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Essay / Gender roles in the film "Shrek"
Table of contentsMovie summaryGender rolesConclusionWorks cited:Gender roles are the set of social norms that dictate different behaviors generally considered by people to be appropriate, acceptable, or desirable function of the reality or perception of sexuality. The notion of gender roles is largely evidenced by the presence of masculinity and femininity in society (Lindsey and Christy 10). Some traits of gender roles are similar across cultures. Gender roles are also considered to be dictated by biological aspects. The World Health Organization defines gender roles as “the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.” However, gender roles have also been portrayed in literature and films. “Shrek” is an animated film that showcases gender representation through its characters who exhibit altered gender roles. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayMovie SummaryThe movie “Shrek” is an American animated fantasy film written by Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Roger Schulman and Joe Stillman. on April 22, 2001. The film involves both human and animal characters and can be viewed by both adults and children (Elliot, Stillman, Schulman and Rossio). Shrek is a green ogre whose swamp has been filled with all types of fairy tale creatures created by Lord Farquaad who aims to become king. Shrek moves in with Noisy Donkey in an attempt to persuade Lord Farquaad to re-enter the swamp with Shrek. To get Farquaad to grant his request to Shrek, they make a deal to first save the lovely Princess Fiona. Princess Fiona is to be married to Prince Charming who is in a tower guarded by fire-breathing Dragon. When he returns with Princess, the ugly ogre falls in love with her despite his hidden secret. Gender Roles The setting, style, and characters of Shrek resisted gender stereotypes that require women to be beautiful and ladylike to live like a princess and for men to be rich. and princes charming. Shrek is a huge, disgusting green ogre who falls in love with a beautiful princess. Later, the beautiful princess turns into a mean and ugly ogre. Basically the traditional fairy tale in which the beautiful princess is saved by the prince and falls in love is what happens in the film, but with a twist. The traditional fairy tale retains the criteria that describe the "brave knights" who save the queen to become handsome and rich princes. Fiona, the princess, is shocked to see an ogre instead of a “brave knight” when she says, “All this is wrong; You weren’t supposed to be an ogre.” An ogre is traditionally scary and horrible. However, Shrek is a nice guy who gets along well with the princess later in the plot. The usual beautiful princess later turns into an ogre too different from normal, which rightly tells that they lived happily ever after. In other fairy tales, women and princesses are normally weak characters who wait for stronger men to save them. In Shrek, Princess Fiona is a very strong-willed and fierce woman with her dragon lady. She fights an army of men in the forest with great dismay to them as they could not have expected this. Her dragon had also killed many knights who came to look for her. He also fought fiercely against Lord Farquaad's guards at the wedding. The characters of “Shrek”.