The Diary of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl

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Date

2014-09-02

Authors

Turk, Jenna

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Publisher

University of Guelph

Abstract

This thesis is a hybrid novel that gives voice to the character of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a term coined by film critic, Nathan Rabin, in 2007. It refers to a female stock character often found in male coming-of-age stories that exist solely to help the male protagonist ‘find himself’ by showing him how to embrace life through adventure. She is always cast as quirky and cute, often quite girlish, lacking any true depth of character and is, of course, the romantic interest. Examples of this would be Kirsten’s Dunst’s character in Elizabethtown (2005) or Natalie Portman’s character in Garden State (2004)--or most of the characters that Zooey Deschanel plays. The Diary of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl follows one young woman's journey of playing the role to find herself.

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Keywords

Film, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Female Archetype, Hybrid Novel

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