Talk:Manic Pixie Dream Girl

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Examples of MPDG

Source for Zooey/Summer as MPDG? Because I thought the whole plot of that film was that she WASN'T a MPDG. She had her own goals and dreams (so she dumps the main character and proceeds to live that life). 93.182.134.163 (talk) 18:00, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with you that she is not an MPDG, but the characterization of Summer as this stock character is entirely subjective. But I don't think she should be listed in the article precisely because there are so many other, better examples of the trope. Additionally, the article that was originally sourced is not a good, authoritative source, since it first describes Summer as an MPDG, then explains all the ways in which she is not an MPDG. -Juansmith (talk) 07:26, 25 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Would Maude from Harold and Maude count? She's _older_, but beyond that I think perhaps a perfect fit? Kaolin fire (talk) 05:03, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have a reference citing her. I'll add it.--Esprit15d • talk • contribs 20:22, 9 November 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I was thinking Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind captures it pretty well (and has the modern indie elements). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.49.100.92 (talk) 19:14, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Please see Wikipedia's "No original research" rules. The article isn't the place to speculate about the scope of the term, but a place to report what reliable sources have said about the scope of the term. THF (talk) 05:07, 8 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In addition, she's a deconstruction of the MPDG, not a straight example. In that she's genuinely unbalanced, not happy, and not really coping very well with the real world. Has a little more depth than the typical MPDG. In other news, when did this wiki become tvtropes?!

I was thinking Lisa from Weird Science is definitely an MPDG. In light of the fact that I'm not quite certain if adding her would fall in the scope of this article as the commenter above referenced, I'll leave it to someone else to determine whether she's a good enough fit to add. Ø (talk) 19:39, 30 January 2011 (UTC)Ø[reply]

I guess Summer is an MPDG to an extent, but why choose a Zooey character that's borderline-MPDG when you could go were her more clear-cut MPDG characters (Alison in Yes Man is SO MPDG). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.251.184.220 (talk) 08:44, 5 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Source for Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment? That character has a pretty dark story, and an awful lot going on. I'd be pretty surprised to see her seriously suggested as a good example. spoko (talk) 18:56, 23 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Examples in Other Media

Many have described Alaska from "Looking for Alaska" as an MPDG. A Google search for the two together turns up an unending list of blog posts on the topic, but I'm not sure what might be a reliable source. GCNovus (talk) 17:26, 02 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I would certainly feel comfortable using her as an example in casual conversation, but I think here we should stick to a few iconic and easily-recognizable examples. If Green himself or a major reviewer (Kirkus, Booklist, something like that) has made the connection, it would probably merit a mention at the Looking for Alaska article, though. FiveColourMap (talk) 04:55, 3 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I hadn't thought to look for Green's own thoughts on the subject. He discusses Alaska as an MPDG in the Destruction of Manic Pixie Dream Girls: "I actually think the MPDG criticism is more fairly leveled against a novel like, say, Looking for Alaska–in which the narrator, by nature of his circumstances, is never able to see the other as fully human." GCNovus (talk) 23:02, 03 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

that's a chauvinist title

find sources to support it in article 'cause it's obvious. --79.130.11.198 (talk) 13:33, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How is it a chauvinist title? It's a chauvinist 'concept', not a chauvinist title. The title merely reflects the concept. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.235.128.132 (talk) 12:43, 29 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

What about Amelie? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.96.37.19 (talk) 15:06, 21 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Uh, no. Amelie is her own protagonist, not the romantic interest of a brooding male protagonist and is clearly seeking out her own happiness not only helping others find theirs. Also, she's not shallow at all, she definitely has her own issues to work through. If this article didn't lay out what qualities denote an MPDG clearly enough for you, try this one: [1] Ø (talk) 08:30, 30 January 2011 (UTC)Ø[reply]

Do you really understand what wikipedia is all about? Just because I think that the queen of Jordan is an MPDG does not qualify her to be cited here. Perhaps, you think that the princess of Japan, the Chancellor of Germany, or Princess Diana qualifies as MPDG, but that would be your personal opinion. Your personal opinions are not sufficient to justify placing any fact or non-fact into wikipedia articles.

Hence Jewish Anderstein (talk) 01:38, 18 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Non-American media

MPDG is purely an American (United States) classification of stereotypical/stock characters. However, movies of non-American origins may have characters that correspond to MPDG. If so, those inclusions should be made into a separate section "Non-American media".

I extracted the following, removed it from the article and placed it here because without attribution of any reference, I take it as original research by whomever who inserted it:

"However many characters from European art-house cinema do fit the criteria, including Paz Vega's character in Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia and Eva Green's character in Bertolucci's The Dreamers."

"The character known only as The Girl in Korea's wildly popular My Sassy Girl, Faye Wong's character in the Hong Kong film Chungking Express all fit the description."

I also further wish to modify its structure a little to make the sentence more acceptable:

"However many characters from European art-house cinema do fit the criteria, including Paz Vega's character in Julio Medem's Sex and Lucia and Eva Green's character in Bertolucci's The Dreamers."

"The character known only as The Girl in the Korean movie My Sassy Girl, as well as Faye Wong's character in the Hong Kong film Chungking Express, both fall into the description of MPDG."

Someone please work hard to find references to justify the inclusion of the above and insert it back into the article under the section name I proposed.

Hence Jewish Anderstein (talk) 18:27, 22 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I have no clue what kind of references I would have to insert, but a classic example of a MPDG is Betty Blue in Betty Blue / 37°2 le matin.

I think the stereotype exists in literature also. Sabeth in Max Frisch's Home Faber comes to mind - she (and her lover, Faber) fit all the criteria. But we'd need somebody who knows more about literature to tell us if the cliché exists in literature as well. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.87.141.2 (talk) 22:22, 27 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You'll need reliable sources calling your examples "Manic Pixie Dream Girls". Without those sources, we have nothing to add. - SummerPhD (talk) 01:47, 28 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Does anything out there mention the parallel to magic negro?

I'm aware of the rule against original research. Therefore, I'm just going to ask if anyone knows of any qualifying source (i.e., meeting verifiability and reliable source policies) that draws this parallel? Lawikitejana (talk) 21:02, 5 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The line in this article about only caring for her mans happiness without caring for her own is clearly an opinion and not an encyclopedia type description, as the listed source is "A feminist critique". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.76.43.133 (talk) 03:00, 17 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Someone help me fit in this quote

Can't decide on the best place to put this quote from a retrospective piece analyzing the enduring appeal of Annie Hall:

What's the Big Deal?: Annie Hall (1977) Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) - Wednesday, May 12, 2010 Author: FILM.COM / Eric D. Snider

Annie Hall herself is reflected in the quirky, carefree characters who are now often played by Zooey Deschanel -- the "manic pixie dream girl," as film critic Nathan Rabin famously called them. Annie's kooky manner of dress (which was Keaton's own, and which inspired a brief fashion craze) and her general flightiness weren't totally new -- Goldie Hawn co-existed -- but Annie was a fully realized character being appreciated by a new generation of moviegoers, many of whom became moviemakers. The women in Garden State, Almost Famous, and Elizabethtown, just to name a few, have a bit of Annie Hall in them, though usually not as nuanced.

Lawikitejana (talk) 02:13, 6 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Anne Hathaway

Would Anne Hathaway in "Love and Other Drugs" fit this type cast? Not very familiar with chick flicks.

Do you have any reliable sources that describe her in this way? We must follow the sources, no matter what we think of her. -- Brangifer (talk) 04:44, 15 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Too Broad a Category to Be Useful?

It seems any female character whose somewhat unconventional is getting this label attached to her. With several of the examples given such Annie Hall the female character clearly does have her own interests or issues. The problem of course may be with the original definition and definer, not wikipedia itself. 50.101.125.50 (talk) 17:29, 18 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

To the extent that I've been able to control it, the label -- in this article, anyway -- is only attached to those characters who are described as "Manic Pixie Dream Girls" in independent, reliable sources. We don't get to decide that character X is or is not a MPDG, we merely report what reliable sources say. - SummerPhD (talk) 04:49, 19 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Chronological list

I think on this talk page it would be useful to compile a list of all the movies mentioned in this article (plus any others in the references or mentioned on this talk) and arrange them in chronological order.

Then, those who have trouble understanding this meme (like myself) could undergo a movie marathon, hopefully reflecting upon these characters and their roles, to understand it. Ranze (talk) 06:16, 7 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Stop

You people are turning wikipedia into tvtropes.com. Please stop this shit and delete this article. When coming up with an article that describes a phrase, ask yourself if that phrase will continue to have any relevance in society and language 10 years from now. If the answer is "no," don't write the article, or if it exists, suggest it be deleted. Thanks. 50.89.174.229 (talk) 16:49, 28 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]