The Ogre…oh the horror! No, in this trilogy everything is not as it seem. Shrek is not only an entertaining set of movies for all ages, but it also holds an abundance of societal beliefs that explain the rich liberal society we live in today.
Throughout the movies, the common theme is that love holds importance above all else. In the first movie, Shrek is given the option of fighting for his love or simply accepting his land and living in peace, however he chooses to risk his life to save Fiona. This is a reoccurring theme in many fairy tales and stories, that love is a value held dearly and more important than even our lives at times. An alien could even say that we Earthlings revere or honor the love in our life. (But then again, why would an Alien watch Shrek?)
Shrek, throughout the movies, plays the part of a rough ogre who only wishes for peace. This goes to prove the common misconception that ogres are aggressive, which represents that stereotypes do not apply to everyone. Shrek’s difficulties could be applied to the stereotypical racism of African Americans or Latinos.
In the movies, Shrek and Fiona find true love, as well as donkey and dragon. Each person is from a radically different species, which in life is supposed to represent nationality or ethnicity. Shrek and Fiona are looked down upon by the King and Queen at first, and have to face both dissatisfaction and rejection before Shrek proves himself worthy of being Fiona’s husband.
Yet, even though some of the notions are deemed ridiculous by society’s perspective, for example the wedding of donkey and a dragon, which not associated with something so different as a donkey, they still get married showing that no cultural or ethnical obstacles can truly stop you from fulfilling your dreams and uniting true love.
Unfortunately, at times the ethnic divide that Fairfield County has cannot relate to this cooperation due to the many conflicts that occur because of the mixing of the so many different cultures Fairfield has. At other times, Fairfield County is the perfect blend of races in a kind of melting pot of cultures (Original, I know)
Fiona, a woman of great beauty, has two sides to her that represent that beauty is only skin deep. While during the day she’s a beautiful princess, at night she’s an ogress that is associated with disgust or unattractiveness. Shrek falls in love with her while she’s a woman and even though Fiona’s other bachelor turn away from her after seeing her transformation, Shrek does not. (Surprisingly of course) Shrek’s love does not disappear, supporting that beauty is something much more than what lies before our eyes.
Throughout the films, the idea of female empowerment and independence is shown both by Fiona’s strength as well as her mothers. In the third movie, the princesses are all gathered and held captive while Shrek is in trouble. To save him, they decide to depend on their own power, showing great strength in a time of need and taking up arms against the soldiers holding them captive. This is meant as a message encouraging female power and success, a value that Americans and people within our society uphold with much vigor.
Almost as if made to be analyzed, Shrek provides ironic moments left and right, disproving old and less liberal societal notions and supporting not only self-reliance, but also the right to be our own person. Of all the rights embedded within our society, this is the strongest ideal that we should all keep close.
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