Berkana

Berkana

Share this post

Berkana
Berkana
The cost of being a pink butterfly
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Folklore Studio

The cost of being a pink butterfly

Deconstructing the destructive trope of Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Swarnali Mukherjee's avatar
Swarnali Mukherjee
Jul 21, 2021
∙ Paid
4

Share this post

Berkana
Berkana
The cost of being a pink butterfly
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2
Share
courtesy: rover.ebay.com

“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.”
-
Nathan Rabin

A couple of years ago when I was new in Bangalore, I made a few interesting friends. But one, in particular, was distinctively etched in my memory. She reminded me of an interesting pop culture cliche - The Manic Pixie Dream Girl. As a teenager, if you have read young adult novels or watched enough rom-com movies then you must have already encountered this trope more than just once. The term is devised by critic Nathan Rabin while analyzing the painfully sexist rendition of one particular female character from a movie. As per Rabin, Clair Colburn played by Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown was an example of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype. According to his definition this woman, "exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Swarnali Mukherjee
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More