The Neurodivergent Underpinnings of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl Mythology
By definition, manic pixie dream girls are atypical—anything but ordinary. They are the enemy of normality. They live their lives out loud, at a deafening volume. These magical creatures do not care who they offend or who they inspire.
The atypical nature of the Manic Pixie Dream Girls archetype has a neurological component as well. The more I explore my own late diagnosis of Autism, ADHD, and Bipolar, the more I understand the neurodivergent underpinnings of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl myth.
Autism informs both halves of the MPDG paradigm. The men in MPDG fables are often sad, lonely robot men who do not understand the world and are hopeless in social situations.
Being autistic, they’re too shy and socially awkward to actually ask girls out. That's why these sad Autistic men need Manic Pixie Dream Girls with some combination of Autism, ADHD, and Bipolar (which I like to call the Triple Crown) to pursue them romantically in the quirkiest possible way while also igniting their lost lust for life and showing them a wonderful world beyond their comprehension.
People with ADHD/Autism/Bipolar do not have as much dopamine as the neurotypical, so our lives are, on some level, an endless hunt for that next dopamine hit that will make everything seem almost okay.
Popular conceptions of neuro-divergence tend to be highly gendered. Take Elizabethtown and Garden State, for example.
Both of its protagonists are bleak robot men who have lost their lust for life and lurch about in a sad haze until they meet a magical woman who represents the other, more colorful side of neuro-divergence in entertainment.
I cannot say for certain whether Natalie Portman and Kirsten Dunst’s characters are on the spectrum or neurodivergent, but they have many of the hallmarks.
When I discussed this with my wife, she pointed out that MPDGs tend to be more extroverted and outgoing than men.
That is true, but Manic Pixie Dream Girls are frequently extroverted and outgoing in extreme, quirky, and unpredictable ways that betray both disinterest in social niceties and contempt for normality in all its forms.
In Garden State, Natalie Portman doesn’t just tell Zach Braff that he should listen to the Shins because she’s a fan and their music is good. No, she puts headphones on the Scrubs star and tells him that listening to just one of the Shins’ songs will change his life.
That is some neuro-divergence right there. I know that my Autism/Bipolar/ADHD manifests itself in being either incredibly shy and self-conscious and averse to talking or talking so quickly and intensely that it seems like I will never stop.
I alternate between those two poles because of my personality but also because I am bipolar. I can relate to both characters in the infamous Shins scene because I am autistic, and they represent forms of neuro-divergence ubiquitous in pop culture.
Part of the MPDG mythology is that Manic Pixie Dream Girls serve a specific purpose in teaching sad robot men how to embrace life and escape, even briefly, from the prison of self.
They’re college and twenty-something flings that are fondly remembered rather than permanent partners. That’s because in the real world, outside of Hollywood romantic fantasies, being neuro-divergent is hard. It’s hard for people who are neuro-divergent, but it’s also hard for parents of the neuro-divergent and partners of the neuro-divergent.
If you’re neuro-divergent, there is a very good chance that your children will also be neuro-divergent. I was only diagnosed with Autism, Bipolar, and ADHD after having two boys with Autism and ADHD.
In MPDG-based entertainment, Dream Girls on the Spectrum are great for life lessons and spiritual evolution, but they’re not the kind of girls you marry and have children with.
That’s because these sad sacks would have to not only accept but embrace neuro-divergence in all of its messiness and splendor. It’s easier and more romantic for AUDH flings to be all about talking all night, tap-dancing at funerals, and running naked in the rain rather than wrestling with debilitating mood swings and agonizing depression. It’s also easier to be romanced by a gorgeous 23-year-old in love with life than married to an Autistic woman in her seventies who has struggled for decades because life on the spectrum is a struggle. It’s a joyous struggle, but it is a lot of hard work.
Settling down with an MPDG girl on the spectrum involves the less romantic, idealized elements of neuro-divergence, of which there are many.
The reality of life on the spectrum is exceedingly difficult, so it’s understandable why pop culture prefers fantasy. It’s infinitely less depressing but also infinitely less real.
Join the movement and contribute to the Gofundme over at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-nathans-journey-to-dental-implants
Did you enjoy this article? Then consider becoming a patron here
AND you can buy my books, signed, from me, at the site’s shop here