Why The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a Toxic Depiction Of Mental Health

She is not like other girls; she is a loner, a complex woman you would not understand; she is the manic pixie dream girl. She gained popularity in the late 2000s, appearing in film, books and television as the love interest to a bland male protagonist; she is his muse and his reason for living. Film critic Nathan Rabin defines the manic pixie dream girl as a character that “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”(Rabin) She is usually conventionally attractive; a petite white female with pastel hair wears Doc Martens with her sundress while writing poetry. However, what makes her so problematic is that she romanticizes mental health.

The archetype of the manic pixie dream girl is a shortcut to creating complex, multilayered female characters without developing her character. This trope primarily plays off the unhappiness and insecurities of young women who are often in their late teens to early twenties. Her depression, anxieties and obsessive-compulsive behaviours are often illustrated as sexy, mysterious and even quirky. Any erratic behaviours exhibited by the manic pixie dream girl get dismissed because she is attractive and virtually everything the male protagonist wants. She is not seen as a mentally ill character that needs support; she can remedy any issue she faces with love from the one and only man who possesses the ability to understand her. So, if depression is considered sexy and desirable, what is the message being projected to young, impressionable women? Her mental health depiction is not accurate, even if the character herself mentions having an illness. Mental illness is never mentioned but implied in some adaptations of the M.P.D.G. She will have symptoms of a disorder (often depression), but the portrayal will seem unrealistic. Most women who suffer from depression will experience flections in weight, sleep loss, pessimism and a sense of helplessness. (Smith, Robinson, Jaffe) However, the manic pixie dream girl will never gain weight. She will remain slim regardless of her overeating and lack of self-care. Her self-hatred will be deemed admirable because she is not self-absorbed (you know, like those other girls).

Although the trope is widely considered a cheap cop-out executed by lazy writers, many examples of the manic pixie dream girl in modern media exist. In recent years, the most infamous case (or at least in my personal opinion) of the M.P.D.G is Lilly Collins in the NetFlix original movie To The Bone. Collins portrays a young woman called Ellen suffering from anorexia nervosa. Her image is shocking not because of the illness but because, visually, she is the most aesthetically pleasing person on screen. Her ribs are almost popping out of her skin, and the dark, sunken doe eyes are practically a work of art. She is the brooding artist with a past (but not to worry, her male companion, who she once meant, will help her through years of complex food anxieties). She is captivating. However, the longer we watch her, her image becomes uncomfortable because young girls and women (and even men) view this sickness as appealing and sexy. If you look up “thinspiration,” Collins’s character is one of the first images to appear in the image search.

So, how do we kill the manic pixie dream girl trope? The answer is simple; write accurate depictions of women with mental health issues. It is essential to deconstruct the idea that mental health is an accessory or a “mood.” Romantic relationships do not cure anxiety. Telling someone they are beautiful will not diminish depression and eating disorder is a sickness, not an aesthetic. The reality of suffering is not beautiful; it can not be fixed with vodka and flower crown, but seeking help and recognizing that you are not okay is true empowerment, which should be celebrated.

Citations

Rabin, Nathan. “The Bataan Death March of Whimsy Case File #1: Elizabethtown.” Film, Film, 23 Aug. 2017, film.avclub.com/the-Bataan-death-march-of-whimsy-case-file-1-Elizabeth-1798210595.

Smith, Melinda, Robinson, Lawrence, Jaffe, Jaelline. “Depression in Women.” HelpGuide.org, 16 Feb. 2020, www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/depression-in-women.htm.