posted by Liz
Call me the Girl-Who-Thinks-She-Sees-The-Insecure-Boy-Behind-The-Man-That-No-One-Else-Sees. I'm the Natalie Portman in Garden State; I'm the Kirsten Dunst in Elizabethtown. I hate this melodramatic role.
- Liz, from the blogpost "About a Boy" (11/10/2009)
Caitie said...
Well, from your film comparisons, I would say you are the "manic pixie dream girl." And as the originator of the phrase says, "she 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." So, really it's pretty selfish and male chauvinistic. But the way I like to interpret it in my head is that the MPDG is actually the primary subject and the one that can be happy on her own in the end. And it's not that she doesn't necessarily exist, just that she can't live up to the dream the boy has created out of his own need to live out the hipster, indie fantasy he has of himself and his sad life.
wow, that made no sense. sorry to add to the confusion.
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L said...
Caitie, you're amazing.
For the record, I hate both Garden State and Elizabethtown. These films portray woman not as an extention of the male protagonist's humanity, but rather as foils to the man's supposed depth. These women are flighty and shallow; they're Diane Keaton re-incarnate, re-packaged for a new generation.
I sneeringly compared myself to these 2-Dimensional characters simply because I recognize the unfairness of the role, a role I feel I've been cornered into. Guys love playing the Zach Braff card.
For the record, I hate Zach Braff, too.
Love it! I, myself, also hate the idea of the way those girls are portrayed, and usually the guys in those movies. I associate myself with them in the way I have reimagined the character, so in comparing you and I to them, it's not the obnoxious fictional girl, but a girl with the quirky traits that actually has substance, unlike the characters.
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