7/29/2019 Shrek: 'The Unexpected' as the Real

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Shrek: The unexpected as the Real

We always encounter the very opposite of what we expect. It is very natural that in the popular

cartoon- animated movie Shriek (2001) the unexpected becomes the Real (impossible toimagine). Princess Fiona was expecting her handsome Lord to come and rescue her from the

tallest tower, and Shriek was wanting a peaceful existence in his swamp which he supposed to

materialize with the deed from Lord Farquaad after rescuing Fiona. The price he had to pay forhis freedom is based on a woman who is imprisoned in a dragon guarded tower and pre-programmed to be free (once she is free, Shriek is destined to fall or entrapped). But what

happens to his pre-supposition? His presupposed peace was deeply disturbed by a donkey who is

a real chatterbox as introduced by his owner to the soldier at the time when he was sold to thefairy tale creatures cart. The donkey was supposed to talk at the exchange market but it did not.

But unexpectedly he started talking after lantern fell on his head. The soldier did not expect the

donkey to talk assuming that it was a trick on him. Then he realized that he not only flies but

actually talks.

The donkey sings chats and interrupts Shriek when he is in need of tranquility but only through

that disturbance, he starts the catharsis about his disappointment about the world and his being asan ogre. He wanted everyone to be away from his swamp but we find eventually all the fairy

tale creatures trafficked into his territory. Though he wanted to be lonely he happened to go to

the public several times to get his swamp back and later to rescue Fiona (and finally to become a

Prince!). He finally undertook the task of rescuing Fiona as compensation of his peace but thatact itself stole his peace in life. If you can remember the scene, when he brings a sunflower to

offer her (just before he overheard Fionas chat with donkey), he says that I am in trouble. This

means that he is no more than a fallen victim of desire.

Lord Farquaad was expecting a beautiful princess to give his kiss so that he can become the King

but Fiona metamorphosed into an ugly fatty woman after sunset (the truth about Fiona was about

to be revealed by the magic mirror but Farquaad was not ready to listen to the truth at that time.The negligence is, in this case, preprogrammed (like the canned laughter in the audience) in us

by making us blind in the venture of seeking our fantasy.

Fiona was confronted with a bitter truth that her rescuer is an ogre in a helmet (the identity is

hidden to be revealed here). But the long journey from the tower to the palace is set in order to

give them time to digest the hard truth about each other. Shriek says that she is different to whathe thought her to be and she says that one should not judge things by appearance. We now

come across a woman who changed from a princess to an ordinary woman who is even ready to

live with an ogre. This is something that Shriek never expected. What makes this match possible

is the hidden fact that Fiona too becomes ugly after sunset. This means that both beauty andugliness are mutually existing in us and the meeting point in both beauty and ugliness is possibly

pre-programmed in us to be discovered at the right time.

The entire movie deals with the possible meeting points of the very opposite of our desire to the

other. The extremes ends are dissolved and evaporated in the relationships in the movie and eachcharacter (except Lord Farquaad whose motive is more than a human relationship) finds some

union amidst chaos. Therefore, though we do not live in a fairy tale world, it is logical that the

movie is structured as a fairy tale.