Shrek Sociological Analysis

Beauty is the eye of the beholder. Spoiler alert, this is the theme in the animated movie “Shrek” (2001) by Dreamworks Animation. The story is about an ugly Ogre who lives by himself in the woods. The townspeople are frightened by his size, smell and myths about how he eats humans. He embarks on a quest to save a beautiful princess from a far away castle, guarded by a dragon. Princess Fiona is just like the other princesses that we see in fairytales. She is white, slender, long straight hair and free of any skin blemishes. Princess Fiona symbolizes the goal for women, set by our society and culture. Her body and desire to be saved by a handsome prince in shiny armor, who rode in a on a noble steed, is what we see as an expectation for physical

He even has leg extensions for when he’s riding his horse so as to be seen as taller than he truly is.

Shrek, a movie that appeals to adults and children, takes these social norms and throws them out the window. Even though we see these social norms, the movie shows us that looks can be very deceiving. Princess Fiona tries to be all prim and proper when see first meets Shrek but Shrek doesn’t play along. Once Fiona realizes that Shrek is not the handsome Night in Shining Armor that she is expecting, there is much disappointment and shock. However, as Fiona and Shrek embark on the journey back to the town of Duloc, Fiona shows us that she is not the dainty little flower she appears to be. She burps loud on purpose and can defeat 6 guys with daggers and bow

& arrows within a minute, while she has no weapons or even clothes suitable for fighting. Fiona does not embrace all of the social norms for her gender. But she only does this because she has found someone she is comfortable around. Shrek is the same way. Men are expected to hide the emotions and feelings. They are expected to be courteous to women all the time. Shrek does