Every month we watch & recap a children’s movie with the Earthquakes and unpack the sneaky media tropes that reinforce bigotry, supremacy, and problematic devices.
Family Movie Night Recap
Shrek (2001)
Family Movie Night
PROBLEMATIC TROPES TO UNPACK AS A FAMILY
Welcome to the Family Movie Night Series
Unpacking Internalized Misogyny and Hypocritical Jabs At Short Folks
Shrek (2001)
Screened with R2 (age 7.5) & Q (age 10)
Watch Shrek (afflink)
Spoilers Ahead!
Ashia R:
It’s #FamilyMovieNight, and I’m gonna try to stay awake through the entire first Shrek movie!
This isn’t to knock shrek. I’m just…getting old and tired
Alison L: It’s just so sleepy out, all the time!
Ashia R: 😆
We’re discussing the ‘WANTED: OGRE’ posters inspiring the villagers to hunt him and kill him.
…And how it’s similar to the colonist bounty to kill Indigenous people for coins.
One of my partner’s good friends inherited a house from his ancestors that was given as an award to his family for killing a specific quota of Nipmuc people. This isn’t a thought exercise – it’s a real thing!
All the humans in Shrek appear to be rounding up all magical and non-human creatures.
I wonder where the cut-off is between say, talking donkeys and ogres – and just squirrels hanging out in the woods? ‘Cause the line seems…thin.
Hmm. I know this is supposed to be our ‘funny buddy origin story,’ but Donkey does not understand the meaning of ‘No.’
Shrek is being VERY CLEAR ON HIS BOUNDARIES. When Donkey finally gets it, he tries to manipulate Shrek by singing sadly.
TOXIC DONKEY! This is not how you make friends!!
Welp – It appears the roundup & segregation of creatures has resulted in Shrek’s swamp becoming filled with magical refugees. Shrek is feeling all NIMBY about it.
Oh okay this is nice. When he finds out that they were forced here, he turns immediately into problem solving mode. Instead of scapegoating and exploiting them and being a jerk, He goes STRAIGHT to the source – the dictator who forced them off their land. Doesn’t even stop to finish dinner.
Enter: Our villain, the Dictator! Oh hey, hello, Basic Evil Crip Trope paired with Little Person Evil Dictator Trope! (Lord Farquaad is your standard combo of unoriginal 90’s digs at short men with self-esteem issues.)
Movies love to do this. So many stories of Napoleonic short men who try to ‘make up’ for their body issues by being controlling assholes. I mean we could address body shaming in men and poke fun of bias against short dudes?
But nah, let’s just make jokes at their expense instead. (/sarcasm)
“Although [snow white] lives with seven other men, she’s not easy” – glad to see we’re slut shaming nice and early! (again, /sarcasm)
“I will make this princess Fiona my queen!” – Farquar
Oh, so glad you get to decide that all on your own. I mean, it’s historically accurate. But also – this plot is getting old! It’s neither funny nor shocking anymore! Retire it!
Nathan is wondering if Lord Farquad’s banners look like the Facebook logo on purpose.
::: Dubious Googling:::
Oh good. There’s a whole internet conspiracy about it.
I’m into it. Farquaad is giving Zuckerberg energy. Or vice versa.
Which came first – the megalomaniac, poorly-executed, unethical world-domination machinations of a mediocre white man profiting off generational privilege and upper class connections and resources?
Or Lord Farquaad?
Is Farquaad just a sophomoric way to call the bad guy ‘Fuckwad’?
With the jokes in this movie it seems… likely.
::: more googling:::
Oh… hey!
“The name Farquaad is thought to be a way to get away with saying “fuckwad” in a family-friendly film. Farquaad happens to be similar to the surname of film animator Mark Farquhar. Some think Farquaad was based on the 7th US President, Andrew Jackson, as he forced a group from their land (Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830).” – Dreamworks Wiki
It’s also cute that the only website Ifound that suggests Shrek includes problematic racial tropes is a bunch of white supremacists getting all riled up about Donkey calling someone a ‘cracker.’ Let’s not link it, they don’t deserve the ad views.
These same folks go on to complain about undocumented immigrants and how they ‘deserve no quarter’ and how America is a melting pot- EXCEPT for the ‘illegals’ and not respecting white folks is racist.
Ugh, ew, getting off THAT corner of the internet. Moving on.
—
Q: ::shouting at the TV::: “Why are you the only one who can rescue her, why can’t she rescue herself?”
Ashia: Awww. When he says stuff like that I feel like I won parenting.
—
Y’know – watching this movie when I was a teenager, I thought Shrek was being unnecessarily harsh to Donkey.
But honestly Donkey does not respect hints of boundaries! He really needs a friend like Shrek who can be direct and honest with him.
–
R2: “Why isn’t the dragon [in movies] ever good?”
Ashia R
(I am excited for what’s to happen next!!)
Oh right… Donkey sweet talks her with compliments. I’d have more sympathy for Donkey with a Dragon who doesn’t respect ‘no’ – but honestly I am hoping this is teaching him a lesson for him about enthusiastic consent.
The dragon was ‘good!’… I’m pretty sure. She was just protecting the princess!
—
Shrek and Donkey are describing her husband-to-be.
Movie: [Insert exhausting short jokes about Lord Fuckwad here]
Dude is an Andrew-Jackson style asshole, and THAT is his defining feature? Not the segregation, the forced removal, or the set-up for genocide?
His HEIGHT is what we’re gonna poke fun of him for? …the fuck?
For a movie pushing so hard for people to value folks and accept all bodies, they sure are making a lot of jokes at the expense of little people.
—
Oh right the Fiona fight scene!
Q: “why didn’t she free herself from the dragon if she can do all that?”
Aaand now we’re talking about why Fiona didn’t just walk out of the castle herself.
… And how she was probably raised to believe this was all supposed to play out according to gender expectations and her expected role.
I am *so excited* for the unraveling of this story and Fiona’s internalized misogyny.
And I don’t know how many times we have to explain to the Earthquakes – SHE PUT HERSELF THERE because that’s what she was raised to believe she had to do to be happy as a lady princess type.
The Earthquakes are still confused. So like – props to the movie for portraying internalized misogyny. But the message is going right over their heads.
—
I love that Shrek likes the parts of Fiona that fart and fight and are badass. But NOT in a ‘she’s not like the other girls’ way. He just likes her without putting down other women!
Good job movie! It’s not hard to celebrate our Badass Lady Lead without putting down women as a whole – but it’s rare!
—
On to the romantic conflict:
Shrek’s heart is broken because he thought Fiona called him ugly, and he’s lashing out and being mean to Donkey.
(We’re talking about how projecting & lashing out at people when you’re upset is not okay.)
Oh I like this with Donkey being like ‘you’re pushing me around and it’s not okay!’
“I guess I am just an ugly stupid ogre, I’m sorry” – like damn, Shrek – you don’t have to put yourself down during an apology. That just makes it about you!
Donkey & Shrek’s friendship isn’t perfect – but you get the sense that they make each other better people, y’know?
–
Uhh… okay that went fast (and i stayed awake!) The End.
Surprisingly – aside from the short jokes – that held up well for a 21-year-old Mike Myers movie.
How we calculate the overall awesomeness score of kids media.
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Photographs via Unsplash & Illustrations via Storyset, used with permission.