Papers by Kasper Arildskov
This paper is in Danish!
The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) was invented by film critic Na... more This paper is in Danish!
The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) was invented by film critic Nathan Rabin to describe that shallow quirky female stock character who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors”. The MPDG stock character is excessively chipper even borderline manic, wears colorful clothes and does whatever she can to help her male counterpart. He is a brooding soulful young man going through an existential crisis or at least small depression. Her only purpose in any film is to teach him “to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures”. She is a lively character, perhaps with a tendency towards public disturbance, and her wacky ways provides a positive challenge for the introvert male.
The film Ruby Sparks (2012) deconstructs and criticizes the term MPDG. The soulful writer Calvin suffers from writer’s block but gets inspired by a girl he meets in a dream. He writes about her and suddenly she appears fully fleshed in his kitchen. The two of them are living together in a relationship and everything is going well. She puts color to his life as promised by the MPDG trope. But “the honeymoon period” ends quickly, and she becomes frustrated with Calvin, who gets mad or simply ignores her whenever she does or says anything that contradicts the way he likes to see her.
Through his male gaze he sees her as an MPDG but in reality she is a lot more wholesome person. She’s a character type described by Cammila Collar of AllMovie.com as a Manic Pixie Dream Bitch (MPDB). A character that on the surface has all the characteristics of a MPDG, but in “reality” is a multifaceted person with desires, attitudes and goals of her own. When she starts taking art classes and does not want to spend every single minute with him, he gets miserable. He grabs his typewriter with which he can change her in any way he wants, and that is exactly what he does.
Ruby Sparks uses well-known tropes, phrases and terms within the specific discourse area that is MPDGs. That makes the spectator aware of the discourse area and guides the spectator to interpret the film as a discourse concerning the trope MPDG. Calvin can be viewed as a personification of not only the male opposite to the MPDG, but also a personification of the writers, directors and the films that creates these superficial representations of females. Calvin is viewed in a very negative and unsympathetic way by Ruby, his ex-girlfriend, and the narrative in general. It is expressed through dialogue, narrative development, and camera angles. The way the film views Calvin reflects back on the people, the stock characters, and the films he personifies.
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Papers by Kasper Arildskov
The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) was invented by film critic Nathan Rabin to describe that shallow quirky female stock character who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors”. The MPDG stock character is excessively chipper even borderline manic, wears colorful clothes and does whatever she can to help her male counterpart. He is a brooding soulful young man going through an existential crisis or at least small depression. Her only purpose in any film is to teach him “to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures”. She is a lively character, perhaps with a tendency towards public disturbance, and her wacky ways provides a positive challenge for the introvert male.
The film Ruby Sparks (2012) deconstructs and criticizes the term MPDG. The soulful writer Calvin suffers from writer’s block but gets inspired by a girl he meets in a dream. He writes about her and suddenly she appears fully fleshed in his kitchen. The two of them are living together in a relationship and everything is going well. She puts color to his life as promised by the MPDG trope. But “the honeymoon period” ends quickly, and she becomes frustrated with Calvin, who gets mad or simply ignores her whenever she does or says anything that contradicts the way he likes to see her.
Through his male gaze he sees her as an MPDG but in reality she is a lot more wholesome person. She’s a character type described by Cammila Collar of AllMovie.com as a Manic Pixie Dream Bitch (MPDB). A character that on the surface has all the characteristics of a MPDG, but in “reality” is a multifaceted person with desires, attitudes and goals of her own. When she starts taking art classes and does not want to spend every single minute with him, he gets miserable. He grabs his typewriter with which he can change her in any way he wants, and that is exactly what he does.
Ruby Sparks uses well-known tropes, phrases and terms within the specific discourse area that is MPDGs. That makes the spectator aware of the discourse area and guides the spectator to interpret the film as a discourse concerning the trope MPDG. Calvin can be viewed as a personification of not only the male opposite to the MPDG, but also a personification of the writers, directors and the films that creates these superficial representations of females. Calvin is viewed in a very negative and unsympathetic way by Ruby, his ex-girlfriend, and the narrative in general. It is expressed through dialogue, narrative development, and camera angles. The way the film views Calvin reflects back on the people, the stock characters, and the films he personifies.
The term Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) was invented by film critic Nathan Rabin to describe that shallow quirky female stock character who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors”. The MPDG stock character is excessively chipper even borderline manic, wears colorful clothes and does whatever she can to help her male counterpart. He is a brooding soulful young man going through an existential crisis or at least small depression. Her only purpose in any film is to teach him “to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures”. She is a lively character, perhaps with a tendency towards public disturbance, and her wacky ways provides a positive challenge for the introvert male.
The film Ruby Sparks (2012) deconstructs and criticizes the term MPDG. The soulful writer Calvin suffers from writer’s block but gets inspired by a girl he meets in a dream. He writes about her and suddenly she appears fully fleshed in his kitchen. The two of them are living together in a relationship and everything is going well. She puts color to his life as promised by the MPDG trope. But “the honeymoon period” ends quickly, and she becomes frustrated with Calvin, who gets mad or simply ignores her whenever she does or says anything that contradicts the way he likes to see her.
Through his male gaze he sees her as an MPDG but in reality she is a lot more wholesome person. She’s a character type described by Cammila Collar of AllMovie.com as a Manic Pixie Dream Bitch (MPDB). A character that on the surface has all the characteristics of a MPDG, but in “reality” is a multifaceted person with desires, attitudes and goals of her own. When she starts taking art classes and does not want to spend every single minute with him, he gets miserable. He grabs his typewriter with which he can change her in any way he wants, and that is exactly what he does.
Ruby Sparks uses well-known tropes, phrases and terms within the specific discourse area that is MPDGs. That makes the spectator aware of the discourse area and guides the spectator to interpret the film as a discourse concerning the trope MPDG. Calvin can be viewed as a personification of not only the male opposite to the MPDG, but also a personification of the writers, directors and the films that creates these superficial representations of females. Calvin is viewed in a very negative and unsympathetic way by Ruby, his ex-girlfriend, and the narrative in general. It is expressed through dialogue, narrative development, and camera angles. The way the film views Calvin reflects back on the people, the stock characters, and the films he personifies.