When I think of Shrek, the word I can most associate with it is ‘topsy turvy’. Think about it. ‘Prince Charming’ and ‘Fairy God Mother’ are the villains. The Kingdom of’ Far Far Away’-the utopian land of our imagination- is far from perfect. The ugly Ogre is our hero. And all the times he gets a chance to either get a beautiful wife or turn beautiful, he chooses not to. Sleeping beauty and the likes who are vulnerable and beautiful are made fun of for how unbelievably dumb they are.The tale is about accepting your ugly self. Finding true love is all about finding someone who can love you for what you really are.And yet, it is very much a fairy tale in structure and thought. An underdog’s story, of good winning over the evil, leaving you with hope that you will be accepted for who you are. Every fairy tale is supposed to represent the dreams and fantasies of a generation and Shrek does that only too well. Only the codes change. Today’s codes of aspiration are not flawless beauty, physical strength or vulnerability. Or lets say that's getting passe. Today’s codes of aspiration move towards acceptance. We don’t need Prince charming to rescue us from demons, because we are not weak or vulnerable anymore. But won’t it be a perfect if we met someone who loved us with all our ugly secrets and imperfections? Someone who could save us the trouble of having to wear the masks that don’t represent who we are anymore.
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