A discussion of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl character between Brian Zitzelman and 500 days of summer director Mark Webb
BZ [Brian Zitzelman]: It’s a type of person that exists.
MW [Marc Webb]: Well, it exists and it’s also part of literature that has always existed. What was Beatrice to Dante? You know what I mean? Eve was that to Adam. It’s just part of what she represents and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We are often beguiled by creatures that we endow with powers that aren’t real. You expect this girl to be the answer to everything and its not really the case.
BZ: I don’t know if that was intentional or not, but it sort of subverts the notion of her being that.
MW: You’re exactly right. There is a consequence to that. In a lot of movies they use that type but endorse that pair. The reality is that when you get involved in a situation like that you get f*cking kicked to the curb. It’s a misappropriation. You’re not seeing the reality of that person. That is one of the codes of the movie. He falls in love not with her but the idea of her.
Other examples of Manic Pixie Dream Girl characters: Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Daisy from the Great Gatsby
