UNDERSTANDING THE “MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL” TROPE A FEMINIST AND POST-FEMINIST APPROACH
UNDERSTANDING THE “MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL” TROPE A FEMINIST AND POST-FEMINIST APPROACH
Author(s): Ecaterina ForijSubject(s): Philosophy, Gender Studies, Film / Cinema / Cinematography, Sociology of Art
Published by: SACRI – Societatea Academica de Cercetare a Religiilor si Ideologiilor
Keywords: philosophy of film; manic pixie dream girl; post-feminism; film tropes;
Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to broadly touch and discuss a popular trope used in modern cinema -the “manic pixie dream girl”. Often a device personified by a female character that is attractive in her quality of “otherness”, this character serves as a freeing agent for the male protagonist. We discuss what exactly qualifies as a “manic pixie dream girl” - what her essential qualities are, the term’s origins, and how (and if) it perpetuates negative female stereotypes. Using the frame-work from authors like Julianna Joyce, Angela McRobbie, and Simone De Beauvoir, we question how this trope fits into the post-feminist theoretical structure and whether it constitutes a thing of the past or if its values are still present in today’s movie industry.
Journal: Revista de Filosofie Aplicata
- Issue Year: 4/2021
- Issue No: 6
- Page Range: 94-105
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English