Even the creator of the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” is disavowing it.
Good. While at first it was a valid cultural criticism, for many people it drifted to refer to any female character in any film or TV show with any personality at all.
In other words, the term itself became misogynist, even though it was and still is most often used by feminists.
So I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to pop culture: I’m sorry for creating this unstoppable monster. Seven years after I typed that fateful phrase, I’d like to join Kazan and Green in calling for the death of the “Patriarchal Lie” of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope. I would welcome its erasure from public discourse.
As used currently, it basically dismisses any woman who has any shred of personality. I’ve seen it used to dismiss women in films that are less interesting and have less personality than women I know in actual, real life.
Thus it is a piece of shit and has to die.