Satire can be found in the popular
parody Shrek. Shrek is a movie, made by DreamWorks Productions which follows
the ugly ogre Shrek in a parody of your basic fairytales. Shrek not intending
on finding love finds love with the Princess Fiona who holds a deep dark
secret. She is also an ogre too. Shrek critiques your basic fairytale. How?
Well think about it. Would you think of an ugly, green ogre finding love? No,
the typical person wouldn’t. The movie Shrek perfectly satirizes a fairytale.
Fairytales aren’t all rainbows in butterflies; which the movie Shrek captures.
Not only is Shrek a great example of satire, but it is also a fantastic movie
to watch.
Shrek parodies the typical
fairytale. I think that most people can see that within the first scenes of the
movie when the first line of the movie states, “In a land far, far away…” As
stated by my English teacher Mrs. Skotnicki, Shrek is satirized when Fiona
marries Shrek. Why? Well, Shrek is an ogre and Fiona. It’s not your typical
married couple. This satirizes the typical Prince figure that always gets the
princess in regular fairytales. It makes fun of the typical fairytale ending,
when Fiona then turns into an ogre after the two are married. The twist of the
couple both being ogres in the end mocks the beauty of typical fairytale
couples. Beauty is skin deep, shown in Shrek.
Said by Mrs. Skotnicki, Lord
Farquaad is also satirized in Shrek. Lord Farquaad is the Prince Charming figure
who is supposed to marry Fiona in the movie. However, instead of being the good
looking prince, present in most common fairytales, Lord Farquaad is a short,
ugly, very conceited “prince”. He’s not the typical tall, dark, and handsome
prince, that’s for sure. Shrek, the ogre could defeat Lord Farquaad in a duel. However,
it is also satirized in that matter as well because normally, the prince could
defeat the monster in a normal fairytale. Lord Farquaad is the mockery of a
typical fairytale prince.
From personally watching the movie,
I also came up with a good example of satire. Think about it, does an ogre or a
monster in a fairytale ever save the princess from danger, or in this case a
tower? NO. In a typical fairytale you see the handsome prince capture and save
the princess, and save her from trouble. Shrek, being the ogre is not a likely
candidate to be saving the princess. It’s not an ogre’s typical job. This
common fairytale scenario is not usually performed by an ogre. Fiona was
successfully saved from the tallest room of the tallest tower, by an ogre.
Funny, right? Satire has its ways of causing a good humorous moment.
Shrek satirizes a typical fairytale,
with its own twists and humorous moments all in between. If you’ve ever seen
Shrek, you’d know that it’s its very own satirical version of many of the
portrayed Disney fairytales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs, and many other story book fairytales as well. Watch Shrek,
and let the satire take over.
