Manic pixie Dream girl
i've been a manic pixie dream girl for many people in my past relationships. A lot of men and women idolize the Manic pixie dream girl, wishing they could date/be her. To be a whimsical creature who is quirky and full of life who drags her stoic but noble and patient boyfriend through adventure after begrudging adventure until she melts his conformist heart and she flits away like a glitter fun fairy, off to open another business man's conservative eyes. What a magically romantic and rewarding existence, right?
WRONG! Notice how all the plot lines in movies and tv involving the MPDG are told from the dude's perspective? That's because the girl's perspective is far less romantic, far less dreamy. Speaking from experience the MPDG typically falls in love with the wrong type. Maybe he's dark and brooding, maybe he's stoic and serious, maybe he's nerdy and shy, but all of these dudes have one thing in common: they're all wrong for the manic pixie girl. Sure they READ exciting and intellectually complicated. But more often than not brooding=angsty, serious=no sense of humor and shy=scared of EVERYTHING. In fact MOST of these guys are scared of everything, and what the movies don't show is the 2 hour long fight the MPDG endures to drag her terrified boyfriend out of his shell, night after night. In the movie, the dude eventually opens up and embraces life, but this is a long arduous process that completely exhausts the MPDG every time she wants to leave the house!
Inevitably after whatever adventure is over the boyfriend will admit he had fun, didn't die, then crawl stubbornly back in to his box, only to be pried out of his comfort zone by his girlfriend's wild antics. Worse still, if you happen to be dating the brooding or stoic type, they will often resent your forcing them out of their comfort zone, feeling made a fool of, and retaliate with verbal abuse, such as "You're so immature/embarrasing/ADD! Why can't you just be normal?"
Why do you think the guy in the movie is always alone at the end? It's not because MPDGs are such free spirits we can't be tied down. It's because we're sick of being the only source of passion and light in an otherwise lifeless partnership.
So my fellow Manic Pixie dream girls, don't be tricked by the Hollywood machine that destines you to a lifetime of unpacking someone else's emotional baggage. Let the turtles live in their shells, and go find your manic pixie boy, and endure adventure after adventure pushing each other farther than you'd ever dreamed possible.
WRONG! Notice how all the plot lines in movies and tv involving the MPDG are told from the dude's perspective? That's because the girl's perspective is far less romantic, far less dreamy. Speaking from experience the MPDG typically falls in love with the wrong type. Maybe he's dark and brooding, maybe he's stoic and serious, maybe he's nerdy and shy, but all of these dudes have one thing in common: they're all wrong for the manic pixie girl. Sure they READ exciting and intellectually complicated. But more often than not brooding=angsty, serious=no sense of humor and shy=scared of EVERYTHING. In fact MOST of these guys are scared of everything, and what the movies don't show is the 2 hour long fight the MPDG endures to drag her terrified boyfriend out of his shell, night after night. In the movie, the dude eventually opens up and embraces life, but this is a long arduous process that completely exhausts the MPDG every time she wants to leave the house!
Inevitably after whatever adventure is over the boyfriend will admit he had fun, didn't die, then crawl stubbornly back in to his box, only to be pried out of his comfort zone by his girlfriend's wild antics. Worse still, if you happen to be dating the brooding or stoic type, they will often resent your forcing them out of their comfort zone, feeling made a fool of, and retaliate with verbal abuse, such as "You're so immature/embarrasing/ADD! Why can't you just be normal?"
Why do you think the guy in the movie is always alone at the end? It's not because MPDGs are such free spirits we can't be tied down. It's because we're sick of being the only source of passion and light in an otherwise lifeless partnership.
So my fellow Manic Pixie dream girls, don't be tricked by the Hollywood machine that destines you to a lifetime of unpacking someone else's emotional baggage. Let the turtles live in their shells, and go find your manic pixie boy, and endure adventure after adventure pushing each other farther than you'd ever dreamed possible.