Monday, October 20, 2008

Manic Pixie Dream Girls


Okay, so there's a phenomena, a cultural "thing" called Manic Pixie Dream Girls. This phrase was developed by a film critic, Nathan Rabin, in his review of Elizabethtown (a film that he pans and that I love, by the way). Apparently MPDG are girls that have no aspirations other than living "high on life" and radiating sunshine and joy to those around them; their allure is so compelling that it generally can lift even the most depressed person (as seen in Elizabethtown and Garden State).

A couple of questions: 1) Are MPDG only fictional ideas, or are there really people like this in society?; 2) Is the idea of MPDG wrong, or is it okay as a young woman to aspire to be a genuinely positive person who finds true significance in bringing an optimistic perspective to life?

I know that I'm probably going to be stoned and/or have Gloria Steinhem revoke my feminist club card, but I think MPDG are okay. I'm not a MPDG (I think it might be an oxymoron for a MPDG to have a blog, seeing as how they most often tend to be negative in nature); however, I think that we could all do with a little bit more sunshine in life. Granted, being emotionally inappropriate (i.e., not allowing people to experience any kind of sadness) gets grating, as is happiness that stems from being blissfully unaware of the evil in the world, but choosing to reframe negative experiences and seek workable and simple solutions to hard problems is cool. I aspire to be someone who can influence others and to be a good deal less cynical (Did I ever tell you I was voted most cynical in my high school graduating class?).

Call me crazy, but I'd like to infuse a little MPDG juice into my personality--being on the other end of the spectrum (i.e., crazy raging spinster who has her life planned down to the minute) isn't necessarily healthy either. Thoughts?

3 comments:

K and/or K said...

I went to high school with a girl like this, then she had a breakdown and went into depression. I thinks it's hard for those people to live that way. Was Pollyanna the original MPDG?

Sabrina said...

Eeek... I am often called the MPDG girl. Although there are different terms for it. But it has been a long road to get here... I used to be a big depressed mess. I try to be nice and caring, not to get anything out of it, but to just make life better for those around me.
I was just sick of being so selfish for so many years...
okay this is getting deep.

Literature Crazy said...

Sabrina, You're totally my manic pixie dream girl.

Pollyanna (or Pippy Longstocking) were the original gangstas of MPDG.