Is the manic Pixie Dream boy problematic?

DavidByron2 · 2022-08-07T01:50:18+00:00

Well I don't think it sounds important but it's telling that, of course, feminists have the usual double standard.

Halfcocked_Jack · 2022-08-07T08:03:33+00:00

Oh, yes. In fact, I jokingly consider Titanic to be soft core snuff porn.

Vose4492 · 2022-08-07T01:12:30+00:00

When someone says “If you object to one, you should object to both,” they aren’t saying that they object to either. They are saying that anyone who is offended by the manic pixie dream girl trope but perfectly okay with the male equivalent is guilty of an unfair double standard.
That is called gender equality, where the punishment is meant to match the severity of the crime, not the genitalia of the victim and/or perpetrator. I see nothing wrong with that.

Vose4492 · 2022-08-07T01:14:49+00:00

If women are expected to be agreeable and primarily focused on a man’s happiness, and she is held to this expectation specifically because she is a woman, that is problematic. However, when a person makes a movie and features female lead who is agreeable and fun, focused on her man’s happiness and only there to support him, that does not mean that the people who made the movie believe that any woman (real or fictional) needs to be that way or that it is problematic is a woman fails to embody these attributes. If a woman embodies the positive attributes of the manic pixie dream girl because she finds that life path fulfilling, that is fine for her. If a man finds that life path fulfilling, good for him. However, neither should be expected to do that and subject to ridicule and social stigma for not being that way.
Also, when I watch that video by The Take, I cannot help but notice an unfair double standard about unfair double standards. Traditionally, men are expected to be stoic, where as if a woman cries, it is seen as normal. If you have a scene in a movie where a woman cries and the stoic man comfort her, is that reinforcing a gender based double standard? Traditionally, dresses are considered women’s clothing. Does that mean that, if ever a party scene in a movie features the male and female leads attending the party with the woman wearing a dress and the man wearing pants, it is reinforcing a double standard about who can wear what? Jack Dawson in Titanic is a manic pixie dream boy. When he found a door floating in the middle of the ocean and the door was only buoyant enough for one person to float on it, Jack let Rose float on it, thereby sacrificing his safety for the benefit of Rose. Traditionally, men are expected to sacrifice their comfort and safety for the benefit of women. On a traditional date, the man is supposed to play the subservient role, paying for dinner, pulling her chair out for her and holding the door open. This double standard is exercised on an institutional level, with men being expected to register for the draft while women are not. Couldn’t it be argued that jack sacrificing himself to save Rose contributes to the unfair double standard where men are seen as disposable?

It is almost as if those who claim to want gender equality don't actually want gender equality.

Al_Modir · 2022-08-07T13:21:31+00:00

Damn I was actually gonna post something about the Titanic and how it showed that in the past men weren’t treated so good like so many feminists claim and interesting that now this is posted. Yea that movie is so fucked up how they basically portray a working class man who is also a talented artist with a to. Of character sacrificing himself for the sake of a useless rich girl and we’re all supposed to be like awwww how romantic… like WTF? She is an outright villain who even got him arrested because she bought into the whole myth about lower class men being a threat and dangerous. Which is the whole reason most of them were lead away from the deck during the disaster and subsequently went down with the ship. She did rescue him so she has that redeeming factor but hey it was only so he could help keep her alive.

Title	Is the manic Pixie Dream boy problematic?
Author	bigelow6698
Upvotes	3
Comments	8
Date	August 7, 2022 1:11 AM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/wi3akk/is_the_manic_pixie_dream_boy_problematic/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/is-the-manic-pixie-dream-boy-problematic.1126728 https://theredarchive.com/post/1126728

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