was wrong and this girl is not at all what she seems.
The best example I know of a Manic Pixie Dream BOY isn't Edward Cullen, it's Jack from Titanic -- and his bubbly, charismatic self DOES change Rose, and then he disappears forever. Ya know, at the bottom of the ocean.
And if you want to imagine an alternative ending, there's Revolutionary Road XD
This comment is top tier
This is actually a really good point, ive never thought of titanic from this perspective, only from, damn, there was room for both of them on that door, dick move rose, dick move. Lol
No, but seriously, I definitely believe that you pinned it.
Thank you. I was thinking "no there are better examples"
this is it!
The thing about 500 Days of Summer is that Summer herself is NOT a manic pixie dream girl, but the idealization of her figure by Tom turns her into one.
i was looking for a comment like this, thank you! I kept thinking the same thing to myself. The point of the movie is that he sees her as he wants to see her, which is a manic pixie dream girl. That's not who she is tho, she's a person with thoughts and feelings, but he doesn't care about that as long as she just makes him feel "good". She's not there to make him a better person, if anything he becomes worse by showing his true colors. She's there for her own selfish reasons and doesn't actually want to be with him. His little sister even calls him out in the movie! When she rightfully leaves and married another man he finally pulls himself together and *fixes himself*. That's the whole point! You can't be with someone you build up in your imagination and expect them to be exactly how you imagine and also make you a better person. That's not how it works.
Ana Beatriz F. Thank you for this comment, I was looking for it! I think if anyone thinks Summer is a manic pixie dream girl then they don’t understand the movie.
They were never really a couple to begin with. The first half of the movie was Tom fantisizing about her and asking her out on a date
@@Stormy_Cloud and Summer even said in the beginning that she doesn't even want to be in a relationship. I mean, what she did was still wrong but Tom knew from the get go that what he wanted wasn't what SHE wanted but he still pushed for it
You might like "My Girlfriends Boyfriend" with Alyssa Milano. It's an interesting take on the manic pixie dream girl.
This trope needs to die out. It’s setting unrealistic life expectations for both boys and girls.
No, finding “the one” won’t fix all your problems.
No, your relationship won’t just succeed on being “the one.” Uncertainty and impulsiveness won’t work in a good relationship.
Periodt😊
Who hurted you
It depends on how it's done. At the end of 500 Days of Summer, there isn't anything definite about the girl he met. Maybe she's the girl Tom marries;maybe she's just another step in Tom's journey. However, Tom is now testing dating out again and chasing jobs he actually wants rather than the crap at the greeting card company. Summer wasn't the "one" but still helped him in his life. It actually says that breaking up with people is not always the end of the world.
i think instead people need stop expecting movies to 100% portray real life all of the time and thinking that all ideas in movies translate into real life no matter what.
IMO That's the same thing as saying superhero movies should die out, you can't just put on a cape, train really hard and become a superhero. These movies are suppose to be a fantasy, a thing that while you watch it, pulls you away from reality so you don't have to think about your own life and you can just live in this fantasy for a while.
If you want to see a real manic pixie dream boy, hallmark movies are your best bet.
Everything on that channel is as cookie cutter as they come
@@elmackattack1992 like when calls the heart
The perfect single father whose wife is out of the picture and he has a perfect big house in a quaint small town. That's pretty much every Hallmark perfect guy.
So true
I can guess the ending of every movie on that channel from the introduction
Literally EVERY.SINGLE.John Green novel.
Lol I was just thinking Margo Roth Spiegelman. Although I wouldn’t exactly consider Hazel Grace a mpdg. She’s like, depressed. Aza also clearly wasn’t perfect but Paper towns and looking for Alaska both seem like they fit into the category
I think he is using this trope but is subverting it. In paper towns when the protagonist finds margo she bashes him for fantasizing about how he finally found her and they could be together. If he had been looking at the situation without the rose-colored goggles he would have seen that see didn't want to be his pixie girl, she just wanted her enemies to die in a fire and he was a simp willing to help her.
@@ethanhunsaker9363 Yeah, I agree. From my understanding, Alaska is manic pixie, and Paper Towns interestingly seeks out to subvert that
@@selmaluvbees yeah as he showed in the video i think augustus was the ‘manic pixie dream boy’ (i use this term because i forgot what it’s actually called lol I hope you understand).
Lindsey Lee Wells is also not a mpdg.
Boys' method of escapism: manic pixie dream girl
Girls' method of escapism: brooding bad boy with a heart of gold
My uncle's method of escapism: 24 pack Coors Light and verbally abusive Facebook posts
WHERE'S MY JUUL? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂...I am at loss of words
lol, i'm a MPDG dating a BBBWAHAG. power couple
my method of escapism is weed and whisky
@@SpecialBlanket for how long
@@mushipoo important question
I'm a girl and honestly, I wouldn't want to base my whole relationship on having to "fix" the other person either.
Same tho but me as a person I will probably fall for that type of a relationship because I love helping people and if I can’t fix those closest to me I feel useless and not needed anymore.
I'm a guy and think the same way.
@@bhavanabharath5192 Just fyi, and this is some proven-to-work personal advice - the best way to help a guy out a lot of times is to yell at him about his shitty behaviour. If you have an actual reason to do so, it gets fun after a while. Lol great way to let off steam.
@@bhavanabharath5192 And that's a bad mindset. I deal with it aswell. I feel like I have a responsibility to help people out, but you *don't* . They can only change if they show a desire to change. You'll only hurt yourself if you go for people who don't.
Seriously! I fell in love with my husband as he was. I knew him before we got together and I won’t change him. He’s a good guy, not a perfect one.
except that in 500 Days of Summer, it was Tom's fault, and Summer was not a mpdg. He just treated her like one, completely disregarding her, not listening to her and just fantasizing and projecting his wishes onto her. 500 Days of Summer is a movie that tries to break the mpdg trope...
she did lead him on a bit, didn't look for a relationship, yet did things you do in one... uh huh... I don't blame him
@@ryderwilson7955 Women don't owe men anything. Tom was in the wrong in the movie
Yeah it's like a deconstruction of manic pixie dream girl trope
Pepino Corino both of them was at fault. Because she did lead him on like persisting him to sleep with her e.g shower sex. This is while her being full aware that he likes her. But at the same time, she made it clear to him that she doesn't want commitments. He set himself on a trap, he didn't think this through😃
I think his video was centering around as he said that no one should aspire to be a mpdg or the guy because either position is dangerous
I just realized, Your Lie In April is essentially the manic pixie dream girl trope, but taken to the next level, expanded upon, and actually done well
Maybe because Kaori isn't Kousei's sole source of happiness but piano or something
KstandsForPottassium Ooh, you have a valid point there
I think is because they really developed the character of Kaori and she is not only a random girl that wants to fix Kouseis life. She knew him and admire him since she was a little girl so it makes sense that she wanted to help him getting back to music. Also, they do show shes not perfect.
I cried so much watching that
Yeah I was thinking Your Lie In April was that way with Kaori. But I actually liked it.
quirky girls literally show their "quirkiness" by doing things *every other human being does*
Bruh I’m so quirky I eat and sleep
I trip on my over sized clothes 🙊
I’m so quirky I breathe
They cant theyre not like other girls
I’m so quirky, I have hands!
There’s always movies that have this exact plot: Shy girl moves to a new school. On her first day, she makes two new friends (one boy who clearly likes her, one girl) and they become besties. The new girl ends up developing a crush on the popular girl’s bf and the bf is kinda into her (which pisses the popular girl off.) The popular girl’s bf gets mad that she’s jealous and breaks up with her. The shy girl and popular guy end up dating and the shy girl gets popular by default. She gets caught up in the popularity and ditches her friends. She later realizes she made a mistake, breaks up with her bf and goes back to her friends. They take her back and her boy best friend confesses his feelings and they become a thing. The friend group continues to thrive and they lived happily ever after
so, Mean Girls? [without the boy best friend( Damien) crushing on her]
Isn't that the plot of radio rebel?
Or where the popular boy(the mean girls crush) and the punk/outsider boy fight for the new girls love
I've definitely recognize _that_ story lmao. Classic.
Tall girl
Another really great example of this is John Green’s “Paper Towns”.
Q projected that onto her. He loved the idea of her, not for who she really was.
Alaska
John Green books tend to be more deconstructions of the MPDG tropes. Some are more successful at this than others.
Omg i always thought it was “Paper Town” i feel dumber-
I feel like I never even understood Margo. Always saw her through Quintins eyes and his assumptions about her.
Random girl: I’m not like other girls! I’m so quirky xoxoxoxox
Other girls: Same
And then the sad thing is if you TRULY aren’t like everyone else that comes with the price of being ignored or left out because no one likes you. Then everyone says stuff like that when they don’t know what it’s actually like
That just summed up the whole quirky girl culture
@@Peculiarpossum Same, it's not a gift. When you're not like other girls, you're not happy-go-lucky like this manic pixie dream girl (at least I'm not) you're not being seen as quirky, you're just weird. I do have a strong desire to help people (and animals too) though because I have a lot of empathy. Not just guys, women too. Fixing seems like the wrong word to use. You fix an object, not a person. I stay true to myself or I try to anyway. It's not easy in the world we live in. But unlike those girls in those movies I don't do whatever I want. I always consider how another person would feel. I try to mentally take a step back to look at my thoughts objectively. It doesn't always work, but I don't mind anyone else setting me straight. I actually welcome that and apologize whenever I'm wrong. I see that as a learning experience. My sense of logic often tends to be different than other people's logic too, so that makes for some awkward situations sometimes.
@@shanamoens822 that sounds so similar to me! Nice to know we aren’t the only “weirdos”💜
@@Peculiarpossum :) glad to know not all 'not like other girls' girls are toxic
The idea that a girl HAS to fix a boy is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. No person NEEDS fixing by someone else and no one should have to fix someone else.
Plenty of people need fixing, and a lot can't do it on their own.
The problem is movies apparently can't be made without a romance plotline, so the guide/helper role is merged into the romantic interest role.
My own hypothesis is that it's a couple of different layers
Layer 1 is that often, by being the fixer-upper in a person's life, you're automatically on a different pedestal; you're more special than the rest of the people in that person's life, and feeling special and feeling needed often feel interchangeable to many who haven't yet felt a difference
Layer 2 is that often, guys get to act out their more negative behaviours with less of an impact to their own value; as such, every guy around you seems like a not-so-great SO; the fantasy then becomes that hey, maybe he's an a-hole to everyone else, but amazing to me! Or that, even if he has these red flags, I know that his heart is good, and he must be behaving negatively for a reason. If I can just fix those reasons, we'll have a decent guy on our hands! Which is like, what never happens and why it's such a staple in fiction, but combine the fantasy of being special and having a decent partner if you just make enough effort, if you just dig deep enough, and it's one hell of a potent combination, and even better, is whole-heartedly backed by mainstream society
Don't therapist help to fix people?
Doctor Corgi yh but that’s different, being a therapist is a career path. Now I’m not saying people shouldn’t help out their friends or significant others, like yh talking it out and comforting each other is a good thing from time to time. However, it should not lead to co-dependency because in a healthy relationship, both people will compromise with each other and then go off and take care of their own responsibilities while having support for one another. It’s really important to have faith in yourself in order to have faith in the relationship. And that goes to any type of relationship
@@its_just_me6183 I agree, and couldn'thave said it better. What I was trying to imply(but I'm terrible when it comes to talking) is that people exist to help you. You shouldn't rely on you significant other(or whoever) to do so, and you shouldn't have to fix people. However you should listen to them, and try to persuade them to get help by talking to a therapist.
opened my eyes to see how much media has affected my life and that I am the stereotypical sad boy. Makes me wanna reconsider how I approach relationships and how I view myself. Great video by the way now I want to watch all these movies.
I feel the same, as I am the "manic pixie dream girl", how I do what I want and that is fantastic, but often I don't make compromises and I don't care enough for other people's opinions even when I should. I try to fix people under the premise to "make them a better version of themself" but really I try to mold them into my perfect companion because I don't want to change for someone else and I've come to realise how toxic that actually is. I'm having a hard time fixing myself because I don't know how without losing the good parts of it, but I'm trying. I only hope that's what matters.
@@mistyminnie5922 it does. Keep trying to improve yourself. Nobodys perfect but everyone is able to become a better person if they try hard enough. 🧐 (Still working on that part myself, not a mpdg myself more like a lazy squarehead who would like to do something important with her life instead of dreaming about it)
Misty Minnie thanks for sharing a little bit about yourself, it’s nice to know that other people resonated with the video like I did. I’m glad you recognize your toxic behaviors and are willing to work on that. We can work on it together.
I wanna meet Alex in real life😂😂. Imagine discussing or having a movie Night with him. It would be amusing
While looking into his blue eyes
@@ksway8471 woah. Stop right there
Honestly sometimes i forget that alex isn't a white animated cartoon character who has a dog.
@@ksway8471 Okay... Getting darker
@@rosecharm3252 blue eyes are often not that dark, it's usually just the shading
I want a manic pixie girl movie where she is the main character
Birds of prey?
Amelie? That movie with emily browning
Me before you
The series "The End of The F**king World" Isn't about the girl but she's the main focus of the story line and everyone refers to her as the main attraction. Over-all really great to watch
Juno ?
I think a better example would have been “Jack” from Titanic. Rose doesn’t change Jack, but Jack is there only to fix Rose. On top of that he disappears...I mean. He dies.
Well he does mention a Fault In Our Stars which pretty much does the same thing.
they didn't let black people on the titanic
@@nerdycoolioh303 I have an idea. Let's go back in time and make them.
He said there are a few exceptions...but generally this is the shit movies cook
I hv to disagree. Rose has always been the type of girl who was unhappy being told wat to do/how to live. She had her life basically planned out for her. Jack just helped her gain the courage to break free/be herself
How manic pixie dream girls should be portrayed:
Luna Lovegood
And Eve from Wall-E (but less quirky)
I like how Luna wasn’t created for the sole purpose of fixing someone tho hahaha
Yes ! Also I was your 469th like
YES
Waifu no cap
and this is how the "i'm not like other girls" phenomenon began...
Nah. In manic pixie dream girl trope, the most focus is on phisical attractiveness of a girl judged by the sad boi.
Not like the other girls is probably "creepy silent kid" or "insane woman". You know, a character that is mostly hated for being different.
No.. that's the "Cool girl" kind a thing.
xxmessymindxx I thought the I’m NoT lIkE tHe OtHeR gIrLs and I’m So CrAzY aNd QuIrKy when there the most average person just annoying
@@arthurvickers4163 I have to agree with that. xD
I never understood and probably never will understand this whole " Im not like other girls" thing. Lmao
Just very weird overall
"she was not like other girls" who tf is like each other, everyone is different in some way or other
I know right. "Not like other girls" is pretty misogynistic.
@@youraveragestalker8438 how so? It doesn't insult all women, it just happens to trash on a group that believes they're special for doing/going through things every girl goes through. It's not misandrist to joke about incels right?
@@notisttt1240, I think in the "not like the other girls", it's thought that there are "normal girls", which are "unlikeable" (e.g. conforms to feminine standards!), unlike the "other girls".
You do not need to directly insult women to be misogynistic.
@@californium-2526 Noone said normal women are unlikeable. What we joke about is the hypocrisy behind "I'm not like other girls" when, yes, she is like other girls. It's like those people that put in their tinder bio "I like travel, food and dogs". It doesn't undermine average women, it undermines women that think they're better than others(which is not mysoginistic, as we mock those that think they're special all the time, from both genders)
@@notisttt1240 You clearly just don't get it imao.
“I lOvE hEr KnEeS”
haha. i never understood that. especially in drawings nowadays they make the girl's nose, knees and elbows pink like ..oookaay
*L E T S C U T IT O F F*
So weird
AIRIDER skateboarding *Y E S*
@@nicole-wf4pe That's usually a stylistic choice because knees can be reddish or slightly tanned.
"Boys Need to be fixed"
"Girls need a project"
I loved how you touched on this. I hate how women are expected to change a man or vice versa. A relationship is wonderful but it won't bring full on confidence. That's your job. This is a tiring trope in romance movies tbh.
And we all know that you cannot change somebody, unless they want you to.
Totally agree with this!!
And the other side of the coin:
Men are not something inherently broken that needs to be fixed. Men.Are.Not.Broken.
Women.Are.Not.Saviours.
Yes! They also love to do that in disney princess movies if you really think about it.
I kind of touched on this in a separate comment, but it's not so much an expectation as it is a power fantasy. They don't actually put any effort into the relationship, it's like their presence fixes everything on its own. That's why women are attracted to it. Putting any actual effort into changing a person, whether they're worth it or not, is a massive headache if actually attempted.
I don't think you should make this about yourself...
I have a friend that is very close to being a MPDG, at least on the surface. She's bold, she says and does what she wants, she's beautiful, and she's a little bit weird. I'll tell you what happened when a MPDG stayed with the man she inspired.
Everything was great, he fell for her instantly, she was super excited because it felt like they just clicked. But after a bit, things started getting bad. She has an aura about her that attracts people to her, and shes beautiful, so whenever they went out other guys would look at her or hit on her. The guy, who started off insecure, became more and more jealous, despite her never engaging with the other men. Over time, he stopped taking her out because he would get too jealous. He would go out to drink while he made her stay at home. He became possessive and controlling. Slowly he started to tear her down.
The clothes that he liked before, the ones that made her 'different,' instead made her look like a boy, he said. The random noises and gestures that were just a part of who she was, suddenly made her 'immature.' While he used to lovingly stare at her at dinner, now he said that the way she eats is ugly. She would sing when she was happy, but now it was annoying. Every little thing she did was something to critique, and slowly she began to wilt like a neglected bird in a cage.
What you don't see in a MPDG is that while they seem confident on the outside, some times the inside can be pretty sad. After two years of systematic abuse, we were finally able to pull her away from him, but she was with him for so long that by the time we got her out she was a shell of who she had been.
It took months to get her to genuinely laugh again. Months for her to recover her sense of individuality and self worth. Months before she would stop apologizing to me just for eating.
Now she is back, back to being her normally abnormal self, and she is wiser now. But that's just a hint of what could happen if a MPDG stays with the guy she fixes or inspires.
This was me... I experienced all of this, for only two years. But it has shaped my whole adult life. I've decided that it was hard, but a growing experience. Still hurts sometimes to think about. The age from 17 to 19 changed everything. Now I'm 30, and I'm basically who I always wanted to be, but it took so much work to get here. From quirky, to childish, to mature, to broken, to selfless, to self involved, and now, I have balance. It was incredibly hard, and sometimes it still hurts, but now, I'm not a MPDG, I'm just... Me. And I love me. 😊
Now thats a plot for a movie if i've ever seen one!
You talking about a real person as a movie trope though... Calling her a MPDG or drawing a parallel between her and a movie trope limits her as a person and dismisses her genuine character that's weird, fun and free-spirited. Real people are not tropes. We are more complex than a few hundred pages describing a simplified version of a real human by script writers. Zoey Deschanel herself was dubbed a MPDG even though she's a real person and all we see about her comes down to 10 minutes of edited talk show interviews. That's a no from me.
Same freaking thing, except looking the MPDG part. One day you inspire them, the next they hate everything you are. Sorry that your friend experienced that
this is exactly what i thought would happen in that scenario, i’m so sorry that happened to her and the fellow comments stories ❤️ glad your safe
i hate when a female character‘s only purpose is fulfilling a male fantasy as if they’re not real people with desires and aspirations
I hate when a male character's only purpose is fulfilling a female fantasy as if they're not real people with desires and aspirations.
@@_BirdOfGoodOmen yep
@@_BirdOfGoodOmen Both are bad, but the former is incomparably more common in media throughout history as there are many times fewer stories about multi-faceted women.
@@joratto2833 Well put.
@@joratto2833 "Both are bad, but the former is incomparably more common in media throughout history"
lol, did you ever hear... well... almost the whole romcom / romance / teen drama genre? And did you ever wonder why young females are the target audience?
Both character tropes exist equally for their target audiences.
Stop trying to make another gender war out of it for the love of god.
Side note: If she makes “other girls vs me” drawings, run for the hills
Unless it's fanart of Other Girl and Me Girl in a happy loving committed relationship, those are great 😁
Novur yes I love when they do those!
@@Novur ouuu yesss
😂😂
Why is everyone so against "I'm not like the other girls" thing? That's stupid. Most girls who think like that are victims of peer abuse or are just lonely and don't fit in.
Stuff like that, liking my difference from others, is what gave me strength to survive when I was a teen. I can only imagine how hard it is for girls like that now when apparently everyone hates them. Victim blaming at it's purest.
"Lets take a look at Twilight"
nothing good has ever started with that sentence
True.
So TRUUEE
True lol
Edward: Are you afraid?
Bella: No.
Me: She's too stupid to be afraid of a vampire.
So many twilight fans would be so offended but, it's so true hahah
I swear to god Zoey Deschanel is that "quirky" girl in every single thing shes in lol
Yea kinda like nicholas cage in everything he does lol
Kinda like Edward Norton in everything he's in lol
New girl is a perfect example
Not in Elf
GrungyAssCinema That’s probably the only one
Leo in the movie: Absolutely nobody can know I exist
Leo in the book: *runs a show with his friend where they publicly humiliate people*
Omg Yes!
When you’re both the sad boy and the manic pixie dream girl
Mood
Bipolar vibes 😍🥰✨
Mood
when you're bipolar and no one ever wants you
@@tree6814 for good reason
I just realised that "The Bridge to Terabithia" is exactly this.
Oh no. Why did you do that
But instead the girl dies-
Ash - that fits the theme of "disappearing suddenly", though.
True.
@@SooyeonIdle I cried for sooooo long after this
I’ve actually been in “relationships” where the guy projects me to be a manic pixie girl. It gets to a point where you feel less like a person and more like this idealized object that belongs to someone because they say they “need” you or that you’re different and spontaneous. And you don’t wanna breakup with them because you start to think that it wouldn’t be fair to THEM. I think that’s why the manic pixie girl shouldn’t be something people romanticize because most of the time both people in the relationship are just looking for some type of validation in their on way and they both end up unhappy.
I couldn’t agree more !!! I happened to live the same thing and yes it becomes unbearable to even think of breaking up with them, because it would be too mean to them.
Same!
I wish I had a coin for every time a guy has told me "you're not like other girls". Glad some of them didn't idealize me and actually wanted to know my personality too!
Dude me too!! I had a good friend of mine who had a huge crush on me. He would say things along the lines of “oh you’re not like other girls cause you don’t wear makeup” and “I’m so glad I have you in my life, you make me so happy” like I’m honored but I want him to see me as a friend. I think my relationship with him helped him become more confident and happier in life but I don’t want him to see me as a manic pixie dream girl, maybe a “manic pixie dream friend” lmao because I feel like I’m an object. Now that I’ve made it clear, I don’t want to be with him, he dropped me like a hot potato.
I went through something similar with a guy I dated for 3 months...it’s a lil sad but he’s still open to a relationship with me and it’s been 2 years 😩 he’s a nice guy though, just didn’t actually understand ME.
Anime take this shit to a whole new level
A good exaple is your lie in april
its a manga but does oyasumi pun pun count?
no..
I do love your lie in April but it’s a perfect example
@@Paula-os7gq Love tht show
But it is a veryy good example
That anime movie I Want To Eat Your Pancreas has a pixie dream girl card too
So it’s kind of like a boy gets a sun and a girl gets some clay. The sun gives warmth and light to the boy just by existing. The boy gets an opportunity to grow as the sun provides life to them. The clay gives the girl an opportunity to mold something into what’s perfect for them, fixing the original shape’s mistakes. That’s kind of the analogy I was thinking of lol.
Also if you look at the sun too long you’ll get burned, as the sun is not mindful of the pain it can cause. The clay would be completely dependent on its creator, as it’s entire identity is defined by a fantasy.
Edit: Had another thought so I wanted to share lol. Another thing is that this shoves unbridled expectations onto both parties: that one is expected to be a constant source of comfort over being a human being, and another is expected to change their personality and identity based on someone else’s preferences. The boy is consistently unsatisfied as their partner can’t hold up to the expectation that they should only exist to make the boy happy, and the girl is left with nothing as their partner becomes just a shell of a human being.
Now that is some deep stuff man.
Sounds similar to Icarus
Vlad 117 I love a good metaphor lol
Mistakes are subjective to ones beliefs. Maybe the guy is fine and in our society girls go with the bad boys often cause they think they’re different and that they can fix him.
What a beautiful analogy
I feel like Breakfast at Tiffany's actually shows how unhealthy this quirky girl facade can be and shows a vulnerable side of both characters that are starting to change for the better
THANKKKKKS
Also, I feel like the whole interpretations of the characters could have changed if the movie was truly adapted to the book by making the male lead gay.
@@michellearestegui922 Is Paul gay in the book? I tought it was a romance story (???
YES. THIS. I wouldn’t call Holly a manic pixie dream girl.
@@kitic.rodriguez6758 Holly is a call girl too.
The word 'quirky' has gotten so lame. It's like 'quirky'is a cheap excuse for annoying
MHA: *Cries in the corner*
Sheldon from Big Bang Theory
AGREED
Quirky seems to mean an attractive girl who is weird and unconventional. You see the same traits in characters who are not supposed to be attractive but they're presented as a weirdo outcast.
That's because you're jaded.
"Say it"
"Vampire"
"Wtf, no I just play a lot of World of Warcraft!"
Manic pixie dream girl in other films: *Leaves the story because in breaks or has to move out*
The bridge of Terabithia: Haha, pixie girl goes *splash*
Thanks for reminding me of this emotional disaster..
This comment makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time.
s p l o o s h
I was about to point this out lol But damn, that did emotionally destroy me tho
Duuude 😭🤧😂
The manic pixie dream girl and her counterpart, the depressive goblin nightmare boy
😂
Laughed so hard 😂
G O B L I N B O Y
i’m using this
Mpdg and dgnm
This trope:
Makes it seem the only way you can change is if you have a woman in your life
Women are only there to help men
It some how ends up being sexist to both sexes.
ugh thank you.
Because a relationship with a girl and to care for her/help her with her daily struggle is understood as a way to compensate for a lack of responsibility (=meaning) in your life. But that's not how it works.
Maybe even homophobic if we think about it
@@Lola-yh2su in what way is it homophobic?
@@tinyxgremlin well, it's maybe not 'homophobic' as we think of it, but it is heteronormative in a way. If life for men was really solved entirely by the women if their lives, gay men in that case would never change for the better. On the other hand, if women only exist to help men, lesbians existence itself is questionable as being 'fulfilled.' Anyway, the whole idea of manic pixie dream girls is bullshit so pay it no mind.
Edward: say it
Bella: vampire
Edward: what do we eat?
**Taco bell ad comes in**
I saw a video essay saying that Summer from 500 days of summer isn’t actually a manic pixie dream girl because it was all in his head and he’s an unreliable narrator.
Yeah this is absolutely true
It is a deconstruction of the manic pixie dream girl because it is actually about how these girls do not really exist but it is put upon them from others - and I guess that is true for all media in which they are featured in any real sense, then it's just not a male character projecting the trope onto the girls then it is the writers, directors and producers.
It's why I love the movie because of that reason.
She's evil. Inviting Tom to her engagement party, without telling him, It's a b##ch move.
@@cocoquito4ever "Evil" is too big of a word to describe that. It's on par of saying "jaywalking" or "swearing" is evil, only if you have an insane Black and White morality could that be classified as "evil" to anyone.
The reality is, by that time in the movie, she had no real obligation to Tom. They had separated and weren't on speaking terms, so why would it make her bad? Sure, she could have been more thoughtful, but the movie gives no reason to believe that she had any malicious intent over it, she invited him on the heat of the moment because she wanted to, because as Tom realizes in the scene where they're sitting on the bench, she just does what she wants to (without thinking of how her actions could affect others), that's a flaw Tom always ignored about her because he was too hang up in seeing her as his ideal "perfect girl" (his fatal flaw).
None of the characters are "evil", they're just in a gray area of morality because they're flawed human beings with some growing up to do like everyone else.
I really enjoy these types of videos because it can really show how professional Alex can get. These videos show that even the most professional videos can have humor and non professionalism and still feel serious. (I really connect with this because I suck at writing without not being serious so seeing Alex do these videos has let me seen that it’s possible to do this type of thing without screwing up) thanks Alex.
I really enjoyed this type of video. Don't get me wrong I enjoy the movie/show reviews but this was something fresh. It dived deeper into why? what? And how? Which I found pretty interesting. It would be cool to do these more serious videos more often.
if you enjoy this type of content there is plenty of similar stuff on youtube titled “film essays”. got into watching them a while back and helped me really appreciate the art that movies are
Patrick White Yesss! I love watching them too!
Actually, this is what Alex did before the animated show reviews. If you check out his older videos they're a lot like this
I used to be a manic pixie dream girl, unironically too. It's just who I was. But so many people broke that part of me, and I'm still picking up the pieces. I wasn't trying to fix people, I was just living and being happy. Don't find people like manic pixie dream girls to fix you or break them because you're angry, its cruel.
have you looked into neurodiversity? Because i thought i was just quirky but now im in the diagnosis prosess for adhd...
@@suides4810 yeah, I either have bipolar or adhd with other sprinkles.
Same here we got this slowly but surely remember what made you feel alive outside of them🩷
@@suides4810 yeah pretty much this. people think the quirkiness and weird stuff i do is because i'm soo random and funny but it's usually either stims or needing to regulate or just not getting some social cue. i'm not trying to be different, often the opposite is the case.
they also never want to see the actual weird part, it's only the climbing on trees and funny accidentally inappropriate jokes. but when the person they liked specifically for their non conformity turns out to genuinely be interested in niche weird things or god forbid, has problems connected to that, suddenly they're not interested any more.
i can definitely relate to this, and a few years ago i found out i have autism as an adult
One thing I love about Stargirl: They CAST ACTUAL TEENS!
WOAH! NFJDJDODJDODBDJDDDJD CRAZY
Teens in movies: I’m an average high school student
The teen: jjba buff
Lily RS true
Lol, when I read your comment I thought about the new Stargirl DC show which definitely did not cast actual teens.
The manic pixie dream girl is the manifestation of the script writer's ideal woman. She is effortlessly beautiful, whimsical, spontaneous and eternally bright, like the sun. The whole purpose of the manic pixie dream girl is to brighten up the main male protagonist's life and shine a light on his darker, brooding qualities, so that he may reach his full potential and lead a happier life. The manic pixie dream girl is a literary device that is only essential to the male protagonist, she is an idea, a philosophy, a new way of life, the embodiment of a better you. This trope is not targeted at girls/women who love to fix men.The trope was created by men, for men, as a way to show them that this is what you could be, but choose not to be. In movies, the manic pixie dream girl is never fleshed out as a full character, we never get to see inside her perspective, she remains a fleeting mystery. This is because we only get to see her through the male protagonist', (or the writer's) eyes. Which points to the fact that she represents an idea, a dream, rather than a real woman/ reflection of a female audience's desire's and traits.
Oh yeah we're all victim of this kind of media-induced perspective.
when in doubt, blame men
@@aureliofelix3335 not really? The essence is that both male and female creators/writers/etc. often make wish-fulfillment characters with little nuance and purpose other than being a crutch or plot device for the main character to acheive their goal.
Ok this makes sense, but I still find this kinda garbage.
Also: what you intend to show, what you actually show and what people see are three completely different things. And I'm sure that especially when we get to the "what people see" part, that alot of the things that are beeing critiqued is what actually sticks with people.
There's a deconstruction of the Manic Pixie Girl in "Ethernal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - really like that movie for it. There's something else I've been thinking about. I've been diagnosed with BPD about two years ago. I've been in therapy for quite a while now and my symptoms have diminished. Yet, before, I was very impulsive, what can be perceived from the exterior as "random" or "adventurous". I would also be highly energetic and have high intensity emotional responses to what was happening around me, though more on the positive side. From the outside I think I would have looked like what is portrayed as the manic pixie girl. And I think some of the boys I have dated back then might have seen me like that as well - most likely influenced by the media. But my relationships back then went through this pattern of being adored in the beginning to not being accepted for how "fucked-up" I was. And yeah, I know, there's always idealisation in the beginning of a relationship, and it's best to go through therapy before committing to a relationship if there are signs of a personality disorder. Yet, I can't help but think this manic pixie girl trope helps idealising what could well be signs some mental health issues, and that has a negative impact on the audience. I wish there were more films that showed us both perspectives, or at how a relationship would develop long-term.
How is nobody talking about his editing skills?? It's freaking awesome. Where did he learn it from??
Ikr! Those transitions! 🔥🔥
i guess he using a pro editing program
He use to make analysis videos like this all the time, before doing animation/commentary.
Skillshare
@@abcd123432802 Someone type out a whole paragraph of sponsorship because I want to see it happen, however, I have no motivation.
In Stargirl's defense, She was willing to compromise when she thought that acting normal would make her and Leo happier in the end. It was after acting normal and seeing that it changed nothing and just made her unhappy, she leaves Leo for her own good. Even when she acts like herself, many of the quirky things she does is for other people's sakes. That's why I think Stargirl is different than most Manic Pixie Girls because she doesn't act out of selfishness but actual love for other people.
I don't remember much, but when I read the book when I was younger it definitely made me cry.
This reminds me of paper towns, only in the end he realises his happiness is with his friends, and she would stay away anyway, so he stopped chasing her
Exactly, the first movie that came in my mind when I saw this vid. The movie MPDG Cara Delevingne felt extremely farce version of it though... The book had a better explanation imo.
I haven’t seen paper towns, but I’m reading a book by the same author called Chasing Alaska. The main girl screams manic pixie to me, so your comment shows me that the author has a pattern. I can’t judge considering I fell for the bad boy trope most of my childhood
I once read that John Green wanted to break that Stereotype. The boy thought she wanted him to find her and have an exciting life but turns out she wants not. She escaped for herself not the "sad boy".
Ok but he didn't realise his happiness until she told him she did it for him, so low-key she still "helped to change" him
When I was younger, I idolized Stargirl and Summer and Holly Golightly. I did what I wanted when I wanted, regardless of what the future may hold. I just wanted to be happy every day, no mattwr the cost, because I was horribly, wildly depressed.
It wasn't until I tried to off myself that I got slapped in the face by reality. Being impulsive and spontaneous wouldn't make me happy; in fact, it made me more miserable. So now, I'm planning for my future instead of going crazy every day. I'm just trying to be content with my life.
And you know what? I'm pretty damn happy with that.
Edit: great video as always, Alex. I really love your video essays; they're on par with the great Lindsay Ellis's.
Lindsay is great
But that was kind of the message of breakfast at Tiffany’s. Holly was just running from her past and she was avoiding to make deep and meaningful connections. She seemed happy throughout the whole movie but she was actually sad.
@@marvel096 mainly because living in the moment was a way to blind herself from her own sadness, but the moment you slow down and catch your breath, you have time to mull over the things that make you sad which just compounds over time. which is why when people use that as a coping mechanism, the moment they stop the sadness is multiplied a thousandfold and can lead to intense depression and thoughts of suicide.
I think it's a little bit different.
This "quirky girl” I not there to "fix" a guy. It's never been her own motive - she never goes straigt to the guy and says: "You seem to be broken, sad and unloved. Well guess what. This is your lucky day because I'm here to save you from this borring life! "
No.
.It's more that the guy sees her as that miracle cure that she might not actually be. He sees her as they way to FINALLY escape thet situation he has found himself in.
Like in "500 days of Summer", he sees her as this pure, fun, true love quirky girl that is his "true love" althogh it's clear as day that there is much more to her than what he wants to see. She shows her ture self and expresses her feeling, but he doesn't really see it and want to see that more as a gitch in his vision of who she is. She tells him time and time again that she doesn't want relationship or she feels differenty than he does, but he just doesn't want to hear it.
If you whatch this movie again and try to look to it from her stand point - I think it's pretty clear.
"The Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is a man's projection of his dream girl to a actual person with personality trates that might not be there to begin with or are just a shell to hide her real broken self.
"Paper Towns" is a good example of this kind of story where in the end she says: "That he doesn't even know her...".
"The Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is a depiction of a free spirited woman of a mans fantasy.
I’ve lost so many people in my life bc i was trying to emulate this stereotype unintentionally so i could be the fun friend whose super free spirited etc, but people get really tired of this when they want to settle down with you or not just follow everything you do. It ends up causing more pain for everyone involved.
The sad thing with movies like twilight is the girl is expected to fix the boy and what's sadder is that's how some people think women should actually be like in relationships basically a therapist to there lovers when we're not. We're partners not therapists and it isn't are job to defeat someone else's demons that's what therapy is for
And you shouldn’t try to fix someone or turn them into something you want them to be
I mean, if you look at the girl's behaviour she doesn't actually do anything therapist-like, it's more like her presence by itself heals him somehow. It's less of an expectation and more of a weird power fantasy wherein the power of her vagina alone defies the laws of human psychology and fixes years of trauma and/or bad habits in a matters of days or weeks. Because, you know, unlike professionals or those other girls, this one is so special despite how boring she is that she made a miracle happen without putting in any effort. Because she's just THAT good.
No one knows why, we just know she has some vague, undefined special power. You can almost insert your own reason, like whatever you, the female reader, are insecure about. And look, she's quirky and hobby-less just like you, you can almost imagine yourself in her shoes and be just as special! It's not that you're awkward around boys or that even if you're decent person you have to face the unfortunate reality that the guy you like might not be looking what you have in a girl - no. You're actually super special and reality can bend itself to your will! See how it works? These stories just tell women what they want to hear, and because confronting an ugly reality is painful, they fall for it every time.
Yes! When I first started dating this guy, he would constantly come to me when he was depressed. At first, I didn’t mind because he had depression and was in toxic household. But after a few weeks I just felt like a damn therapist, realized I started hating it when he came to me with his issues.
Luckily I talked to him, and explained that I want to be treated like a girlfriend and not like a free therapist. We are so much better now, but I had to tell him that no, I’m not going to be a therapist.
@@lemonjane384 Yes exactly, women constantly try to turn their partners into their own versions of perfect man/boyfriend. It's not at all about women fixing men because they "have to".
@@ValD98 I think it's also telling boys what they want to hear; or more like an unrealistic expectation to have of a girl. Nobody is that perfect or can do things like that.
i remember reading stargirl as a kid, the fact that they're remained faithful to the book which was published 20 years ago has kind of resulted in stargirl's 'quirkiness' being even less effective. so many teens have ukuleles and wear colourful clothes now lmao
Yeah pretty much-
I own a Kalimba and I only use it at hone because I have a feeling that “Kalimba girl” will become the new “ukulele girl”
"Stargirl" was always a shit book, it was an obvious attempt by the author to show how deep and meaningful their writing was. Case-in-point: He didn't even write the actual name of the book on the cover, because he was too "unique "for that.
@@trianglemoebius
I disagree, I like the book. I like that stargirl is a real person, and that Leo is a real person. They changed each other in the book.
Stargirl the book is actually about the “quirky” girl
But she’s much more strange in the book, it’s told much better
She also IS herself and she in no way sets out to change the protagonist. He thinks he's changed but she did not intend to do so. She just had a crush on him.
Right. The book was great and didn't make her seem like the selfish played off as quirky girl. I didn't even know there was a movie until this.
I finished the book, then watched the movie, and walked away from many times, and quit halfway through. Not my favorite book, because of the ideal girl trope. But my least favorite movie. It was cringe.
I agree, I thought the movie was okay but that’s probably because I read the book years ago and hardly remember it except what it was basically about
Ya I ready the book too 😁
"Holding hands in Ikea." I bet that's supposed to be serious, but I died.
Me too but I mean yeah you can hold your friend's hand in Ikea but😅
Let me take a Jörmungandr at that yeah friends hold hands sometimes 🤣
imagine if quirky bad written male characters where as hated as female quirky characters, like the abomination that is jughead from riverdale
iF yOu HaVen'T nOTiCeD, iM wEird, Im A WEiRDO, i dOnT FiT iN, I DoNT wANNa FiT iN
There aren't quirky men, they're just self proclaimed assholes who'd say stuff like "That's who I am, I'm an asshole, I've warned you"
They ARE as hated though?? Why else do we not have as much quirky male characters as quirky female characters? Because they are less popular than the quirky female characters.
Angelina Liguori I think they are more hated or disliked! Quirky girls seem fun, the guy is usually cute and sad, but humble.
I think they are not AS hated because most of them are accompanied by the most disgustingly stupid "would not ever exist as a sane human being" girls and they get all the hate for putting up with those guys.
you either stop chasing manic pixie dream girls or you live long enough to become one.
I love your comment
I always was one maybe because I'm autistic I always thought I can fix that sad girl...
🏳️⚧️?
I used to be treated like a MPDG when I was younger. I had dyed hair, dressed funny, and did "whatever I wanted". Truth was, I was messed up. I had severe mood swings, my home life was abusive, and all I wanted to do was escape. I would date these guys who expected me to come in and make their lives more exciting. Meanwhile, I'm trying to fix my own messed up self.
I stopped dating for years and there would always be that one guy friend who wanted to be more, but wouldn't accept that I needed to figure my own shit out. I needed a friend and they took advantage of that. It wasn't until I met my husband who didn't want to be fixed, didn't need to be fixed, that I was able to have a real healthy relationship. He is his own motivation. I was able to fix myself.
And that's the thing. Women who act like these tropes--they are just as screwed up inside as everyone else. Whether they want attention, lack care, lack introspection, whatever--it's not the sign of a healthy person.
I still have weird hair and dress how I want. I take medication and go to therapy. I'm better and constantly trying to improve myself.
Amen to this. There's a reason they're called "manic" pixie dream girls.
I dye my hair. I started with koolaid at age 7
And that's what's missing from this video. He completely ignored that these movies focus entirely on the fantasy without actually giving the MPDG an actual interior life. She doesn't care about the impact of her actions because she has no reason to; if it doesn't promote the Sad Boy's character development, then it doesn't merit discussion. The reality of "quirky" girls is far from the fantasy of MPDGs.
Wurdnurd's Guide to Life Yeah, I feel the boy is secretly the bad guy is all of these stories because they ignore everything they don’t want to see and ignore what the girl is telling them. Holly Golightly can’t be a girlfriend because she’s an escort and she tells him she was just lonely, Summer is up front with Tom before things get too serious, and Leo is a coward who lacks the integrity to stand by his his weird ass friend because he wants to fit in with people he doesn’t even like. And when there is a critique of MPDG it really needs to be a critique of these basic ass characters who just project whatever they want on to people especially women. And while everybody knows the dream boy is fake and totally a fantasy, The comments are full of people always waxing poetic about how they dated this girl and she wrecked their life...no asshole you dated an actual person with actual problems and things going on in their life. You just wanna make people feel shitty for having dyed hair.
@@FreyaEinde Holly was a terrible choice for illustrating MPDG; 1) she had an interior life, including backstory, developed motivations, and character growth; and 2) Truman Capote originally wrote her to be a platonic foil to the gay writer (Paul/Fred), and the romance was wedged into the movie adaptation, which is why it's so awkward.
Sorry, one of my favorite movies, despite the absolutely disgusting Mr. Yunioshi role. Instead of B@T, I wish he'd used Roman Holiday; while both characters are locked into their rigid societal roles, Smitty had the inertia to break free from her shackles, albeit briefly, to express her MPDG-ness.
I'll be honest, I've never seen 500 Days of Summer, though I'm familiar with the plot and characters. The biggest thing to remember is that MPDG is almost *always* written by males and, by that very fact, are functions of the male fantasy. So a YT video about the MPDG from the pov of a young man is....well....redundant.
She disappears because a long relationship would mean he sees more sides to her. And women apparently aren’t allowed to be flawed
Yesssss that's so true
I wad kind of thinking something similar
If she was flawed she wouldn't be a dream girl 💁 edit/ I still would call her a flawed mpdg. I was commenting on why women characters tend to be written like that. Media industry is a big boys club after all
exactly
Exactly
Actually, I think you're forgetting the flip side of a manic pixie dream girl: the sad boy spends so much time idolizing her, somewhere down the line he forgets she's a human being, and actually isn't the fantasy he's been building up in his head. She's a real person, who actually isn't there to make everything better for the sad boy. She's just herself in a way that people happen to respond to.
To borrow from another comment, Paper Towns is actually a perfect example of this.
Whether you've seen the movie or not, the story is still intact. Margo Roth Spiegelman was another manic pixie dream girl, but unlike the others, she actually knew that was how people saw her, and played it up every chance she got. She even got a reputation because of it. And why did she do that? Because she was doing everything humanly possible to cover up the fact that she had no one in her corner, no one that really knew who she was outside of her reputation.
And finally, she decided she had enough. She couldn't keep pretending to be someone she wasn't anymore. So she left.
Exactly! I kinda didn’t agree with what he was saying cause it made it seem like the girl was the problem... but he says he was in the same boat as those guy characters a few months ago so he’s probably still in that mindset 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, that's the reason why I actually like Paper Towns. The story wasn't about Margo fixing Q (and she never actually tried to do that), it was about him realising that the Margo he saw was all in his mind, and letting go of her and moving on. The ending made that pretty clear from what I remember. It was never a love story between Q and Margo, they never had an actual relationship.
500 Days of Summer was in the same vein, so I don't think it was a good example. But I totally agree with the video in general.
I literally was thinking “is the girl in paper towns this type of person” bc I was thinking of an example and I haven’t seen any of the movies he mentioned so I’m glad I saw this comment :))
He didn't forget, he explicitly said that he wanted to explore the boy point of view as the sad slob and also how no girl would probably like being with such a guy.
And yes, on that perspective many of the girls are portrayed like on one way or another
The whole point is that the boy is so sad and lonely that the girl is suppose to be the ideal that makes the boy a "better" person... It's not about idolizin her to the point of not seein her as human.. Way to make a video from a guys point of view into somethin else.. LOL.
I've realized that a lot of my boyfriends first liked me because i fit the trope of "manic pixie dream girl" but I never liked that they didn't think of me too far past me being unpredictable or doing what I want. It's dehumanizing to do so because every relationship always ends with them claiming I'm not who I said I was or some bullshit like that, and it got to the point where I refuse to watch movies with that trope
Also in these movies the “sad boy” characters are usually relying on the girl for their happiness and to turn their life around when it isn’t her job at all to fix them. It’s a big burden that shouldn’t be placed on the MPDG.
So so so true
This is why I disagree with 500 days fitting in this category tho because the whole point of the movie is that it wasn't summers job to fix him
Thank you for this comment.
Honestly I don't think there's anything wrong with the character type of the MPDG or MPDB, it's the trope of when they're matched with a "sad boy" or "sad girl" and the expectation to improve the lives of said sad bland individual is put entirely on the Manic Pixie. The relationship trope is what's toxic, not the character imo.
I may be biased because I've been a best friend to the "sad boy" a few times and found I was the MPDG in those relationships. Partway into the friendship you typically learn that they have expectations about romantic relationships and how said relationships will go and that their lives will FINALLY take off and be "right" once in that relationship.
Then before long even as their friend you see that they aren't seeing you authentically. Your flaws are turned down in their filter and you eccentricities are turned up. They get jealous of your other friends and time taken from them. They start to resent your way of being the center of groups. And when you can't handle it anymore and start drifting away, they label you as a mynx who leads guys on. These same friends usually never work up the nerve to ask you out so you never learn that's what they wanted from you till after the fact. (Seen in both male and female friends, but the females are better at staying friends afterwards typically.) Sometimes you part on good terms, but it takes a lot of work as you experience their anger for not fulfilling their wishes that they...rarely expressed to you.
Or the idea that boys need to be fixed but girls are perfect the way they are...that's also a big problem with them.
Yup, agreed!
Have y'all ever been manic pixie dream girled, like you want to be friends with a guy but he suddenly falls in love with you and wants to live in a rom-com with you and fix him and his personal problems when you are just not interested.
Edit: thanks a lot for paying attention to my comment and giving it a bit of love I feel so honored
i did this to a few girls when i was middle school and high school. Ruined some really cool friendships. every time i think back to those girls i kind of want to die because shit's really cringy and my mental health would have been way better if i quit trying to use girls as some cure all solution and actually worked on my problems.
Yes, because unfortunately, we also teach boys that the only meaningful and close relationship they can have is with their romantic/sexual partner. :( Boys and girls can be just friends and that's alright dammit, and boys can have close friendships with boys without it being sexual as well!!!
Im glad you improved and learnt to become better.
happened to me once. was not a fan.
ALL MY FUCKING LIFE
I see this girl fix boy thing as an attack on both men and women.
no it isn't gtfo
@@irene5298 yeah. it is
BlueJam76 no it isn’t male dafuq 😂😂
Alexa
It is an attack on males
Because it’s saying that guys absolutely need a girl to fix them. That they won’t be anything without a girl in their life
Are you really that ignorant?
@@irene5298 ^
l
In Breakfast at Tiffany's she was trashing her room in grief upon learning her brother died. It was misrepresented here 🤔
Breakfast at Tiffany's is so far from manic pixie. Not a good example at all.
Exactly. as ennui blue said, it wasn't her throwing some quirky tantrum. She was having a break down because she'd just found out that her brother, the only person she really cared for and the one she was prostituting herself out to someday make a home with, was dead. Holly is even more obviously broken in the novel, where she doesn't count "anything that happened before she was 13" among her list of lovers. She and her brother were running from an abusive home, and they found a...slightly better one, where they could stay, but then the doctor proposed and Holly (Lulamae) became a child bride. Likely thinking this was the only way to keep a roof over their heads. She's not so "random" because she's being true to herself. It's explicitly stated that she's a phony. She's re-inventing herself. Hiding from that abused child behind a thin veneer of sophistication and using men for what they seem to want from her. It's just that she'll never be able to run far enough to get away from herself.
@@symphonyhioco5093 Seriously. She's a manically broken girl, not a manic pixie dream girl trope, haha. Despite the romcom ending of the film in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the main character, Paul, actually does the opposite for Holly and helps her realize she's the one who is running away from herself and trying to find superficial happiness, instead of confronting her own problems.
I think the book is far better than a movie and really shows the manic pixie dream girl side of the story. I mean it starts by a rumor about a statue showing up in Africa or Australia that resembles Holly and the author going to the bar that they used to go to often to try to find out what happened to Holly. Capote was the kong of the manic pixie character trope
Thank you! And doesn't she sneak out of her apartment and crawl up to Paul's fire escape because there's a man literally beating down her door and she's trying to get away from him? Not to mention that Holly was supposed to represent the new "single girl in the city" of the 60's that was breaking tradition and living that single life to the fullest.
I mean, to be fair... that's the whole point with 500 days of Summer though. To show how the manic pixie dream girl is unrealistic. Tom is projecting his own feelings on her, without listening to her.
Alex has another vid in this style that goes into this argument. I recommend
@Tatiana Escalante Just search "500 days of Summer Alex Meyers" and it'll show up.
This!!!! Summer is NOT really a manic pixie girl
I dont think its his "fault" alone. I agree with you but dont forget Summer intentionally did this. She knew what she was doing and she was smart enough to know that he would see her as said "dream" girl.
THANK YOU. Using Summer, who is supposed to be the anti-MPDG, in a video about the MPDG trope seems pretty ironic.
the manic pixie dream girl trait is not cute, its creating a female character thats 'interesting, quirky and exciting' without giving them any depth or humanity making the characters entire personality and storyline about making the 'sad boy' happy as if that is their job
yeah, but it's also a hurtful stereotype for boys, because they apparently "need" her to change themselves. either, you both change, (i. e. good relationship), or no one changes, (i. e. breakup/bad relationship). is this so hard to understand storywriters!!🙄
I feel like Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind was a good example of how they took the manic pixie dream girl trope and actually added depth to her character
yeah, because god forbid the story could focus on struggles of a boy while imbuing him with romantic notion of a saviour-like girl. When its a reversed situation, its called romance, when its not - its oPprEsIvE tO wOmEn.
@@rickydrizzle9150 boo hoo you mEn
They don't make him happy though. They just create more emotional turmoil.
the girl being like "i wanna do what i want you just deal with it" is not narcissistic, it's being a one-dimensional character who is only there to show you how to be spontanious and then she has nothing left to offer because she was written that way and fantasized about in that way - one dimension. Yeah, her freckles are nice, her heart-shaped thing is cute but.... what about her ideas man lol didn't you fall in love with something else besides ankles and elbows, like, aspirations and opinions on shared dreams... im glad a guy understand that though, i was really scared this would go downhill lol thank you, i like you even more now
this is exactly it, in every version of the MPDG story the male character never actually loves her as a person but as the thing he wants to see. he never cares about her family, her dreams, her attitude about the future. Just she’s so pretty and different, not like all the girls i’m not interested in or turn me down!
Yep, its because the guy objectifies her and sees her as that one thing, and then gets possesive. They always blame the MPDG for leaving, but what woman would want to stay with a guy that treats her like that? And what happens when the guy finally notices that she isn't just that image but a more complex person who is as flawed as everyone else? Will he resent her for it?
Yeah that's why the "quriky" girl trope is unrealistic and harmful to young girls and women. We are more than a fantasy.
Liberty Chandler damn right
Came here to say something similar. First: I totally agree with you. Second: I think this video kind of misses the point. The mpdg is a fantasy of men. This woman solely exists to make him a better/more desirable/happy man. Once he's "better" in whatever way he was lacking, her work is done and she is no longer needed. Men like to complain that they don't want women to fix them, but this fantast of the mpdg contradicts that as she is only there to fix. ALSO and super important: Summer is not a mpdg!!!!!! The main guy in that movie thinks she is and he keeps treating her like she is but she's not. That's why he's not any better off at the end of the movie for knowing her. And also why the movie ends on something about Autumn (sorry, its been a long time since I've seen it).
I still love 500 Days of Summer to death
Didn't expect to see you here
I would argue 500 days of summer is a deconstruction of the tropes
@@mojorecords172 it is
It's too good...i cried at the end 😅
When Tom asks why summer danced with him at the wedding and summer says “because I wanted to,” I always saw that as confirmation that she wasn’t actually a manic dream girl. Sure, the line definitely reflects her spontaneity and unpredictability, two typical characteristics of the MPDG, but MPDGs almost never do anything to the detriment of the sad boy. They are there solely for his enjoyment/growth, and because of this they don’t really have their own wants or desires. But summer admitting to doing something selfish shows that she is her own person, and doesn’t exist just for Tom. I actually don’t think it was selfish. She made no insinuation that she wanted to get back together and didn’t tell Tom she was engaged because he didn’t even ask if she was seeing anyone. In fact it’s kind of refreshing to see a female character have these kinds of desires, especially when they’re in contrast to the expectations of the male character. Also, Tom has almost no personal growth while he’s with summer. It’s only when they’re broken up that he makes any real progress. Anyway, neither of them are perfect and they both make some really selfish moves throughout the movie, but a lot of Tom’s disappointment comes from the fact that he treated summer like a manic pixie dream girl when in reality, she’s not.
The movie was somewhat of a deliberate deconstruction of the romantic tropes it talks about. That's why it's smarter and more critical than the movies that play it straight.
@Chaitanya Tejaswi cof cof Ted Mosby cof cof
Exactly! She is not a mpeg! Tom sees her as one but she is absolutely not one
You explained everything that I was thinking about perfectly!!
I could use this for my intro to film study class
I have come to officially despise the word "quirky" since it gets thrown around loosely.
Hollywood ruined quirky
What defines someone as 'quirky' anyway? It's such an odd word. I have a pixie hair cut? So... 😂
@@El1989_ I stop caring what it means. Everybody just self claims they are quirky because it's a "trendy' word or they are trying hard to matter. 😅😅
That's so quirky!! Sorry i had to do it lmao
@ I don't hate the word simp or others alike but this one word really triggers me for some reason
you know what pops into my head? "Bridge to Terabithia"
and now i'm sad...
I really love that movie
that movie really made me cry
To soon.
Why’d you have to go and remind me of that movie? 😭
Wow man now I'm crying bruh 😥
I dated a M.P.D.G. for 5 months when I was 21. It was a whirlwind that definitely changed me for the better. She broke my heart when she moved on to the next guy. It's been 10 years now she's an exotic dancer and married to a man with numerous face tattoos.
Moved on to next guy? Jajaj
I watched this movie a few years ago, I cannot remember the name of it, but the main character is a writer and he writes his dream (a manic pixie dream girl who will get him out of his shell) and she suddenly exists, and does exactly what he writes her to do. and it starts amazing, hes so happy, they are fun and spontaneous and go crazy. but then he gets tired of it. hes burned out so he writes her to be someone different. then he falls out of love with her because of it.
It was years ago so I could be misremembering it, and I was too young to really Get It but this video reminded me of it, and now I'm wondering if it was a deeper commentary I didn't get.
EDIT: I looked it up, the movie is called Ruby Sparks.
Keefa Shine omg I was thinking about the same , thanks for the name of the movie. When I watched it I was like okay finally someone portrays the problem w this concept and why nobody should be obsessed w this type of personalities
That movie is a great critic on the manic pixie dream girl and how that kind of people is not that good for you
What I love so much about this movie is that while Ruby is clearly a MPDG through and through, created straight from a guy’s imagination, she still wanted to be her own person. Have her own friends, her own hobbies. It suddenly became too real, and the message to me is there is never going to be anyone who will want to center their entire life around you (and if that is the case it’s a GIANT red flag that something isn’t right). No one deserves love, and an absolutely unconditional relationship. You have to earn that. A good bond is formed from trust and learning to respect and care for the other person as an individual. That’s a healthy relationship. If one partner is devoted to the other 100% it’s an absolute nightmare.
@@abloodstore I did a college project on this movie and how it personifies the Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea (the idea that the perfect woman can be only be crafted from the imagination of a man). I really did love the ending where he demonstrates how he can force Ruby to act like a dog if he wants to before letting her go. It really hit across the idea that a relationship in which one partner has no power to change or improve themselves without the permission of another is not healthy and will inevitably collapse in on itself.
@@daneray9594 TBF Pygmalion and Galatea was written in a time when artists couldn't earn a stable living, even more so than now, so their relationship prospects were completely down the drain. Galatea is less an example of perfection and more so a "as good as it can get" bandaid for a lonely dude.
The "im not like the other girls trend" is becoming so overused they start to become like the other girls.
That's the joke
One person's cute is another person's annoying.
Lol
Yes!
Right
Yeah
Oh shit
I appreciated you looking at an example of a fantasy boy and pointing out how in those stories it's still that the girl fixes the boy.
PAPER. FREAKING. TOWNS. Paper Towns is literally the perfect example of this.
EXACTLYYY
I actually think John Green was intentionally creating a commentary on this trope by revealing the catastrophic ending of idealizing a mpdg
@@annikaclark2873 yess i think the same
I thought about it at first, but the thing is, the ending (at least of the movie) is actually about her living for herself and telling him he shouldn't have went out of his way to find her. She just wanted him to know she was okay. She didn't disappear for him, but to find herself.
I THOUGHT ABOUT IT TOOO
The actress of Stargirl: IM NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS, I DONT KNOW MY NAME
I heard that in her voiceeegshshsb 😭😭
i also DON'T PLAY BY THE RULLLLEEESSS OF THE GAME!
ugh so she is a MPDG irl?
Oh wow,this is unexpected
@@aathenaiz6151 a what??
Let's be real, the only time this was done right was with Anne of green gables /Anne with an e
facts. facts.
omg truuue
And 'Up' with Ellie
And they actually gave her a backstory of trauma so she wasnt just a one layered personality.
Yeah and shes the main character who exists for her own sake and gilbert is the love interest. And actually she isnt that happy and carefree all the time so i dont think she qualifies as the most extreme manic pixie dream girl