Subverting the ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’ Trope in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Dennis Odhiambo College

The phrase Manic Pixie Dream Girl (MPDG) denoted by film critic Nathan Rabin in the 21st century refers to female characters with quirky or eccentric personalities, who serve as romantic interests for male protagonists in distress emotionally or psychologically. Manic Pixie Dream Girls are described as static characters with upbeat and girlish personalities who tend to help their depressed or distressed men without pursuing their own happiness. The trope has been common in indie romantic films that entail a male protagonist who is brooding but gets inspired to embrace life and its vast adventures by the MPDG character. However, the term has been criticized as denigrating to stock characters that are multifaceted in some films. In Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this trope is explored but subverted by the film’s self-awareness of the romanticized and overused stock character.

Gondry's film follows a disaffected couple who had erased their memories of each other but fatefully re-meet and begin the dating process again. The character Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) is initially presented as an archetypal MPDG complete with an adventurous spirit, impulsive personality, and emotionally available for his...