How are heroes/heroines and villains typically represented in contemporary animation films, paying close attention to “Shrek 2” (2004)?
In 2004, DreamWorks Animation SKG released its most successful film sequel “Shrek 2 (Dir:Andrew Adamson): The “biggest CGI movie ever, grossing £470million”,[2] and emerged to become Disney’s biggest competitor. Unlike most animated films, it challenged the normal codes and conventions expected from this genre by reversing the typical Straussian binary oppositions, making the ogre the Proppian “hero” and the fairy godmother the Proppian “villain”.
The typical representation of the heroine/hero requires s/he to be “good looking”[3] and have “youthful traits.”[4] This includes characteristics such as “big eyes and round cheeks,”[5] which are illustrated in “smooth, round, soft, bright, curves and with european features,”[6] whereas, the villain is “drawn with sharp angles, oversized, often darkly”[7] and is “often ugly”.[8] This is because the “colour, shape and size evoke certain psychological responses and attitudes towards an object.”[9]
Shrek 2 can be seen as a parody or a pastiche that uses the traditional characters from Disney films and fairy tales to subvert sterotypical roles, which can be interpreted as the “nostalgic substitute for any real expoloration of either the past or present.”[10] An example, is the role of ‘the big bad wolf’ which is challanged by showing him in a positive relationship with the Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio and Shrek as they are all friends. This again reverses the binary oppostion as he is portrayed as a hero because he is on Shrek’s side. Moreover, he is represented as typically modern in his identity disorientation. This is conveyed in the course of the film as the fairy godmother refers to him as the “gender confused wolf”[11] and when he is seen dressed in Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s clothes, there is the suggestion that he actually is a cross dresser. This has been constructed in this way to create humour for the adult contingent audience accompanying their children to the film, which is done by “mixing modern and fantasy culture.”[12]
Even though the producers of Shrek 2 represent cross dressers and the transgender bartender, the audience may perceive them as being negatively represented and there by supporting the ‘status quo’ because they are shown with all the other villains in the ‘Poison Apple.’ This suggests cross dressers and transgender people are bad characters. This supports the homophobic view as they show the villains segregated from the other people in ‘Far Far Away,’ which reflects “the shallowness of Hollywood.”[13]
However, Pinocchio is implicitly referred to as a cross dresser in a scene where he is going to save Shrek. He is asked if he is wearing womens’ underwear and because he lies his nose starts to grow. This angered many conserative groups who had complained about “the film's sexual content. However, these concerns were widely ridiculed in the media.”[14] Although, he is represented in this way he was still a likeable character this is due to him being loyal to Shrek.
In contrast, to many animated films, Shrek 2 is aimed at two audiences. The primary audience are children who gain pleasure through escapism, scopophilia and identification with the main protagonists; this is because the animation “visually stimulates their emotions.”[15] Furthermore, “psychologists suggest that children under six can not tell the difference between fantasy and reality”[16] and “children under five love repetition”[17] as it offers them “comfortable reassurance.”[18] Alternatively, the secondary audience are adults/teenagers who gain pleasure due to the nostalgia feeling, appeal of the stars/celebrities and the narrative itself. Overall, Shrek 2 is aimed at a mainstream audience and appeals to all ethnicities and ages.
The “uses and gratification” theory suggests the audience watch the film for entertainment and escapism and the fact that the sub genre is fantasy, adventure and comedy contributes to the pleasure received by the audience. Conversely, the effects theory implies “children exclusively as potential “victims” of the mass media, and (rather cruelly) allow young people no opportunity to express their critical abilities, intelligence, or free will.”[19]Additionally, the reception theory proposes the children are likely to pick up the hegemonic reading,[20] which “patronise and devalues children and young people, by assuming that they have no competencies worth considering.”[21] In contrast, they anticipate that an adult or a teenage may grasp a “negotiated reading”[22] or an “oppositional reading.”[23]
The producers of Shrek 2 rely on an active audience, who understand the jokes and the imitations of the characters from Disney films; this supports the hilarity created and strengthens the ideology of the text. The mockery of the Disney films mirrors “Disney's hostile relations with DreamWorks co-founder Katzenberg,”[24] as he was fired for asking for a promotion after one of his colleagues had passed away. A lawsuit was filed against Disney to claim the money that was owed to Katzenberg.
While, Katzenberg was working at Disney, himself and other producers made successful films such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), “Cinderella” (1950) and “Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty” (1959). However, the representations of the heroines in these previous animated films were stereotypical because they took on typical passive roles such as playing the Proppian “princess”; this resulted them in playing pretty, passive, homemakers who were subordinate to men. Moreover, the function of the princess was to perform the role of “the damsel in distress”. This is because it helps reinforce patriarchy, as the women were dependant upon the males to come and rescue them.
On the other hand, the representation of villains in these films were all women because at the time, the first wave of feminism was being introduced and this mainly focused on women getting their rights to vote. Therefore, women who were active in anyway were considered to be evil or crazy which became the assumption that became common sense to the society. This is reinforced by drawing the characters like the wicked queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the fang shape in the collar of the cloak, and the narrowed, tricky eyes to connote her evilness. The fang shape became iconic as it was repeated in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, where the villain Maleficent had “the fang shape in the horns on her head”[25] to connote her devilish personality.
Alternatively, “Lady Tremaine” from Cinderella was similarly represented to the fairy godmother from Shrek 2; seeing that both these villains did not appear scary, as they were not illustrated with “sharp angles.”[26]However, both women were represented as selfish because they were “determined to forward”[27] their own interests as well as their childrens. The fairy godmother is characterised in the complete opposite of a typical fairy godmother, seeing that she is “scheming, conniving, opportunist of a woman, who sought to get the best for herself and her son, rather than others.”[28] She clearly does not care about Fiona emotionally, as she tries to sabotage Shrek and Fiona’s marriage at every chance possible.
Fairy godmother is represented negatively as she is the most powerful woman in the film because of the wand she clings on to. The wand has connotations of a phallic object, which represents the power she holds, as she is un-castrated. Although, she has power, she is still an un-likable character for the audience, who are positioned to feel alienated towards her, which to some extent helps reinforce misogyny, as she is a female villain.
Moreover, the codes and conventions that the producers of Shrek 2 choose to repeat is representing the female antagonists with magical powers to demonstrate how they are weak, this is created to support the dominant ideology of women being inferior to a man. This encourages the audience to hate these villians and make it easier for them to conflict against them, but then again, young girls may enjoy the “strength and the power”[29] these women hold and aspire to be like them. However, according to Freud’s theory, they would also want to be like the heroine as “every child at some time wishes that s/he were a prince or a princess--and at times, in his/her unconscious, the child believes s/he is one, only temporarily degraded by circumstances.”[30]
Fiona plays an active heroine as they portray her to be “matrix-style martial expert,”[31] which is shown when the ninjas begin to attack her and Shrek, (when Shrek is caught in the trap and hanging off the tree.) This is constructed to show how “women and men have similar skills and abilities”[32] now and to indicate that society is now more post feminist. However, in the prequel “Shrek” (2001), she acts slightly more passive because she takes on the role of the “damsel in distress”. This is signified to the audience by her having “high expectations of how she is to be rescued, and who is to rescue her.”[33]
On the other hand, “Mulan is a very different type of heroine.”[34] She goes against sterotypes as she is a ethnic minority who is the main protagonist. She goes against sterotypical roles as she is an active heroine who drives the narrative forward. The producers of this text represent her as rebellious and strong because “she always speaks her mind and goes against the wishes of her family by pretending to be a soldier and going to war.”[35] The audience are encouraged to cross-gender identify with her because they see things through a female presepective. The ideologies in “Mulan”(1998) is to encourage social change as the period in the film is set in a patriachal time. However, to encourage the change she has to be sneaky, sly and untruthful to promote “girl power”. Aditionally, Mulan takes on the role of the “final girl” by “fighting back against her attacker and defeating him.”[36]
In contrast to Mulan, Fiona challenges how a typical woman should look. When she is in her ogre form, her physique is not slim and she herself states that she is “ugly”. This is conveyed in Shrek when she hides away at night so that Shrek and Donkey does not see her ogre form. Furthermore, when she is transformed into a human woman, she is represented as slim, fair and beautiful and this suggests Mulvey’s theory on the “male gaze” is valid as it helps support the hegemony of women having to be slim to remain attractive.
Moreover, the stereotype of overweight people being “jolly/happy” is reinforced because Fiona chooses to look like an ogre. Nevertheless, she subverts the typical heroine role as she is happy looking “ugly”, which again reverses the binary opposition and promotes a new more feminist ideology for the young audience, which is “real beauty comes from the inside.”[37] Furthermore, the end/resolution of the film conveys Shrek and Fiona being ogres again to promote the ideology of self-acceptance because society accepts them. Additionally, as Fiona makes the decision that they should stay as ogres and not conform to what society believes to be beautiful; shows how women are more powerful and independent as Fiona decides how she and Shrek should look like.
This message is similar to Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (1991). Seeing that, the protagonist starts off as a prince and is then turned into a beast. During the resolution, he is transformed back into the prince when he learns not to be selfish thus the spell is broken. This promotes similar ideology as Shrek 2 because Bella loves the beast for who he is and not his appearance, in the same way Fiona loves Shrek for who he is and not the way he looks.
Furthermore, Shrek is portrayed as an “ogre” to begin with and then during the middle of the narrative transforms into a good-looking man, which introduces the “female gaze” and shows how men are objectified as well in today’s contemporary western society. This is demonstrated when Shrek has to change his clothes and the female maids become excited.
“Shrek is Yiddish for monster.”[38] The film conforms and plays up to the connotations of the word “Shrek” because throughout the film he is represented as “a large, strong, peace-loving green ogre.” This challenges the stereotypes of ogres and gives the audience narcissistic identification with Shrek as they would aspire to be like him because of the way he is represented.
However, at one point in the film Shrek acts “Like an ogre!” [39] by challenging royalty, this shows him going against the norms of society and showing deviant behaviour. The way Shrek behaves can appear to be normal to the audience because the whole kingdom have predjuices attitudes against him. This can justify his actions and opinions towards them. This text is produced in this way to reflect the zeitgeist as it shows how they see royalty to be inadequate because it portrays how Americans feel about kings and queens seeing that they do not have any in the United States. This encourages them to understand Shrek and not feel horrified or shocked by his behaviour towards his royal in-laws.
On the other hand, a key scene that shows Shrek in a typical role of a hero is when he tries to break into the castle to rescue Fiona from Prince Charming. The cinematography used in the scene is a big close up of Shrek, which is then turned into a long shot. The action seen by the audience is Shrek riding on a white horse, which reinforces the traditional stereotypes of a typical hero. This is done to help the younger audience identify with Shrek, as he is the one playing the role of a hero. Moreover, the action is parallel to the off-screen sound of the song “I need a hero”, which is done to emphasise how Shrek is the hero to the young audience.
Alternatively, the villians in Shrek 2 are represented in a more comical rather than scary. The villians are seen as “the other” in Nandy’s theory, therefore they are given comedy charasterstics to make them less threatening. Moreover, “contemporary audience are much more sophiscated viewers”[40] therefore they would like to consume a text that is “fresh” and that would prevent them from getting bored. Consequently, the villians are made comical to highlight that Shrek 2 is a hybrid, which consists of comedy elements. In addition, the villians in contempoary animation have typically been a supernatural being or an animal to highlight the fantasy sub genre.
Another typical character that is subverted is the role of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 he is represented as a “weak-willed mummy's boy.”[41] In historic films such as “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, he is represented as the Proppian “hero” who saves all three of the heroines and they live “happily ever after.” However in Shrek 2 he is the Proppian false hero. The cause for the change in representation can be down to a several reasons.
Firstly, due to society changing and becoming post modern most of the conservative ideologies are rejected. Secondly, it could be perceived as another sarcastic remark about Disney films. Seeing that, Prince Charming is another version of “Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast. This suggests that the changing representations are not altered to encourage social change instead they are made to mock and have another dig at Disney. Thirdly, the familiarity of the characters and altering them slightly encourages children to watch the film and receive pleasure.
This is linked to how genre is “flexible.”[42] It uses “repertoire elements”[43] such as the theme of good vs. evil, the closed narrative of reassurance at the end of the film and the familiar characters in the animation genre. However, some of these elements used change by introducing “new elements or similar elements used in new ways.”[44] For example in Shrek 2, the style has changed as CGI is being used because of the development of technology, this development started off a new genre cycle of CGI films.
A fairly recent low budget CGI movie is “Hoodwinked”(2006), which is catogorised as a dectective style, family-comedy. It uses Altman’s theory on the producer’s game by using the same formula of what made the Shrek films successful. Examples it uses from Shrek films are having post modern elements such as making references to other films for instance “XXX”(2002) and subverting the stereotypical character roles by giving the role of the villian to Boinge. This challenges typical representations of villians, which is similar to Shrek franchise as Boinge the most cutest bunny is the “goody bandit”. The connotations and denotations correlate the villain, who appears to be “goody.” However, he is represented as a ‘baddie’ therefore making him a ‘bandit’.
Again, the role of the “big bad wolf” is switched, as in this film he is represented as sarcastic and does not take on the role of the villain. Instead plays the role of the Proppian helper, as he is a reporter trying to catch the “goody bandit.” The convention of having anthropomorphism is used by, having the frog interview the three humans and the wolf, which creates humour for the audience as they have animals as authority figures. In contrast, Shrek’s friends are all animals as he is not exactly human himself; this convention is used to help “engage audiences with the experiences of animal characters”.[45]
Furthermore, the audience are able to engage in Shrek 2 as it is classified as a classic realism text by following Todorov’s theory on narrative structure. The equilbruim is there to begin with when Shrek and Fiona are on their honeymoon. The dis-equilbruim then crops up when they receive an invitation from Fiona parents and the disequilbruim is resolved when the Shrek is accepted by the kingdom of “Far Far Away” which promotes progressive values as typically “the hero represents the truimph of what society holds to be good.”[46] However, in this case the society learns to accept Shrek. But as the audience see Shrek as a hero, the good truimphs evil ideology conforms to the “moral outcome that is typical of most hollywood films.”[47]
Finally, Shrek 2 follows the tried and tested formula by using “myths and legends which usually have the same ingredients: a hero or heroine, a baddie, a fight or a conflict and in the end, good almost always wins over evil.”[48] Though, the ways in which heroes/heroines and villains are represented have changed to some extent this is partly due to society changing. Therefore the stereotypical roles are challenged, as society is now pluralistic, post-modern and post-feminist.
To finish, the representations are carefully shaped versions of reality because what the audience see in these texts is less real then what they see in reality as it has gone through the process of mediation, which makes it a re-presentation. Therefore, the representations of heroes/heroines and villains can never be accurate because the majority of the audience believe animation is “fictive, not real: it’s just a cartoon!”[49]
Words: 3115
[1] Shrek 2 (USA, 2004) Dir: Andrew Adamson
[2] http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000220_7,00.html
[3] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York: Palgrave pg66-67
[4]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[5]ibid
[6]ibid
[7]ibid
[8] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York: Palgrave pg66-67
[9]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[10] Belton, John (1994)
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_Wolf_%28Shrek%29
[12] http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/dvds/id/930951
[13] http://www.answers.com/topic/princess-fiona
[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_Wolf#Shrek.27s_Big_Bad_Wolf
[15] http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-36853_ITM
[16] Simpson, Paul (2004): The Rough Guide to Kids' Movies. New York: Rough Guides.
[17] ibid
[18] Phillips, Patrick (1996)
[19] Gauntlett, David (2004) Media, Gender and Identity. London, Routledge. Pg30
[20] Morley, David (1980) Bennett Jacquie (2005): Revision Express Media Studies ("A" Level Revise Guides) Pearson Education Ltd. Pg89
[21] Gauntlett, David (2004) Media, Gender and Identity. London, Routledge. Pg30
[22] Morley, David (1980) Bennett Jacquie (2005): Revision Express Media Studies ("A" Level Revise Guides) Pearson Education Ltd. Pg89
[23] ibid
[24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamworks
[25] http://www.wavecrest.org.uk/wavecrest/Quest%20tease%2010.htm
[26]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Tremaine
[28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Godmother_%28Shrek%29el
[29] http://www.gwu.edu/~folktale/GERM232/sleepingb/Disney.html
[30] http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/goosegirl/notes.html
[31] Gauntlet, David (2002): Media, Gender and Identity, USA, Routledge pg75
[32] ibid
[33] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Fiona
[34] http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/Mulan/mulan3.html
[35] ibid
[36] Clover, Carol (1992): Men, Women and Chainsaws, Princeton: Princeton UP
[37] http://www.mutantreviewers.com/rshrek2.html
[38]Simpson, Paul (2004): The Rough Guide to Kids' Movies. New York. Rough Guides. Pg55
[39] Shrek 2 (USA, 2004) Dir: Andrew Adamson
[40] http://www.teachit.co.uk/ genre227 pg1
[41] http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/feature/446/Shrek+2/
[42] Maltby, Richard (1995)
[43] Neale, Steve (2000): Genre and Hollywood. Fetter Lane, London: Routledge.
[44] Wendy Earle and Roy Stafford (2001): Film genre and introduction. London, BFI
[45] Philip Alan (2005): Essential Word Dictionary. Oxfordshire, Raithby, Lawrence and Co Ltd, Leicester
[46] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York, Palgrave
[47] Tim o Sullivan, Brian Dutton and Philip Rayner (2003): Studying The Media (3rd edition), London, Arnold
[48] http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/Mulan/index.html
[49]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
In 2004, DreamWorks Animation SKG released its most successful film sequel “Shrek 2 (Dir:Andrew Adamson): The “biggest CGI movie ever, grossing £470million”,[2] and emerged to become Disney’s biggest competitor. Unlike most animated films, it challenged the normal codes and conventions expected from this genre by reversing the typical Straussian binary oppositions, making the ogre the Proppian “hero” and the fairy godmother the Proppian “villain”.
The typical representation of the heroine/hero requires s/he to be “good looking”[3] and have “youthful traits.”[4] This includes characteristics such as “big eyes and round cheeks,”[5] which are illustrated in “smooth, round, soft, bright, curves and with european features,”[6] whereas, the villain is “drawn with sharp angles, oversized, often darkly”[7] and is “often ugly”.[8] This is because the “colour, shape and size evoke certain psychological responses and attitudes towards an object.”[9]
Shrek 2 can be seen as a parody or a pastiche that uses the traditional characters from Disney films and fairy tales to subvert sterotypical roles, which can be interpreted as the “nostalgic substitute for any real expoloration of either the past or present.”[10] An example, is the role of ‘the big bad wolf’ which is challanged by showing him in a positive relationship with the Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio and Shrek as they are all friends. This again reverses the binary oppostion as he is portrayed as a hero because he is on Shrek’s side. Moreover, he is represented as typically modern in his identity disorientation. This is conveyed in the course of the film as the fairy godmother refers to him as the “gender confused wolf”[11] and when he is seen dressed in Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s clothes, there is the suggestion that he actually is a cross dresser. This has been constructed in this way to create humour for the adult contingent audience accompanying their children to the film, which is done by “mixing modern and fantasy culture.”[12]
Even though the producers of Shrek 2 represent cross dressers and the transgender bartender, the audience may perceive them as being negatively represented and there by supporting the ‘status quo’ because they are shown with all the other villains in the ‘Poison Apple.’ This suggests cross dressers and transgender people are bad characters. This supports the homophobic view as they show the villains segregated from the other people in ‘Far Far Away,’ which reflects “the shallowness of Hollywood.”[13]
However, Pinocchio is implicitly referred to as a cross dresser in a scene where he is going to save Shrek. He is asked if he is wearing womens’ underwear and because he lies his nose starts to grow. This angered many conserative groups who had complained about “the film's sexual content. However, these concerns were widely ridiculed in the media.”[14] Although, he is represented in this way he was still a likeable character this is due to him being loyal to Shrek.
In contrast, to many animated films, Shrek 2 is aimed at two audiences. The primary audience are children who gain pleasure through escapism, scopophilia and identification with the main protagonists; this is because the animation “visually stimulates their emotions.”[15] Furthermore, “psychologists suggest that children under six can not tell the difference between fantasy and reality”[16] and “children under five love repetition”[17] as it offers them “comfortable reassurance.”[18] Alternatively, the secondary audience are adults/teenagers who gain pleasure due to the nostalgia feeling, appeal of the stars/celebrities and the narrative itself. Overall, Shrek 2 is aimed at a mainstream audience and appeals to all ethnicities and ages.
The “uses and gratification” theory suggests the audience watch the film for entertainment and escapism and the fact that the sub genre is fantasy, adventure and comedy contributes to the pleasure received by the audience. Conversely, the effects theory implies “children exclusively as potential “victims” of the mass media, and (rather cruelly) allow young people no opportunity to express their critical abilities, intelligence, or free will.”[19]Additionally, the reception theory proposes the children are likely to pick up the hegemonic reading,[20] which “patronise and devalues children and young people, by assuming that they have no competencies worth considering.”[21] In contrast, they anticipate that an adult or a teenage may grasp a “negotiated reading”[22] or an “oppositional reading.”[23]
The producers of Shrek 2 rely on an active audience, who understand the jokes and the imitations of the characters from Disney films; this supports the hilarity created and strengthens the ideology of the text. The mockery of the Disney films mirrors “Disney's hostile relations with DreamWorks co-founder Katzenberg,”[24] as he was fired for asking for a promotion after one of his colleagues had passed away. A lawsuit was filed against Disney to claim the money that was owed to Katzenberg.
While, Katzenberg was working at Disney, himself and other producers made successful films such as “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937), “Cinderella” (1950) and “Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty” (1959). However, the representations of the heroines in these previous animated films were stereotypical because they took on typical passive roles such as playing the Proppian “princess”; this resulted them in playing pretty, passive, homemakers who were subordinate to men. Moreover, the function of the princess was to perform the role of “the damsel in distress”. This is because it helps reinforce patriarchy, as the women were dependant upon the males to come and rescue them.
On the other hand, the representation of villains in these films were all women because at the time, the first wave of feminism was being introduced and this mainly focused on women getting their rights to vote. Therefore, women who were active in anyway were considered to be evil or crazy which became the assumption that became common sense to the society. This is reinforced by drawing the characters like the wicked queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the fang shape in the collar of the cloak, and the narrowed, tricky eyes to connote her evilness. The fang shape became iconic as it was repeated in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty, where the villain Maleficent had “the fang shape in the horns on her head”[25] to connote her devilish personality.
Alternatively, “Lady Tremaine” from Cinderella was similarly represented to the fairy godmother from Shrek 2; seeing that both these villains did not appear scary, as they were not illustrated with “sharp angles.”[26]However, both women were represented as selfish because they were “determined to forward”[27] their own interests as well as their childrens. The fairy godmother is characterised in the complete opposite of a typical fairy godmother, seeing that she is “scheming, conniving, opportunist of a woman, who sought to get the best for herself and her son, rather than others.”[28] She clearly does not care about Fiona emotionally, as she tries to sabotage Shrek and Fiona’s marriage at every chance possible.
Fairy godmother is represented negatively as she is the most powerful woman in the film because of the wand she clings on to. The wand has connotations of a phallic object, which represents the power she holds, as she is un-castrated. Although, she has power, she is still an un-likable character for the audience, who are positioned to feel alienated towards her, which to some extent helps reinforce misogyny, as she is a female villain.
Moreover, the codes and conventions that the producers of Shrek 2 choose to repeat is representing the female antagonists with magical powers to demonstrate how they are weak, this is created to support the dominant ideology of women being inferior to a man. This encourages the audience to hate these villians and make it easier for them to conflict against them, but then again, young girls may enjoy the “strength and the power”[29] these women hold and aspire to be like them. However, according to Freud’s theory, they would also want to be like the heroine as “every child at some time wishes that s/he were a prince or a princess--and at times, in his/her unconscious, the child believes s/he is one, only temporarily degraded by circumstances.”[30]
Fiona plays an active heroine as they portray her to be “matrix-style martial expert,”[31] which is shown when the ninjas begin to attack her and Shrek, (when Shrek is caught in the trap and hanging off the tree.) This is constructed to show how “women and men have similar skills and abilities”[32] now and to indicate that society is now more post feminist. However, in the prequel “Shrek” (2001), she acts slightly more passive because she takes on the role of the “damsel in distress”. This is signified to the audience by her having “high expectations of how she is to be rescued, and who is to rescue her.”[33]
On the other hand, “Mulan is a very different type of heroine.”[34] She goes against sterotypes as she is a ethnic minority who is the main protagonist. She goes against sterotypical roles as she is an active heroine who drives the narrative forward. The producers of this text represent her as rebellious and strong because “she always speaks her mind and goes against the wishes of her family by pretending to be a soldier and going to war.”[35] The audience are encouraged to cross-gender identify with her because they see things through a female presepective. The ideologies in “Mulan”(1998) is to encourage social change as the period in the film is set in a patriachal time. However, to encourage the change she has to be sneaky, sly and untruthful to promote “girl power”. Aditionally, Mulan takes on the role of the “final girl” by “fighting back against her attacker and defeating him.”[36]
In contrast to Mulan, Fiona challenges how a typical woman should look. When she is in her ogre form, her physique is not slim and she herself states that she is “ugly”. This is conveyed in Shrek when she hides away at night so that Shrek and Donkey does not see her ogre form. Furthermore, when she is transformed into a human woman, she is represented as slim, fair and beautiful and this suggests Mulvey’s theory on the “male gaze” is valid as it helps support the hegemony of women having to be slim to remain attractive.
Moreover, the stereotype of overweight people being “jolly/happy” is reinforced because Fiona chooses to look like an ogre. Nevertheless, she subverts the typical heroine role as she is happy looking “ugly”, which again reverses the binary opposition and promotes a new more feminist ideology for the young audience, which is “real beauty comes from the inside.”[37] Furthermore, the end/resolution of the film conveys Shrek and Fiona being ogres again to promote the ideology of self-acceptance because society accepts them. Additionally, as Fiona makes the decision that they should stay as ogres and not conform to what society believes to be beautiful; shows how women are more powerful and independent as Fiona decides how she and Shrek should look like.
This message is similar to Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (1991). Seeing that, the protagonist starts off as a prince and is then turned into a beast. During the resolution, he is transformed back into the prince when he learns not to be selfish thus the spell is broken. This promotes similar ideology as Shrek 2 because Bella loves the beast for who he is and not his appearance, in the same way Fiona loves Shrek for who he is and not the way he looks.
Furthermore, Shrek is portrayed as an “ogre” to begin with and then during the middle of the narrative transforms into a good-looking man, which introduces the “female gaze” and shows how men are objectified as well in today’s contemporary western society. This is demonstrated when Shrek has to change his clothes and the female maids become excited.
“Shrek is Yiddish for monster.”[38] The film conforms and plays up to the connotations of the word “Shrek” because throughout the film he is represented as “a large, strong, peace-loving green ogre.” This challenges the stereotypes of ogres and gives the audience narcissistic identification with Shrek as they would aspire to be like him because of the way he is represented.
However, at one point in the film Shrek acts “Like an ogre!” [39] by challenging royalty, this shows him going against the norms of society and showing deviant behaviour. The way Shrek behaves can appear to be normal to the audience because the whole kingdom have predjuices attitudes against him. This can justify his actions and opinions towards them. This text is produced in this way to reflect the zeitgeist as it shows how they see royalty to be inadequate because it portrays how Americans feel about kings and queens seeing that they do not have any in the United States. This encourages them to understand Shrek and not feel horrified or shocked by his behaviour towards his royal in-laws.
On the other hand, a key scene that shows Shrek in a typical role of a hero is when he tries to break into the castle to rescue Fiona from Prince Charming. The cinematography used in the scene is a big close up of Shrek, which is then turned into a long shot. The action seen by the audience is Shrek riding on a white horse, which reinforces the traditional stereotypes of a typical hero. This is done to help the younger audience identify with Shrek, as he is the one playing the role of a hero. Moreover, the action is parallel to the off-screen sound of the song “I need a hero”, which is done to emphasise how Shrek is the hero to the young audience.
Alternatively, the villians in Shrek 2 are represented in a more comical rather than scary. The villians are seen as “the other” in Nandy’s theory, therefore they are given comedy charasterstics to make them less threatening. Moreover, “contemporary audience are much more sophiscated viewers”[40] therefore they would like to consume a text that is “fresh” and that would prevent them from getting bored. Consequently, the villians are made comical to highlight that Shrek 2 is a hybrid, which consists of comedy elements. In addition, the villians in contempoary animation have typically been a supernatural being or an animal to highlight the fantasy sub genre.
Another typical character that is subverted is the role of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 he is represented as a “weak-willed mummy's boy.”[41] In historic films such as “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, he is represented as the Proppian “hero” who saves all three of the heroines and they live “happily ever after.” However in Shrek 2 he is the Proppian false hero. The cause for the change in representation can be down to a several reasons.
Firstly, due to society changing and becoming post modern most of the conservative ideologies are rejected. Secondly, it could be perceived as another sarcastic remark about Disney films. Seeing that, Prince Charming is another version of “Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast. This suggests that the changing representations are not altered to encourage social change instead they are made to mock and have another dig at Disney. Thirdly, the familiarity of the characters and altering them slightly encourages children to watch the film and receive pleasure.
This is linked to how genre is “flexible.”[42] It uses “repertoire elements”[43] such as the theme of good vs. evil, the closed narrative of reassurance at the end of the film and the familiar characters in the animation genre. However, some of these elements used change by introducing “new elements or similar elements used in new ways.”[44] For example in Shrek 2, the style has changed as CGI is being used because of the development of technology, this development started off a new genre cycle of CGI films.
A fairly recent low budget CGI movie is “Hoodwinked”(2006), which is catogorised as a dectective style, family-comedy. It uses Altman’s theory on the producer’s game by using the same formula of what made the Shrek films successful. Examples it uses from Shrek films are having post modern elements such as making references to other films for instance “XXX”(2002) and subverting the stereotypical character roles by giving the role of the villian to Boinge. This challenges typical representations of villians, which is similar to Shrek franchise as Boinge the most cutest bunny is the “goody bandit”. The connotations and denotations correlate the villain, who appears to be “goody.” However, he is represented as a ‘baddie’ therefore making him a ‘bandit’.
Again, the role of the “big bad wolf” is switched, as in this film he is represented as sarcastic and does not take on the role of the villain. Instead plays the role of the Proppian helper, as he is a reporter trying to catch the “goody bandit.” The convention of having anthropomorphism is used by, having the frog interview the three humans and the wolf, which creates humour for the audience as they have animals as authority figures. In contrast, Shrek’s friends are all animals as he is not exactly human himself; this convention is used to help “engage audiences with the experiences of animal characters”.[45]
Furthermore, the audience are able to engage in Shrek 2 as it is classified as a classic realism text by following Todorov’s theory on narrative structure. The equilbruim is there to begin with when Shrek and Fiona are on their honeymoon. The dis-equilbruim then crops up when they receive an invitation from Fiona parents and the disequilbruim is resolved when the Shrek is accepted by the kingdom of “Far Far Away” which promotes progressive values as typically “the hero represents the truimph of what society holds to be good.”[46] However, in this case the society learns to accept Shrek. But as the audience see Shrek as a hero, the good truimphs evil ideology conforms to the “moral outcome that is typical of most hollywood films.”[47]
Finally, Shrek 2 follows the tried and tested formula by using “myths and legends which usually have the same ingredients: a hero or heroine, a baddie, a fight or a conflict and in the end, good almost always wins over evil.”[48] Though, the ways in which heroes/heroines and villains are represented have changed to some extent this is partly due to society changing. Therefore the stereotypical roles are challenged, as society is now pluralistic, post-modern and post-feminist.
To finish, the representations are carefully shaped versions of reality because what the audience see in these texts is less real then what they see in reality as it has gone through the process of mediation, which makes it a re-presentation. Therefore, the representations of heroes/heroines and villains can never be accurate because the majority of the audience believe animation is “fictive, not real: it’s just a cartoon!”[49]
Words: 3115
[1] Shrek 2 (USA, 2004) Dir: Andrew Adamson
[2] http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000220_7,00.html
[3] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York: Palgrave pg66-67
[4]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[5]ibid
[6]ibid
[7]ibid
[8] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York: Palgrave pg66-67
[9]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[10] Belton, John (1994)
[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_Wolf_%28Shrek%29
[12] http://www.jbhifionline.com.au/dvds/id/930951
[13] http://www.answers.com/topic/princess-fiona
[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_Wolf#Shrek.27s_Big_Bad_Wolf
[15] http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-36853_ITM
[16] Simpson, Paul (2004): The Rough Guide to Kids' Movies. New York: Rough Guides.
[17] ibid
[18] Phillips, Patrick (1996)
[19] Gauntlett, David (2004) Media, Gender and Identity. London, Routledge. Pg30
[20] Morley, David (1980) Bennett Jacquie (2005): Revision Express Media Studies ("A" Level Revise Guides) Pearson Education Ltd. Pg89
[21] Gauntlett, David (2004) Media, Gender and Identity. London, Routledge. Pg30
[22] Morley, David (1980) Bennett Jacquie (2005): Revision Express Media Studies ("A" Level Revise Guides) Pearson Education Ltd. Pg89
[23] ibid
[24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamworks
[25] http://www.wavecrest.org.uk/wavecrest/Quest%20tease%2010.htm
[26]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Tremaine
[28] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Godmother_%28Shrek%29el
[29] http://www.gwu.edu/~folktale/GERM232/sleepingb/Disney.html
[30] http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/goosegirl/notes.html
[31] Gauntlet, David (2002): Media, Gender and Identity, USA, Routledge pg75
[32] ibid
[33] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Fiona
[34] http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/Mulan/mulan3.html
[35] ibid
[36] Clover, Carol (1992): Men, Women and Chainsaws, Princeton: Princeton UP
[37] http://www.mutantreviewers.com/rshrek2.html
[38]Simpson, Paul (2004): The Rough Guide to Kids' Movies. New York. Rough Guides. Pg55
[39] Shrek 2 (USA, 2004) Dir: Andrew Adamson
[40] http://www.teachit.co.uk/ genre227 pg1
[41] http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/feature/446/Shrek+2/
[42] Maltby, Richard (1995)
[43] Neale, Steve (2000): Genre and Hollywood. Fetter Lane, London: Routledge.
[44] Wendy Earle and Roy Stafford (2001): Film genre and introduction. London, BFI
[45] Philip Alan (2005): Essential Word Dictionary. Oxfordshire, Raithby, Lawrence and Co Ltd, Leicester
[46] Lacey, Nick (2002): Narrative and Genre, New York, Palgrave
[47] Tim o Sullivan, Brian Dutton and Philip Rayner (2003): Studying The Media (3rd edition), London, Arnold
[48] http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/Mulan/index.html
[49]http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment