Zooey Deschanel criticises “manic pixie dream girl” trope: “Think deeper”
nme.comZooey Deschanel has criticised the “manic pixie dream girl” trope often portrayed in films and TV, describing it as “one-dimensional”.The New Girl actress, who often finds herself playing goofy but loveable characters, hit out at the stereotype in a recent interview with The Guardian.“I don’t feel it’s accurate.
I’m not a girl. I’m a woman,” Deschanel said in response to a fan-submitted question. “It doesn’t hurt my feelings, but it’s a way of making a woman one-dimensional and I’m not one-dimensional.”She continued: “I think the tendency is still to make women one-dimensional, so you have to add dimension, if you can.
The more screen time a female character gets, the more space there is to show complexities, but there has been a shift, so I’m optimistic.”Deschanel went on to discuss the 2009 romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom, a deflated greeting card writer who tries to convince his co-worker Summer (Deschanel) to be with him.
The actress addressed how her character is often seen as the “villain” by fans, despite Tom being the more problematic of the two.“I got that take from day one,” Deschanel she said in response to audiences viewing Summer as uncaring. “It’s a very emotional response.
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