- 3 months ago
They're quirky, they're different, they're "not like other girls"... Join us as we count down our picks for the most famous fictional heroines whose defining trait is being different! Our countdown includes Bella Swan, Anastasia Steele, Kat Stratford, Summer Finn, and more! Which NLOG character do you secretly love?
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00:00Hello, Katarina. Make anyone cry today?
00:03Sadly, no. But it's only 4.30.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:09for the most famous fictional heroines whose defining trait is being different.
00:13For this list, we're zooming in on the silver screen,
00:17because, let's be real, TV FLs of this kind deserve a top ten of their own.
00:22Conundrum.
00:24I think you could, uh, maybe listen while you've heard this.
00:27Yeah, okay.
00:30Number 10. Samantha Montgomery. A Cinderella Story.
00:33We really have nothing against Sam.
00:35She's genuinely a kind, intelligent, and hard-working young lady.
00:39It is Austin Ames who's the problem.
00:41You're a nomad?
00:43Yeah, uh, I guess my cousin doesn't do a very good job at hiding who I am.
00:47No, I know exactly who you are.
00:50On the outside, he's the popular jock with the head cheerleader,
00:54Shelby Cummings, on his arm.
00:55In reality, he wants to go to Princeton and pursue a writing career.
00:59The only relationship he finds intellectually and emotionally fulfilling
01:03is with his pen pal, Sam.
01:05When they finally meet, he wants to figure out who she is,
01:08using some questionable means to do so.
01:10All right, given the choice, would you rather have a rice cake or a Big Mac?
01:13A Big Mac?
01:16What does that matter?
01:17Well, hell, I like a girl with a hearty appetite.
01:19And besides, you just eliminated about 50% of the girls in our class.
01:22So, Austin likes the cash of the conventionally attractive girlfriend,
01:26but looks down on what she might have to do to fit those standards?
01:30He's either clueless or callous.
01:32Sam can't do better.
01:34Okay, just listen.
01:35No, you listen.
01:36You turned out to be exactly who I thought you were.
01:39I never pretended to be somebody else.
01:41It's been me all along.
01:43Number 9.
01:44Frances Houseman, Dirty Dancing.
01:46You know a film suffers from poor writing
01:48when the only thing that makes the female lead stand out
01:51is her being a decent human being.
01:53You told me everyone was alike and deserved a fair break.
01:58But you meant everyone who was like you.
02:02You told me you wanted me to change the world, make it better.
02:07But you meant by becoming a lawyer or an economist
02:10and marrying someone from Harvard.
02:12Frances Baby Houseman is portrayed as the poster child of purity.
02:16She looks at the world with wide-eyed wonder,
02:18but is also socially conscious and wants to do good in the world.
02:22Are you going to major in English?
02:25No, economics of underdeveloped countries.
02:28I'm going into the Peace Corps.
02:29The privilege is undeniable,
02:31but there's nothing wrong with her noble intentions.
02:34However, almost every other female character in the film
02:37serves as a foil for Baby.
02:39Spotlighting her unwavering virtue,
02:42her compassion, which is notable only because it isn't expected,
02:46softens Johnny's edges.
02:47He's not only a terrific dancer,
02:50but somebody who's taught me
02:51that there are people willing to stand up for other people
02:54no matter what it costs them.
02:57Somebody who's taught me
02:59about the kind of person I want to be.
03:04The man is in his 20s,
03:05and only a teenager can fix him
03:07because she's different?
03:09Something's not right here.
03:11Number 8.
03:11Gracie Hart, Miss Congeniality.
03:14Look, she's going to cry again.
03:15Oh, if I only had a brain.
03:18I am somewhat less than amused.
03:21This film presents the not-like-other-girls trope,
03:24only to subvert it.
03:25Sandra Bullock plays Gracie Hart,
03:27a fearless, no-nonsense FBI agent.
03:30She grew up tough,
03:31which lent itself wonderfully to her career,
03:34but it also made her turn her nose up
03:36at things she considered girly.
03:37So, when she must enter a beauty pageant
03:40undercover to prevent a terrorist attack,
03:42it feels like enemy territory to her.
03:45Scholarship money.
03:46Chance to see the world.
03:47Broaden your horizons.
03:48Meet new people.
03:49So join the Marines.
03:50It's like feminism never even happened, you know?
03:53I think any woman to do this
03:54is catering to some misogynistic,
03:55meanderthal mentality.
03:57She rolls her eyes at her fellow contestants
03:59for being image-conscious,
04:01and, at one point,
04:02even seems to insinuate that Cheryl
04:04has an eating disorder.
04:06Once she's able to work through
04:07her internalized misogyny, though,
04:09she develops genuine friendships with the girls.
04:12We love a feminist awakening.
04:14These women are smart,
04:17terrific people who are just
04:19trying to make a difference in the world.
04:24And we've become really good friends.
04:26Number 7.
04:27Maria.
04:28West Side Story.
04:29As a doe-eyed girl in a dark world,
04:31she's one of a kind.
04:32Maria's brother leads the sharks.
04:35He's overly protective of her,
04:36so she doesn't know how ruthless the world can be.
04:39Her inexperience translates into innocence,
04:42which is what draws Tony to her.
04:43So much to believe.
04:47You're not making a joke.
04:51I have not yet learned how to joke that way.
04:55I think now I never will.
04:57Despite his association with the Jets,
04:59a rival gang,
05:00they fall in love.
05:01After all, Maria's heart is untainted
05:04by the reality of gang wars,
05:06unlike the other Jets or Shark girls.
05:18Her idealism gives Tony hope for a better life,
05:22which he so desperately strives for.
05:24Unfortunately, this hope is a fragile illusion.
05:26If Maria were more like the other girls,
05:29maybe things would have turned out differently.
05:31Hold my hand and I'll take you there somehow,
05:40someday,
05:43some...
05:45Number 6.
05:46Ramona Flowers,
05:47Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
05:48You know your hair?
05:50I know of it.
05:51It's all blue.
05:52I change my hair every week and a half to get used to it.
05:55This character is the perfect parody of the manic pixie dream girl trope.
06:00With her cool dyed hair and mysterious personality,
06:03Scott sees Ramona as an unattainable ideal.
06:06Her uniqueness jumps out at us because we're seeing her through Scott's eyes.
06:10If he knew more scene kids, then she'd fit right in.
06:13But that's a different conversation.
06:15In the film, Scott romanticizes Ramona,
06:29but soon finds out that there's great depth and complexity behind her guarded exterior.
06:34As they grow closer, he helps her heal her inner wounds.
06:38But he doesn't do it because she's not like the other girls.
06:41Their relationship pushes both of them to mature,
06:43breaking the MPDG stereotype.
06:46I should thank you though.
06:48For what?
06:51For being the nicest guy I ever dated.
06:56It's kind of sad.
07:00It is kind of sad.
07:02Number 5.
07:03Samantha, Garden State.
07:05Here we have an actual case of the manic pixie dream girl syndrome.
07:09Zach Braff, who wrote, directed, and stars in the movie, even admits to this.
07:14That is not funny.
07:15Oh come on, you gotta see that's a joke.
07:17If you can't laugh at yourself, life's gonna seem a whole lot longer than you'd like.
07:21Speaking with The Independent,
07:23he revealed that he created the character when he was living with depression
07:26and fantasized about the perfect woman rescuing him.
07:30For his character, Andrew,
07:31this perfect woman is Sam.
07:33Quirky, drop-dead gorgeous,
07:35and a compulsive liar with a passion for originality.
07:39I make a noise or I do something that no one has ever done before
07:43and then I can feel unique again,
07:45even if it's only for like a second.
07:48So no one's ever done that?
07:50No, not in this spot, no.
07:51You just witnessed a completely original moment in human history.
07:54We're going to go out on a limb
07:56and say most people are definitely not like her.
07:59She single-handedly revives Andrew's will to live,
08:02but to the audience,
08:04she remains a one-dimensional character until the end.
08:07Ow, I want to help you, you know.
08:11We need each other.
08:12I haven't even lied in like two days.
08:15Is that true?
08:17No.
08:18Every apartment Summer rented
08:24was offered at an average rate of 9.2% below market value,
08:29and her round-trip commute to work
08:31averaged 18.4 double-takes per day.
08:35This movie is the one-sided story
08:37of a glorified situationship gone wrong.
08:40Tom and Summer connect over music,
08:42and he is instantly smitten.
08:44She is spontaneous, whimsical, laid-back, and full of life.
08:48How refreshing.
08:49The fact that she doesn't believe in love
08:51makes him want to be with her even more,
08:53and perhaps change her mind.
08:54However, when she doesn't change,
08:56Tom's manic pixie dream girl fantasy
08:58starts to fray at the edges.
09:01We're just...
09:03What?
09:05We're just what?
09:08No, don't pull that with me.
09:11Don't even try to...
09:12This is not how you treat your friend.
09:15Instead of saving him,
09:16like he expected her to,
09:18Summer leaves him disenchanted.
09:20Throughout their relationship,
09:21he fails to see her perspective,
09:23and even resents her for being,
09:25well, herself.
09:26In director Mark Webb's words,
09:28Summer's a phase.
09:30Well, this phase probably made Tom
09:32swear off their NL OG type.
09:34I just kept thinking...
09:36Tom was right.
09:40No.
09:40Yeah, I did.
09:42I did.
09:51It just wasn't me that you were right about.
09:54Number three,
09:55Katarina Stratford,
09:5610 Things I Hate About You.
09:58Hey there, girly.
10:00How you doing?
10:02Sweating like a pig, actually,
10:03and yourself?
10:04Now, there's a way to get a guy's attention, huh?
10:05My mission in life.
10:09But obviously, I struck your fancy,
10:10so you see it worked.
10:11The world makes sense again.
10:13Back in the 90s and early aughts,
10:15this movie was the pinnacle of romantic comedy.
10:18Kat Stratford was the ultimate edgy cool girl.
10:21As a staunch feminist with artistic talent
10:24and a distaste for social norms,
10:26she was unbothered by popularity
10:28and high school shenanigans.
10:30Have you ever considered a new look?
10:32I mean, seriously,
10:33you could have some definite potential buried under all this hostility.
10:37I'm not hostile.
10:39I'm annoyed.
10:40Why don't you try being nice?
10:42People wouldn't know what to think.
10:44You forget I don't care what people think.
10:45We love that for her.
10:47But to make like the movie and paraphrase Shakespeare,
10:50sometimes this lady doth protest too much.
10:53She was openly disdainful of other girls
10:57who embraced traditional femininity
10:59and considered herself superior to them.
11:01She had a similar outlook towards romance,
11:04but by the end of the film,
11:05she had written a whole poem about Patrick Verona.
11:08That's when we knew she was exactly like every other girl
11:12swooning over the Aussie bad boy.
11:14No shame in that.
11:16You're sweet.
11:17and sexy
11:20and completely hot for me.
11:25Number 2.
11:26Anastasia Steele, Fifty Shades of Grey
11:28Miss Calvin?
11:35Are you alright?
11:40Christian Grey.
11:41I'm Anastasia Steele.
11:43To Christian Grey,
11:44a billionaire with an affinity for domination,
11:46Anna is a challenge.
11:48She's an unpolished and inexperienced college student
11:51who can't get through an interview
11:53without stumbling over her words.
11:55Yet, as he soon finds out,
11:57she has a strong personality
11:58and isn't the obedient type.
12:01Suspension?
12:02Hanging on ropes from the ceiling.
12:05For what possible reason?
12:07For your pleasure.
12:09Really?
12:10And mine.
12:12Something to consider.
12:14No, hard limit.
12:15The man is used to women throwing themselves at him
12:18and submitting to his whims,
12:20but Anna demands romance and meaningful connection.
12:23She's open-minded and curious about his world,
12:26but doesn't lose herself in it.
12:27He is fascinated by her defiance and independence,
12:31qualities he clearly hasn't encountered in his love life before.
12:35Most importantly,
12:36she seems genuinely interested in Grey as a person.
12:39Anna's quite ordinary,
12:40but his past experiences with women make her stand out.
12:45If you had just signed the contract,
12:46you wouldn't have to think about that.
12:47Why do you care so much about the contract, Christian?
12:49Don't you like me the way I am?
12:51Of course I do.
12:53And why are you trying to change me?
12:54Before we continue,
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13:11Number 1.
13:12Bella Swan, Twilight.
13:14This iconic heroine is infamous for her NLOG tendencies.
13:18Bella is popular without trying,
13:21prefers books over makeup,
13:23and doesn't try to impress 108-year-old vampire Edward Cullen.
13:27He's intrigued anyway because he can't read her mind.
13:31Nothing.
13:33It's very frustrating.
13:37Is there something wrong with me?
13:41See, I tell you I can read minds,
13:44and you think there's something wrong with you.
13:45Okay, we see why that might be of interest.
13:49But the other appeal she holds for him is a straight-up red flag.
13:53We've learned to control our thirst.
13:56But it's you.
13:58Your scent.
14:01It's like a drug to me.
14:03What's also questionable is how,
14:05in Edward's entire existence,
14:07she's the only person who understands and selflessly cares about him.
14:10The argument that she's mature for her age feels a bit icky, too.
14:15Truth is, Bella is like many other girls,
14:17which is why she's such a relatable character.
14:20Edward puts her on a pedestal
14:21because his perception of other girls is shallow.
14:24A centenarian should know better.
14:27How old are you?
14:30Seventeen.
14:33How long have you been seventeen?
14:39A while.
14:40Which of these NLOGs do you secretly love?
14:44Tell us in the comments.
14:45How long have you been getting married?
14:46Do you want to see
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