Beware The Ogre: Shrek as Marxist Allegory
- Written by Aparajita Nair Dmonty
Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an ogre by the name Shrek (Mike Myers) whose precious solitude was abruptly shattered by an invasion of obnoxious fairy tale characters. The terrible Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) exiled them all from their kingdom. Determined to save his swamp, Shrek strikes a pact with Farquaad and sets out to rescue Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) so that she can become Farquaad's bride.
'Shrek!' by William Steig, a fairy tale picture book from 1990, serves as the inspiration for the animated comedy feature Shrek (2001). DreamWorks Animation produced the movie, and Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson shared directing duties. The central plot of Shrek is driven by playful reworkings of a traditional fairytale plot: an outcast sets out on a quest to save a damsel in distress, they fall in love, some minor conflict arises, and they ultimately live happily ever after. However, this fantastical setting of Shrek is also a commentary and a reconstruction of sorts on the vast array of political, social, and economic aspects that surround us all.
Over the upbeat music of Smash Mouth, Shrek opens with our favourite Ogre’s morning routine in his swamp. He is represented as a detestable, low-life ogre who is filthy, overweight, takes mud baths, eats eyeballs for dinner, and breaks mirrors as a result of his ugliness. His despicability is demonstrated by the numerous signs that read "Keep Out" and "Beware the Ogre!"
Shrek is essentially living at the very bottom of the societal food chain (both due to his identity and the swamp which physically isolates him) because he is a fairytale creature: an outcast in society, the society being part of a Fascist Regime under Lord Farquaad. Fairies, or as Lord Farquaad like to call them, "monsters" and "it," are the biggest threat to the "perfect society," in Lord Farquaad's eyes, and they are the bane of his existence.
The non-human fairytale proletariat in the swamp and the primarily human-like, attractive, and well-dressed bourgeoise of the city of Duloc, which is set up as a type of attraction, complete with a waiting area and ticket goal, hinting at the city's primary goal to generate revenue, become obvious as the two diametrically opposed social classes of the Shrek universe.
But it is the swamp of capitalist consumption that is Far Far Away in Duloc, styled like Beverly Hills that stands in stark contrast to the Shrek’s swamp. Wide streets lined with palm trees, lavish homes, streets bustling with stretch carriages, opulent stores like Versarchery (Versace) and Armani Armoury (Armani), and typical consumerist franchises like Burger Prince (Burger King) and Farbucks Coffee (Starbucks) can be found in Far Far Away (Evely 2005). To complete the town's consumerist aesthetic, Far Far Away is crowned with a huge, vibrantly illuminated, and animated billboard promoting the goods of the Fairy Godmother (Evely 2005).
It is Fairy Godmother here who has full control on the means of production, the political ruling class, and the dominant ideology. Additionally, the Fairy Grandmother creates and propagates the "happily ever after" social concept — a flimsy understanding of happiness that emphasises the focus on the illusion of happiness rather than a genuine, heartfelt individual one.
Shrek frequently exclaims, "Look at me, what am I? ", demonstrating his acute awareness of his place in society. “An ogre! Doesn’t that bother you?”. This understanding of the difference between the "haves" and the "have nots" that Shrek possesses is significant. Perhaps the most notable traits of these ‘have nots’ are their differences: there are fairies, mice, princesses, witches, wolves and much more. Evidently, none of them conform to the ‘normal’ humans in Duloc. Farquaad even says, “You and the rest of that fairy tale trash are poisoning my perfect world” while waterboarding Mongo, the Gingerbread Man with a glass of milk. This explains why Lord Farquaad has exiled the fairy tale creatures; their not fitting into Duloc’s clean-cut appearance renders them useless. Moreover, one scene depicts Donkey (Eddie Murphy) being sold for his magical powers by an old lady in order to make some money, thereby implying the capitalistic notion that a person’s value is determined by how much they can produce.
As the plot develops, Farquaad decides that saving Princess Fiona is important to advance his position. He sends Shrek to complete the duty for him because he does not want to do it himself. Shrek agrees to do it under the condition that the repulsive fairytale creatures that had gathered in his swamp as a result of the banishment are all removed and his swamp is returned to its dismal solitude. Despite the fact that his personal wants were what sparked the expedition in the first place, this particular component shows that Farquaad has enough power to sit back and relax while someone of lower rank risks their life on a perilous quest.
At the beginning of the movie the fairytale proletariat is blissfully unaware of its subjugation to the capitalist system and there is no solidarity between the working classes. For instance, Puss in Boots is paid by the monarch, who at the time was a bourgeoisie supporter, to assassinate Shrek and the revolutionary vanguard beside him. But among the fairytale proletariats, Donkey is one of the rare figures who strikes us as a revolutionary figure. This is seen in his conversations with Shrek, where he makes suggestions about his desire to end class distinctions, which could only be accomplished by taking a revolutionary path, a type of revolution that Marx had envisioned. Whereas Shrek who is portrayed as a large, frightening, and ferocious ogre differs from Donkey and is inclined to a more pacifist path to revolution.
However, at the end of the movie the fairy-tale proletariat unite into a revolutionary mass. Here, for instance, the working class masses are represented by the gigantic gingerbread man, who on the way to sieze the Bastille, destroys the Fairy Godmother billboard — a symbol of the capitalist system.
On the surface, Shrek appears to be a fun, hilarious story, but there may be more to it than meets the eye. The film is compared to Euripides' "The Bacchae" by Canadian artist and writer Jonathan Pageau, who also calls Shrek "one of the most illuminating films ever made for someone who wants to understand the periphery." Many practises around the world have driven minorities to the margins, much to how the creatures from fairy tales are marginalised and thrown into the swamp. Or how Donald Trump's detractors frequently compare him to Lord Farquaad because of the rather dubious measures he utilised to win the presidency.
As a result, creating a cohesive political interpretation of Shrek needs some projection and magical thinking, but it's not difficult to spot important social order concepts in the film's stew of meta-jokes and sentimality.
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