“Happier Than Ever to be Exactly What He Was”: Reflections on Shrek, Fiona and the Magic Mirrors of Commodity Culture
- 1.4k Downloads
Abstract
This article compares the models of subjectivity and identity in William Steig’s 1990 picture book Shrek! and in DreamWorks’ Shrek films. Steig presented his ogre hero as a model of the crises of subjectivity all children must face, and then reassured readers by showing how even a hideous figure such as Shrek can find resolution and be “happier than ever to be exactly what he was.” DreamWorks’ Shrek films, on the other hand, offer up models of identity based on consumption and rooted in commodity culture, tales which seek to transform their viewers into consumers and even into commodities themselves. As texts of commodity culture, the films must create, not resolve, anxiety and self-doubt. Has DreamWorks’ adaptation of Steig’s book merely replaced a self-confident ogre with an anxiety-ridden consumer? Or, can the films’ humor and absurdity, their parody of familiar commodities and corporate landscapes, and their introduction of boundary-crossing characters such as Fiona offer an alternative critique of commodity culture? This article demonstrates how the films work to uphold and reinforce commodity culture, but also examines how they might also provide moments of potential subversion and critique.
Keywords
Shrek Fairy tale films Film adaptations William Steig DreamWorks Commodity cultureReferences
- Adamson, A., Asbury, K., & Vernon, C. (Directors). (2004). Shrek 2 [DVD]. United States: PDI/DreamWorks.Google Scholar
- Adamson, A., & Jenson, V. (Directors). (2001). Shrek [DVD]. United States: PDI/DreamWorks.Google Scholar
- Appadurai, Arjun. (1986). Introduction: Commodities and the Politics of Value. In Arjun Appadurai (Ed.), The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective (pp. 3–63). Cambridge: Cambridge UP.Google Scholar
- Ayres, Brenda. (2003). The Poisonous Apple in Snow White: Disney’s Kingdom of Gender. In Brenda Ayres (Ed.), The Emperor’s Old Grove: Decolonizing Disney’s Magic Kingdom (pp. 39–50). New York: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
- Coats, Karen. (2004). Looking Glasses and Neverlands: Lacan, Desire, and Subjectivity in Children’s Literature. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.Google Scholar
- deCordova, Richard. (1994). The Mickey in Macy’s Window: Childhood, Consumerism, and Disney Animation. In Eric Smoodin (Ed.), Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom (pp. 203–213). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Katzenberg, J., Lipman, D., Warner, A., Williams, J.H. (Producers), & Adamson, A., Asbury, K., Vernon, C. (Directors). (2004). Shrek 2 [DVD]. Glenwood, CA: DreamWorks.Google Scholar
- Katzenberg, J., Williams, J.H., Warner, A. (Producers), & Adamson, A., Jenson, V. (Directors). (2001). Shrek [DVD]. Glenwood, CA: DreamWorks.Google Scholar
- LaPorte, Nicole. (2001). The Men Who Would Be King: The Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Google Scholar
- Steig, William. (1990). Shrek! New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.Google Scholar
- Wickstrom, Maurya. (1999). Commodities, Mimesis, and The Lion King: Retail Theatre for the 1990s. Theatre Journal, 51(3), 285–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Wilner, Arlene. (1990). ‘Unlocked by Love’: William Steig’s Tales of Transformation and Magic. Children’s Literature, 18, 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- Yoshimoto, Mitsuhiro. (1994). Images of Empire: Tokyo Disneyland and Japanese Cultural Imperialism. In Eric Smoodin (Ed.), Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom (pp. 181–199). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
- Zipes, Jack. (1997). Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar