A lot of books really do have political commentary. Part of academia is exploring what the underlying sentiments behind a given work and understanding what it means. A lot of the times, these may be explicit, but more often than not they will be more hidden. Just gotta know what to look for or how to draw the necessary parallels.
@Categórico That's what's great about literary theory and criticism. Any interpretation can be valid -- even if there isn't a deeper meaning. While sure, there are critics and academics that create their own meaning, there are just as many people who may not see such things. Thing is ya gotta come to your own conclusions. Depending on who you talk to, there is no one way to look at a book. And of course, there are still people, as you suggest, who will try their hardest to force meaning where there may not be any at all -- which can be valid just as well if it's done right.
This is slander against Fiona, who is in fact, a class traitor to the bourgeoisie- The length of the film shows her growing disillusionment with the very system that upholds her privilege. At her introduction, Fiona is posh and abides by the same anti-fairytale-creature stereotypes as the peasantry and Lord Farquad. However, her time around Shrek (a politically moderate member of the working class and marginalized fairytale creature) and Donkey (a fairytale revolutionary) helps her to gradually unlearn the propaganda that has been fed to her since birth. However, cultural programming runs deep, and this is why we see Fiona attempt to return to her life of wealth and means by marrying Lord Farquaad. -She is under great social pressure to maintain the system she's been raised in and benefits from. She is afraid to lose her status and become marginalized herself, as symbolized by her self loathing regarding her transformations into being an ogre. The end of the wedding scene marks a turning point for Fiona, wherein she realizes the capitalist system is foregone and finally embraces Shrek and the revolution wholeheartedly, giving up her life of privilege in the process (better late than never.) The movie, being set in a feudal society rather than a modern one, merely uses Farquaad (a singular leader) as a metaphorical embodiment of all the rigid systems of oppression that uphold the social order. Revolution therefore DOES occur by the death of Lord Farquaad- we are meant to infer this revolution leads to genuine regime change by the fact that Lord Farquad has no heir (as established earlier in the film when explaining his bachelor status) and by the smash musical number at the end of the film showing the fairytale creatures (the most marginalized members of society) living harmoniously together and delighting in their liberation. So, within the narrative context of the film, a revolution genuinely does take place and the oppressor is overthrown. And it is worth noting that Fiona, although bourgeois (i.e. in the metaphor of the film: an aristocrat), is one of the elements required for the success of the revolution. It is her peril that galvanizes the otherwise passive and non revolutionary Shrek to action. This is much like in real life, wherein many isolated or disenfranchised members of the working class do not have the means to champion their cause until the mainstream public (including white collar workers & other members of society with more resources and prestige) gets on board. One of the many messages of the film is that for a swift and successful revolution with minimal casualties, it is not simply the role of the workers to rise up- it is also necessary that members of the elite and petty bourgeoisie act as class traitors and willingly choose to step down. Fiona's favorable treatment after the revolution and her acceptance by the working classes as one of their own is an invitation for people of means in our own society to recognize their comparative privileges, question the system, and be unafraid to join the revolution themselves. Her role in the narrative assures the rich and petty bourgeois that they can renounce their wealth and be treated as true members of the movement, collectively working to build a brighter and more equitable future. -A future where they too can be happy and live in camaraderie beside the common people. [[At present, I ignore the political allegories of the other films in the Shrek cinematic universe and instead treat the original "Shrek" as a standalone work of art.]]
Nay, in Shrek 2 we actually see that Shrek has been recruited by Fiona through faux solidarity. She is truly the social democrat, giving superficial solitions that dont ammend systemic issues. There is on an even larger scale in Shrek 2 police violence, corruption and inequality. While upholding racist attitudes conseqential towards their own family Fiona's parents induct him as an honorary aryan of sorts, for him to discover that through the fairy godmother the very ruler of Fiona's native kingdom is engaging in terror to uphold the social caste at the expense of people's freedom and happyness. In the end is no class traitor by the end of Shrek 2, just selective induction of tokens into the privelaged class.
@@coldpizzaslut Veganism is a moral stance. They justify violence differently and one could easily argue they do so in a more logically consistent way than omnivores. Nobody would contort a belief in human rights with pacifism, however, and that same logic extends to vegans. Their ultimate value for sentient life implies little regarding how pacifistic they may be.
I love this. The only thing I might dispute is that Fiona doesn’t represent the bourgeois pretending to be proletariat, but the other way around. She is an ogre but diguises this fact to be a member of the bourgeoisie so she is a class traitor. However, by the end she becomes a class traitor again but against the bourgeoisie this time.
Thank you!!! It's so weird how he treats Shrek and Donkey as characters that represent certain ideas, but treats Fiona as a pure representation of an idea instead of an actual character with thoughts, goals, and feelings
This view makes little sense as if this were the case Fiona would gravitate of Shrek immediately both in attraction/values. No, she went through character development suggesting the opposite relationship.
--the spectre of Communism. All the powers of old Far Far Away have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Queen Lillian and King Harold, Lord Farquad and Fiona, Fairytale Radicals and royal Dulocian guards.
This sounds like a HS civics or Political Science 101 project and she just used her favorite movie. To be clear, I myself am a socialist but the only hidden meaning behind Shrek was making fun of all the Disney cliches. lol
@David Kelly It may or may not be someone's school project, but regardless, I think you're missing the point of an analysis like this. The idea isn't to claim that the creators of the film literally had this messaging in mind, but rather that certain themes emerge out of the collective unconscious of writers of the text because of the material and ideological conditions in which they live. In this sort of socio-psycho anthropology the text (the film) becomes as if a dream state for society as a whole. Writers who develop this style include Althusser and contemporary philosophy/pop personality Zizek. For reference: th-cam.com/video/XTFR4W8qLlQ/w-d-xo.html
Mike Myers literally chose a Scottish accent because he saw the whole story as one of British-style class-based oppression. Not a joke, he actually did this.
This needs a feminist update though. Wasn't Fiona held against her will within the nobility, instead representing how women are oppressed in their relegation to being tools for property management. Upon hearing Shrek and Donkey, Fiona doesn't employ a new guise, but recognizes that her "curse" is actually hidden liberatory potential. The marriage of Shrek and Fiona demonstrates the possibility for an alliance between those whose labor may not be alienated from them, but are nonetheless oppressed by the societal coding enforced by capitalist exchange. Henceforth, Fiona's transformation into an ogre is emblematic of the shedding of the intelligentsia/bourgeois/petit-bourgeois ideology that enforces some of the social coding that is responsible for the mistreatment of fairy folk. This interpretation could lead to the possibility of a further unified revolutionary class not limited by productive relations, but by the newfound liberatory space opened up by the alliance formed in Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and the Dragon's companionship. An Anarcho-Communist insurrection is the result of these efforts. (See Shrek 2)
I was thinking on how Fiona, with her progressive transformation from an elegant high-class lady into someone with a personality more similar to Shrek's (which concludes with her finally becoming an ogre), represents overall how women adapt to their counterpart's canons. Fiona became a "Cool Girl", just like Amy Dunne in "Gone Girl"
PJ Meacham What ''lol'' if u dont believe me - reasearch it and ull find out,the feminism is cultural marxism created by powerful people in order to get more powerful and control the masses
I think a more accurate description of Fiona is that of a member of the Petit Bourgeosie, in that she straddles the lines between proletariat and bourgeoisie throughout the film. Though she benefits from the world of Duloc (being a princess herself), her status as an Ogre once night falls aligns her more with Shrek, representative of the proletariat. She despises this side of herself in the same way the Petit Bourgeoisie loathe that they can't simply live off of owning the means of production like the Bourgeoisie can, and thus she desires to marry Lord Farquad to shed her status as Ogre and Proletariat, effectively selling herself as a commodity as are all wives under the bourgeois institution of marriage. That Fiona becomes an Ogre like Shrek at the end of the film, however, is a testament to the ultimate proletarianization of the petit bourgeoisie, that they will eventually be put out of business by larger and larger capitalists and align themselves with the class struggle.
This is a brilliant analysis bro wtf that made the "questions" I had listening to the argument presented in the video way more clear. Fiona has adopted a petit bourgeois mindset from her position straddling that line between proletariat and bourgeoisie and as a result of false consciousness aligns herself closer to the bourgeoisie in the misguided hope that she will one day join them. But her interests truly lie with the proletariat for even the petit bourgeois are a victim of the largest capitalists in the system. Fionas transformation from princess to ogre represents her gaining class consciousness and aligning herself with the proletariat in the name of the class struggle. I thought this video was gonna be satire or something but this analysis honestly kinda makes sense. Did not expect to be thinking this hard about the story of the first Shrek movie ever in my life
You put unnecessary blame on Fiona. In my view she ends up rejecting her class because she ends up identifying with shrek more than the establishment. She was never really apart of the oppression that Farquat was perpetrating. And in my view, there is reason for a happy ending because the Tyrannical dictator was overthrown. Of course it is important to remember that revolutionaries can become dictators as well(like Stalin) Interesting video though!
If you look at it at the human level. She was locked in a castle guarded by a dragon most of her life. Anyone would marry Farquad to get out of that. I think most people wouldn't think of her as the typical princess and feel sorry that she was essentially a prisoner in isolation for years. I'm surprised she didn't lose it.
To me Fiona doesn't represent the elite. She was locked away in a castle, herself persecuted. She literally knows what it is like to be an ogre, she's not "pretending" to be like the proletariat. She was only marrying Farquad(sp?) out of the hurt caused by thinking that Shrek rejected her. She had very few options in this film. A lot of other points are very insightful, but I don't think her portrayal is accurate here.
@@israelcrane6424 She's been locked in a castle up until Shrek comes, I don't think she is very aware of what is going on in the kingdom. And we don't see Shrek give her very much info on the matter either.
Fiona as a character can be seen as a strong representation of the upper crust of liberalism, of the bourgeois class. She looked down upon Shrek & Donkey throughout the film (Donkey being symbolic of class conciousness/radicalization and Shrek that of the lumpenproletariat) as they represented a threat to the socioeconomical status quo that allowed her such a position of superiority and 'rightfulness'. Liberalism is blind to the goals and values of fascism as more often than not there is a heavy overlap between both ideologies. Yes, Fiona did struggle and was oppressed - being locked up in a castle - being subject to tyranny, forced marriage and so on; but ultimately she chose to be in favour of such a class/caste divide, as it meant she would remain atop. Fiona's ideals ultimately weren't challenged, nothing changed and the cycle continued as this video explains towards the end. Liberalism will always side with the maintenance of hierarchy that fascism offers as opposed to the dismantling of said systems.
@@brettleighglass The idea that liberalism will always side with fascism is rather funny when considering that in WW2 liberal democracies sided with communist states against fascist ones, and as for the overlap between liberalism and fascism, I'd say it flies completely in the face of truth, considering that fascism is explicitly arose in opposition to liberalism (see critiques of parliamentary democracy, laissez-faire capitalism, individualism etc in Mein Kampf, The Doctrine of Fascism, the speeches of Jose Antonio Primo de Riviera, and The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy by Carl Schmitt for examples). When Marxists confront fascism, they always forget to actually pay attention to what fascists said before looking at what they did, so they inevitably interpret fascist action through their own Marxist lens instead of understanding fascism from within, which means Marxists ultimately never actually understand fascism.
@@supahnubz liberalism always sided with fascism. the US, a liberal democracy, has funded and installed several fascist dictatorships in the past. other liberal democracies like west-germany were also in strong support of these fascist regimes (i.e. chile under pinochet, guatemala under montt, peru under fujimori, etc...). even in the case of nazi germany, it were the "center" parties who supported the nsdap and the only parties who acted against the nazis were the SPD and KPD.
"...attempts by oppressed groups to revolt are characterised as confirmations of the very same negative stereotypes that are often used to justify their oppression" that actually taught me something
I think this videos a critical mistake in denying Fiona's class betrayal. Her permanent choice to transform into her ogre self is her commitment to revolution/her revolutionary act, shedding her bourgeoise identity that we had come to understand, and standing firmly in solidarity with Shrek and with Donkey. She, too, realized her suffering at the hands of the bourgeoise in being locked away in a tower from the rest of society. While she espouses liberal reform, and nearly is consumed by the fascism from which she came, she ultimately makes the choice to abandon her former class in favor of the needs of the proletariat. I'd be interested in seeing how Shrek 2 affects this class dialogue.
@The Tumans Are you serious? He frequently says "MY" swamp multiple times. Very clearly implying a strong insistence on the ownership of the swamp as property.
This is a great analysis! You were spot on with Donkey. Though I expected you to go a different direction with Fiona. I was thinking that considering her true form is revealed to be an ogre and her illusory identity is that of being a beautiful princess, this would represent the lumpenproletariat that is convinced they are not a part of the working class because they are just barely able to afford showering themselves with commodity distractions (like a pretty dress). I don't believe Fiona should be considered bourgeoisie, after all she is a "fairy tale creature". Perhaps there could be a further analysis of Farquaad the fascist seeking to marry one of the very "creatures" he persecutes.
“Because of this it is clear that Donkey wants and seeks to destroy class division.” Is never a sentence I thought I would hear but am very glad I have now
No, the scene where shrek turns down donkey listing stereotypes of ogres isn't shrek being a pacifist, he is shutting down donkey's stereotyping of him, his people and his way of doing things. But otherwise, i have been following this analysis. But literally with the context of the film, it's clear the scene is not him admitting pacifism, he is shutting down donkey's stereotypes. Shrek's actions in general show pacifism, but that scene is not what you detailed it as. It's quite a literal scene.
I agree to an extent, however, to my interpretation, Shrek seems to overplay his hesitancy towards violence, which is understandably perceived by some as pacifism.
The video does board that point though, when it points out that this bourgeois stereotype of the proletariat (as in Shrek) is used to prevent revolt. In order to avoid being seen as the violent stereotype, Shrek scorns the idea of revolt.
i think this overstates things a little bit and makes the video seem more sarcastic than it could be. im so sick of the internet mocking communism and marxism because they dont want to actually critically analyze any merits or see its relevance in their own lives.
The refusal to critically analyze Marxism is due to the façade of the disillusioned working class attempting to find peace within liberal reform as an attempt to make their lives seem better when exploited by the capitalist class.
«The dragon is also a revolutionary because she, like Donkey, believes that violence is necessary in defeating the bourgeoisie» This, ladies and gentlemen, is what true beauty looks like
I think this is a great example of the idea that any piece of information can be construed in literally millions of ways. This analysis just happens to be functional enough to work comedically. This is a really well constructed and creative video idea. You have definitely earned my subscription.
a critic of your read of Fiona, Fiona is not acting like an orge to trap shrek but rather because she Is an ogre or at least partially, i feel a closer read would be Fiona as an allegory for transness and a struggle for identity. her facades are not for others, but for herself, she only truely accepts herself towards the end but as shown in the 2nd movie must adopt those masks around her family as she is not out to them.
I think this mischaracterizes Shrek as the proletariat. Shrek is more akin to the libertarian, someone who wants to simply own private property and be left alone to create his own paradise. He is not part of the enslaved working class because he is content and free. But you can say that his ideal of finding personal liberty within capitalism is shattered by the authoritarian leader Farquad because of his exploitation of the actual Proletariat, the townspeople, who must rely on his wealth to survive.
I don't think Fiona represents the state. Since she was born into the bourgeoisie, she appears to be unlike all the oppressed fairytale creatures, but she is actually one of them beneath her appearance. As a woman, the men that surround her treat her as an object that can be bought or sold. Farquad thinks that simply by rescuing her from the tower he will have earned her love. Really Fiona is a disenfranchised fairytale creature, stereotyped and used by the bourgeoisie. Fiona thinks that marriage will liberate her from her curse, as women's status is so often defined by whether or not they are married. It is only from overhearing Donkey and Shrek that she begins to understand her own oppression, and joins in class solidarity with them, accepting herself as an ogre and joining the revolution.
Amazing, you should have elaborated more on how the violence the Dragon and Donkey ultimately acted against Lord Farquad played a role on paving the way for the liberal reforms to be accepted by the proletarians
Good point. Donkey and Dragon's relation is a show of class consciousness as donkey convinces the dragon that he is not the enemy, but the upper classes.
Actually Shrek isn't a pacifist, he greatly enjoys fighting and he almost always chooses the violent path. Take this from a guy that has seen Shrek almost 30 times. And watched all the other films over a dozen times.
The shrek universe is not a fascist regime, rather a feudal one. Serfs were treated like slaves, except that they weren't allowed to be killed (unless with trial)This is evident through the movie itself. Serfs being forced to live together is also a common attribute of feudalism, and so is torture.
Perhaps a fascist society built on top of a feudal one. Romania and Croatia were both fascist regimes built that were established on largerly agrarian societies, both were also subjected to a monarchy.
@@thegoldensealion9463 I'm not entirely sure but I think in Romania most land was owned by landlords. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be to call it proto-fascist like in Tsarist Russia (with the Black Hundreds) still feudal but potentially developing into a fascistic one.
Mike Ock Their trying to make a stupid ideology sound legitimate by referring to a meme in a capitalist society.... it’s the ultimate form of non-satire that is possible
i think the reading of Fiona as liberal reform has been critiqued by other parts of the film. Fiona is aware of what her destiny would be in a normal situation i.e. the conversation between her and Shrek in the castle. Shrek, up to that point, had indeed been commodified by upper-class forces e.g. he wowed Farquad by winning those fights. By doing this, he unintentionally infiltrated Farquad's facsist regime. However, this move was not completely random because of Donkey's revolutionary rhetoric amd the influence it had on the emerging themes in the first half of the movie. Donkey did become ignored and Shrek *almost* excepted his fate as a slave to fascism, but he listens to Donkey again. Donkey, being the annoying, joyful spirit thay had accompanied Shrek on his entire journey, was listened to in a moment of desparation. This mirrors things like the Russian Revolution because WWI made the Russian proletariat desperate for reform. Shrek was able to have his happy ending because he was commodified by the system. He came as close as possible to resigning to fatalism i.e. he almost let Farquad marry Fiona, but he strikes when Farquad is most vulnerable. Shrek has caught fascism in a trap of its own making; his epic powers were used to get Fiona and serve the upper-class, but he intervened spectacularly when it mattered. The music becomes awe-inspiring as Shrek objects. Farquad is eaten before the viewers can finish processing the magnitude Shrek's intervention had on the plot. Thus, because Fiona was used to seduce and trap Farquad, she is the accomplice in the Revolution. Shrek' epic intervention changes our affective relationship to "the story of the princess" by showing uprising is possible. Fiona was the thing thay lured Farquad into that Church where he was murdered after all.
I’ll never see Shrek memes the same way Shrek is Love Shrek is Life is just a boy accepting Marxist Communism against the wishes of his capitalist father
Great video, but I disagree with your analysis of the ending. I see it as Fiona rejecting her own social class and relating more to the proletariat. I also believe it is a successful revolution, as the fascist dictator is overthrown and Fiona, the only other member of the bourgeoise that we see, has joined the working class in their struggle. EDIT: I forgot to mention that this only works if you ignore the sequels; if you acknowledge them, then Fiona returns to her privileged life, and all the other main characters become counter-revolutionary class traitors who are simply subservient to a "nicer" royalty. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶e̶t̶a̶p̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶o̶c̶r̶a̶c̶y̶
i have contentions with the interpretations of fiona. her final transition symbolizes her rejection of her class of birth after a lifetime of social isolation imposed by her bourgeois parents. she in effect becomes a class traitor at the end of the film and stands in solidarity with the working class after realizing she could not marry into her "own" class after experiencing oppression from it for not complying with class norms--before her final transition her daily transitions can be interpreted as her collaboration with the working class while maintaining the appearance and standing of an elite. again, she experienced imposed isolation because of this, and through meeting shrek realized that continuing to be a part of the bourgeois was antithetical to her work (i am ignoring the sequels)
Comrades, for a proper class analysis we need to consider the relationship of Shrek to the means of production, and it's clear that Shrek doesn't produce any wealth; he just hangs around in the swamp. Thus, he's a lumpenprole/lumpenpetitebourgeois, an outcast, a vagrant. He has rejected his class consciousness a long time ago, yet we can admit he regains some of it in the end by becoming a comrade to a class traitor of the ruling aristocracy and fellow Ogre. True, this movie doesn't go beyond liberal reforms and class collaboration, but it's clear that material conditions and subjective factor of these lands, as shown in the movie didn't allow for the quantitative change to become a qualitative one and allow for a transition towards the Socialist transformation of society. Sometimes, we need to make do with what's available, the lack of a strong Vanguard Party is also apparent.
Abolish private property means that no rich group of assholes can own a beach, factory, apartment complex etc. etc. It doesn't mean that someone is not entitled to the space they need to live.
An excellent analysis. However, I must point out two disagreements that I have. One, I do not believe that the dragon is another revolutionary but violent revolution itself. Dragon, in the beginning is chained, but the threat of dragon (violent revolution) keeps Fiona (the petty bourgeois) inside her socially assigned place. But when donkey arrives, he fights dragon (violent revolution) in an attempt at solidarity with Shrek (the true prole) who finds dragon to be far too scary. However, after donkey (comrade revolutionary) is separated from Shrek, he finds chained dragon and realizes that even if she makes Shrek uncomfortable, she really is the only thing that can save them from Lord Farquad (the ruling elite. ) Second, as stated earlier, I do not believe that Fiona is neoliberal reform personified, but rather the petty bourgeois, who after violent revolution is unleashed by comrade revolutionary, convinced true proletariat Shrek that they aren't so different, and unwittingly guides him to accepting the status quo with the conclusion that things were only bad because it was Lord Farquad (the person) who was to blame, and not the system itself. Good work.
comrade donkey leads the revolution
Good game
Donkey is Karl Marx
Scientific Otto *lenin
I wanted to retweet this
I love donkey, donkey don't lie
I love donkey, almost much as pie
I love how the comments are seemingly divided on whether or not this is a parody or genuine marxist analysis
Who says it can't be both?
Poe's Law
This is all too perfect. The internet has hit critical mass.
SamWallace Artisan,
What do you mean?
It's over 9000
One step forward two steps back as goes dialectics. Donkey was truly ahead of his time.
Marxism-lennism-Donkeyism
Donkeyism pretty much describes any form of communism.
analogdistortion boooo
@@Zhicano why are you booing him? He's right.
Marxism Leninism Maoism Donkeyism trotskyist thought with Chinese characteristics
Marxism-Leninism-Donkey thought
The dragon literally ate the rich... why am I just now noticing this?
Unfortunately he displaced the nobility and left the bourgeoise just like during the French Revolution.
When your English teacher explains the deeper meaning of a book.
A lot of books really do have political commentary. Part of academia is exploring what the underlying sentiments behind a given work and understanding what it means. A lot of the times, these may be explicit, but more often than not they will be more hidden. Just gotta know what to look for or how to draw the necessary parallels.
Poetry appreciation bra
Non existent meaning of a book*
im doing this as a speech in english
@Categórico That's what's great about literary theory and criticism. Any interpretation can be valid -- even if there isn't a deeper meaning. While sure, there are critics and academics that create their own meaning, there are just as many people who may not see such things. Thing is ya gotta come to your own conclusions. Depending on who you talk to, there is no one way to look at a book. And of course, there are still people, as you suggest, who will try their hardest to force meaning where there may not be any at all -- which can be valid just as well if it's done right.
This is slander against Fiona, who is in fact, a class traitor to the bourgeoisie-
The length of the film shows her growing disillusionment with the very system that upholds her privilege. At her introduction, Fiona is posh and abides by the same anti-fairytale-creature stereotypes as the peasantry and Lord Farquad. However, her time around Shrek (a politically moderate member of the working class and marginalized fairytale creature) and Donkey (a fairytale revolutionary) helps her to gradually unlearn the propaganda that has been fed to her since birth. However, cultural programming runs deep, and this is why we see Fiona attempt to return to her life of wealth and means by marrying Lord Farquaad. -She is under great social pressure to maintain the system she's been raised in and benefits from. She is afraid to lose her status and become marginalized herself, as symbolized by her self loathing regarding her transformations into being an ogre. The end of the wedding scene marks a turning point for Fiona, wherein she realizes the capitalist system is foregone and finally embraces Shrek and the revolution wholeheartedly, giving up her life of privilege in the process (better late than never.)
The movie, being set in a feudal society rather than a modern one, merely uses Farquaad (a singular leader) as a metaphorical embodiment of all the rigid systems of oppression that uphold the social order. Revolution therefore DOES occur by the death of Lord Farquaad- we are meant to infer this revolution leads to genuine regime change by the fact that Lord Farquad has no heir (as established earlier in the film when explaining his bachelor status) and by the smash musical number at the end of the film showing the fairytale creatures (the most marginalized members of society) living harmoniously together and delighting in their liberation.
So, within the narrative context of the film, a revolution genuinely does take place and the oppressor is overthrown. And it is worth noting that Fiona, although bourgeois (i.e. in the metaphor of the film: an aristocrat), is one of the elements required for the success of the revolution. It is her peril that galvanizes the otherwise passive and non revolutionary Shrek to action. This is much like in real life, wherein many isolated or disenfranchised members of the working class do not have the means to champion their cause until the mainstream public (including white collar workers & other members of society with more resources and prestige) gets on board. One of the many messages of the film is that for a swift and successful revolution with minimal casualties, it is not simply the role of the workers to rise up- it is also necessary that members of the elite and petty bourgeoisie act as class traitors and willingly choose to step down.
Fiona's favorable treatment after the revolution and her acceptance by the working classes as one of their own is an invitation for people of means in our own society to recognize their comparative privileges, question the system, and be unafraid to join the revolution themselves. Her role in the narrative assures the rich and petty bourgeois that they can renounce their wealth and be treated as true members of the movement, collectively working to build a brighter and more equitable future. -A future where they too can be happy and live in camaraderie beside the common people.
[[At present, I ignore the political allegories of the other films in the Shrek cinematic universe and instead treat the original "Shrek" as a standalone work of art.]]
I think your analysis is way better.
your analysis is spot on, and much more accurate :)
thanks for this, that's what i was gonna type as well
Nay, in Shrek 2 we actually see that Shrek has been recruited by Fiona through faux solidarity. She is truly the social democrat, giving superficial solitions that dont ammend systemic issues. There is on an even larger scale in Shrek 2 police violence, corruption and inequality.
While upholding racist attitudes conseqential towards their own family Fiona's parents induct him as an honorary aryan of sorts, for him to discover that through the fairy godmother the very ruler of Fiona's native kingdom is engaging in terror to uphold the social caste at the expense of people's freedom and happyness. In the end is no class traitor by the end of Shrek 2, just selective induction of tokens into the privelaged class.
I’ve been saying this!
This shit is pure gold
EctoMorpheus what a fuck i just watched
It still is shit though
All that glitters is gold
@@muist4719 no need to curse it's wrong
@@dragozengen3789 no need to curse it's wrong
‘’ shrek is a pacifist’’ *procedes to brutally tortue a frog for enjoyment*
He is not vegan
Vagan =/= pacifist
@@coldpizzaslut Veganism is a moral stance. They justify violence differently and one could easily argue they do so in a more logically consistent way than omnivores. Nobody would contort a belief in human rights with pacifism, however, and that same logic extends to vegans. Their ultimate value for sentient life implies little regarding how pacifistic they may be.
He gassed the fish like Hitler too.
@@coldpizzaslut vagan
1 year later and i just came back only for that comment jesus
I love this. The only thing I might dispute is that Fiona doesn’t represent the bourgeois pretending to be proletariat, but the other way around. She is an ogre but diguises this fact to be a member of the bourgeoisie so she is a class traitor. However, by the end she becomes a class traitor again but against the bourgeoisie this time.
Thank you!!! It's so weird how he treats Shrek and Donkey as characters that represent certain ideas, but treats Fiona as a pure representation of an idea instead of an actual character with thoughts, goals, and feelings
Wouldn't that be more of a race traitor? Or did Fiona choose to be born as ogre?
I am glad someone else shares this view.
@@HansPeter-bt3xe she's trans
This view makes little sense as if this were the case Fiona would gravitate of Shrek immediately both in attraction/values. No, she went through character development suggesting the opposite relationship.
a spectre is haunting Duloc
--the spectre of Communism. All the powers of old Far Far Away have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Queen Lillian and King Harold, Lord Farquad and Fiona, Fairytale Radicals and royal Dulocian guards.
Shrek is love.
Shrek is life.
Shrek is liberty.
Shrek is the pursuit of happiness.
I love you
Indeed sir!
*personal property
Donkey is a Leninist. Because not all of revolutionaries wanted to use violence to overthrow the status quo.
Shrek is R E V O L U T I O N A R Y !
Shrek was a libertarian who just wanted people to get out of his swamp
Banter 2.0 shrekity shrokity get off my property
Banter 2.0 came here to say this fuck you
He just wanted to be left alone, but they wouldn't stop breaking the NAP
_smdh_
Don’t tread on my swamp
*Insert dank meme here:
"she believes that violence is required to overthrow the bourgeois, so she sollows Lord Fuarquaad" never thought I'll listen to this sentence.
don't forget the "just like donkey"
but Lord Farquaad is an aristocrat, not a bourgueois
Good Praxis
This video ruined my childhood but improved my adulthood
Josue Lopez
Better dead than red
@@Dorkeydaze Well, that's what the Romanovs thought...
How the Fuck did it do that?
I unironically can’t tell if this is satire or not.
i realize that, my post was satire
It's not
This sounds like a HS civics or Political Science 101 project and she just used her favorite movie.
To be clear, I myself am a socialist but the only hidden meaning behind Shrek was making fun of all the Disney cliches. lol
@David Kelly It may or may not be someone's school project, but regardless, I think you're missing the point of an analysis like this. The idea isn't to claim that the creators of the film literally had this messaging in mind, but rather that certain themes emerge out of the collective unconscious of writers of the text because of the material and ideological conditions in which they live. In this sort of socio-psycho anthropology the text (the film) becomes as if a dream state for society as a whole. Writers who develop this style include Althusser and contemporary philosophy/pop personality Zizek. For reference:
th-cam.com/video/XTFR4W8qLlQ/w-d-xo.html
U mean shrek or the analysis
Not gonna lie this was a good reading.
Mike Myers literally chose a Scottish accent because he saw the whole story as one of British-style class-based oppression. Not a joke, he actually did this.
oh shit
"Because donkey is a revolutionary, he believes that violence force is necessary to bring down the bourgeoisie."
Amen fellas.
In soviet Russia the layers have onions
This needs a feminist update though. Wasn't Fiona held against her will within the nobility, instead representing how women are oppressed in their relegation to being tools for property management. Upon hearing Shrek and Donkey, Fiona doesn't employ a new guise, but recognizes that her "curse" is actually hidden liberatory potential. The marriage of Shrek and Fiona demonstrates the possibility for an alliance between those whose labor may not be alienated from them, but are nonetheless oppressed by the societal coding enforced by capitalist exchange. Henceforth, Fiona's transformation into an ogre is emblematic of the shedding of the intelligentsia/bourgeois/petit-bourgeois ideology that enforces some of the social coding that is responsible for the mistreatment of fairy folk. This interpretation could lead to the possibility of a further unified revolutionary class not limited by productive relations, but by the newfound liberatory space opened up by the alliance formed in Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, and the Dragon's companionship. An Anarcho-Communist insurrection is the result of these efforts. (See Shrek 2)
the feminism is socialist liberal brainwashing
hy there lol
I was thinking on how Fiona, with her progressive transformation from an elegant high-class lady into someone with a personality more similar to Shrek's (which concludes with her finally becoming an ogre), represents overall how women adapt to their counterpart's canons. Fiona became a "Cool Girl", just like Amy Dunne in "Gone Girl"
PJ Meacham
What ''lol'' if u dont believe me - reasearch it and ull find out,the feminism is cultural marxism created by powerful people in order to get more powerful and control the masses
yes ok
I think a more accurate description of Fiona is that of a member of the Petit Bourgeosie, in that she straddles the lines between proletariat and bourgeoisie throughout the film. Though she benefits from the world of Duloc (being a princess herself), her status as an Ogre once night falls aligns her more with Shrek, representative of the proletariat. She despises this side of herself in the same way the Petit Bourgeoisie loathe that they can't simply live off of owning the means of production like the Bourgeoisie can, and thus she desires to marry Lord Farquad to shed her status as Ogre and Proletariat, effectively selling herself as a commodity as are all wives under the bourgeois institution of marriage. That Fiona becomes an Ogre like Shrek at the end of the film, however, is a testament to the ultimate proletarianization of the petit bourgeoisie, that they will eventually be put out of business by larger and larger capitalists and align themselves with the class struggle.
ay. i like this take
This seems more accurate
real
I think this is a Better Interpretation!
This is a brilliant analysis bro wtf that made the "questions" I had listening to the argument presented in the video way more clear. Fiona has adopted a petit bourgeois mindset from her position straddling that line between proletariat and bourgeoisie and as a result of false consciousness aligns herself closer to the bourgeoisie in the misguided hope that she will one day join them. But her interests truly lie with the proletariat for even the petit bourgeois are a victim of the largest capitalists in the system. Fionas transformation from princess to ogre represents her gaining class consciousness and aligning herself with the proletariat in the name of the class struggle. I thought this video was gonna be satire or something but this analysis honestly kinda makes sense. Did not expect to be thinking this hard about the story of the first Shrek movie ever in my life
You put unnecessary blame on Fiona. In my view she ends up rejecting her class because she ends up identifying with shrek more than the establishment. She was never really apart of the oppression that Farquat was perpetrating. And in my view, there is reason for a happy ending because the Tyrannical dictator was overthrown. Of course it is important to remember that revolutionaries can become dictators as well(like Stalin)
Interesting video though!
Yeah, she might take the form of the suppressed (again, an image to appease the oppressed) but she still becomes a dictator in the end.
Gehenna's Fire stalin
Dictator
Pick one they are opposites
Gustavo Rodriguez Stalin was a dictator
Gustavo Rodriguez I understand the communist viewpoint that he wasn’t but I disagree
If you look at it at the human level. She was locked in a castle guarded by a dragon most of her life. Anyone would marry Farquad to get out of that. I think most people wouldn't think of her as the typical princess and feel sorry that she was essentially a prisoner in isolation for years. I'm surprised she didn't lose it.
We have officially hit
*PEAK HUMAN EVALUATION*
the amazing retarded potatoe Man I love this! Lol
James Garlick glad to hear 👍
You have to understand the full depth of the subject in order to see its depth.
The Zesty Potato I did, it was a pretty mediocre analysis.
Theodor Janson I think he was putting a play on words to the phrase 'peak human evolution'
I didn’t know I needed this or that donkey was so based.
Donkay
To me Fiona doesn't represent the elite. She was locked away in a castle, herself persecuted. She literally knows what it is like to be an ogre, she's not "pretending" to be like the proletariat. She was only marrying Farquad(sp?) out of the hurt caused by thinking that Shrek rejected her. She had very few options in this film.
A lot of other points are very insightful, but I don't think her portrayal is accurate here.
Counterpoint but she married someone who was engaging in cultural genocide because she was hurt? Just Saying.
@@israelcrane6424 She's been locked in a castle up until Shrek comes, I don't think she is very aware of what is going on in the kingdom. And we don't see Shrek give her very much info on the matter either.
Fiona as a character can be seen as a strong representation of the upper crust of liberalism, of the bourgeois class. She looked down upon Shrek & Donkey throughout the film (Donkey being symbolic of class conciousness/radicalization and Shrek that of the lumpenproletariat) as they represented a threat to the socioeconomical status quo that allowed her such a position of superiority and 'rightfulness'. Liberalism is blind to the goals and values of fascism as more often than not there is a heavy overlap between both ideologies. Yes, Fiona did struggle and was oppressed - being locked up in a castle - being subject to tyranny, forced marriage and so on; but ultimately she chose to be in favour of such a class/caste divide, as it meant she would remain atop. Fiona's ideals ultimately weren't challenged, nothing changed and the cycle continued as this video explains towards the end. Liberalism will always side with the maintenance of hierarchy that fascism offers as opposed to the dismantling of said systems.
@@brettleighglass The idea that liberalism will always side with fascism is rather funny when considering that in WW2 liberal democracies sided with communist states against fascist ones, and as for the overlap between liberalism and fascism, I'd say it flies completely in the face of truth, considering that fascism is explicitly arose in opposition to liberalism (see critiques of parliamentary democracy, laissez-faire capitalism, individualism etc in Mein Kampf, The Doctrine of Fascism, the speeches of Jose Antonio Primo de Riviera, and The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy by Carl Schmitt for examples).
When Marxists confront fascism, they always forget to actually pay attention to what fascists said before looking at what they did, so they inevitably interpret fascist action through their own Marxist lens instead of understanding fascism from within, which means Marxists ultimately never actually understand fascism.
@@supahnubz liberalism always sided with fascism. the US, a liberal democracy, has funded and installed several fascist dictatorships in the past. other liberal democracies like west-germany were also in strong support of these fascist regimes (i.e. chile under pinochet, guatemala under montt, peru under fujimori, etc...). even in the case of nazi germany, it were the "center" parties who supported the nsdap and the only parties who acted against the nazis were the SPD and KPD.
Am a big fan of this content
theres something too funny about hearing “the revolutionary donkey”
"...attempts by oppressed groups to revolt are characterised as confirmations of the very same negative stereotypes that are often used to justify their oppression"
that actually taught me something
incredible, amazing, show stopping, never seen before, immaculate, and most of all, based as fuck.
It’s satire
no its real!!!@@whoever79
*This is our swamp*
Iconic
Are you ever going to do a marxist analysis of "the Hard-Dicked Warriors Way" by Stavros Halkias?
I think this videos a critical mistake in denying Fiona's class betrayal. Her permanent choice to transform into her ogre self is her commitment to revolution/her revolutionary act, shedding her bourgeoise identity that we had come to understand, and standing firmly in solidarity with Shrek and with Donkey. She, too, realized her suffering at the hands of the bourgeoise in being locked away in a tower from the rest of society. While she espouses liberal reform, and nearly is consumed by the fascism from which she came, she ultimately makes the choice to abandon her former class in favor of the needs of the proletariat.
I'd be interested in seeing how Shrek 2 affects this class dialogue.
Shrek is actually a classical liberal who believes in the private property of his swamp rebelling against statist feudalists.
“STATIST FEUDALISTS”” peak fucking ancapism
But Shrek does't say he owns it. He merely is protector of it!
@The Tumans Are you serious? He frequently says "MY" swamp multiple times. Very clearly implying a strong insistence on the ownership of the swamp as property.
lol
Fuckin A! My thoughts exactly
This is a great analysis! You were spot on with Donkey. Though I expected you to go a different direction with Fiona. I was thinking that considering her true form is revealed to be an ogre and her illusory identity is that of being a beautiful princess, this would represent the lumpenproletariat that is convinced they are not a part of the working class because they are just barely able to afford showering themselves with commodity distractions (like a pretty dress). I don't believe Fiona should be considered bourgeoisie, after all she is a "fairy tale creature". Perhaps there could be a further analysis of Farquaad the fascist seeking to marry one of the very "creatures" he persecutes.
i never looked at the ending from that perspective before
Hello animevg8rl
“We’re from the Union”
There's a spectre haunting the swamp.
Is this the peak of memes?
I’ve been waiting for an in depth analysis of this deep film
“Because of this it is clear that Donkey wants and seeks to destroy class division.” Is never a sentence I thought I would hear but am very glad I have now
Finally, some quality content.
I'm gay with my dad.
This is worse than pipe smoking lord of the rings guy.
I came here just to see if anyone else followed the call to arms. Salute from C Town.
No, the scene where shrek turns down donkey listing stereotypes of ogres isn't shrek being a pacifist, he is shutting down donkey's stereotyping of him, his people and his way of doing things. But otherwise, i have been following this analysis. But literally with the context of the film, it's clear the scene is not him admitting pacifism, he is shutting down donkey's stereotypes. Shrek's actions in general show pacifism, but that scene is not what you detailed it as. It's quite a literal scene.
I agree to an extent, however, to my interpretation, Shrek seems to overplay his hesitancy towards violence, which is understandably perceived by some as pacifism.
The video does board that point though, when it points out that this bourgeois stereotype of the proletariat (as in Shrek) is used to prevent revolt. In order to avoid being seen as the violent stereotype, Shrek scorns the idea of revolt.
Very powerful video, I cried.
hardlybreathe93 shut yo sensitive ass up!
hardlybreathe93 nvm just cried
>280,000 views
>2 comments
?????
TH-cam marked this as kids content. I'm not kidding.
there is nothing to argue at this point
i think this overstates things a little bit and makes the video seem more sarcastic than it could be. im so sick of the internet mocking communism and marxism because they dont want to actually critically analyze any merits or see its relevance in their own lives.
The refusal to critically analyze Marxism is due to the façade of the disillusioned working class attempting to find peace within liberal reform as an attempt to make their lives seem better when exploited by the capitalist class.
@@sparksthedaytrader9606 yep
«The dragon is also a revolutionary because she, like Donkey, believes that violence is necessary in defeating the bourgeoisie»
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what true beauty looks like
I think this is a great example of the idea that any piece of information can be construed in literally millions of ways. This analysis just happens to be functional enough to work comedically. This is a really well constructed and creative video idea. You have definitely earned my subscription.
a critic of your read of Fiona, Fiona is not acting like an orge to trap shrek but rather because she Is an ogre or at least partially, i feel a closer read would be Fiona as an allegory for transness and a struggle for identity. her facades are not for others, but for herself, she only truely accepts herself towards the end but as shown in the 2nd movie must adopt those masks around her family as she is not out to them.
I don't want to exist on this planet anymore. Elon Musk take me to Mars!
Very insightful, great job
Whether it was intentional or not, I really appreciate the audio sync at 2:40.
I think this mischaracterizes Shrek as the proletariat. Shrek is more akin to the libertarian, someone who wants to simply own private property and be left alone to create his own paradise. He is not part of the enslaved working class because he is content and free. But you can say that his ideal of finding personal liberty within capitalism is shattered by the authoritarian leader Farquad because of his exploitation of the actual Proletariat, the townspeople, who must rely on his wealth to survive.
This is the epitome of human analysis
I don't think Fiona represents the state.
Since she was born into the bourgeoisie, she appears to be unlike all the oppressed fairytale creatures, but she is actually one of them beneath her appearance. As a woman, the men that surround her treat her as an object that can be bought or sold. Farquad thinks that simply by rescuing her from the tower he will have earned her love. Really Fiona is a disenfranchised fairytale creature, stereotyped and used by the bourgeoisie. Fiona thinks that marriage will liberate her from her curse, as women's status is so often defined by whether or not they are married. It is only from overhearing Donkey and Shrek that she begins to understand her own oppression, and joins in class solidarity with them, accepting herself as an ogre and joining the revolution.
I don't know if this is a meme and at this point that is what scares me
Me before this video: Haha that Donkey just cracks me up, what a funny guy
Me after this video: COMRADE DONKEY I AM READY FOR THE REVOLUTION
Amazing, you should have elaborated more on how the violence the Dragon and Donkey ultimately acted against Lord Farquad played a role on paving the way for the liberal reforms to be accepted by the proletarians
Good point. Donkey and Dragon's relation is a show of class consciousness as donkey convinces the dragon that he is not the enemy, but the upper classes.
Shrek isn't proleterian, he's a peasant or petit-bourgeois. Its clear since he doesn't work for a wage and instead subsists off of his property.
Actually Shrek isn't a pacifist, he greatly enjoys fighting and he almost always chooses the violent path. Take this from a guy that has seen Shrek almost 30 times. And watched all the other films over a dozen times.
Even Shrek the Third? I don't believe anyone would watch that more than once
The shrek universe is not a fascist regime, rather a feudal one. Serfs were treated like slaves, except that they weren't allowed to be killed (unless with trial)This is evident through the movie itself. Serfs being forced to live together is also a common attribute of feudalism, and so is torture.
Perhaps a fascist society built on top of a feudal one. Romania and Croatia were both fascist regimes built that were established on largerly agrarian societies, both were also subjected to a monarchy.
Perhaps, but I'd call them semi feudal. Did serfdom still exist as the main mode of production in those countries?
@@thegoldensealion9463 I'm not entirely sure but I think in Romania most land was owned by landlords.
Perhaps a more apt comparison would be to call it proto-fascist like in Tsarist Russia (with the Black Hundreds) still feudal but potentially developing into a fascistic one.
Shrek works so well for an analysis of *any* marginalized group.
My third eye has opened
Very well written, and excellent analysis!
Most Marxists would even say this was Trash 🤣🤣
The video editing in this video is amazing. Great rhythm.
Shrek is love. Shrek is life.
-Vladimir Lenin, Jan 22 1924
I have stumbled upon the end of universe. And I now know that it is a vast calamitous combination of both memes and weirdly articulate commentary.
why is this channel so god damned funny?
Mike Ock maybe its because its far left
Mike Ock
Their trying to make a stupid ideology sound legitimate by referring to a meme in a capitalist society.... it’s the ultimate form of non-satire that is possible
i think the reading of Fiona as liberal reform has been critiqued by other parts of the film. Fiona is aware of what her destiny would be in a normal situation i.e. the conversation between her and Shrek in the castle. Shrek, up to that point, had indeed been commodified by upper-class forces e.g. he wowed Farquad by winning those fights. By doing this, he unintentionally infiltrated Farquad's facsist regime. However, this move was not completely random because of Donkey's revolutionary rhetoric amd the influence it had on the emerging themes in the first half of the movie.
Donkey did become ignored and Shrek *almost* excepted his fate as a slave to fascism, but he listens to Donkey again. Donkey, being the annoying, joyful spirit thay had accompanied Shrek on his entire journey, was listened to in a moment of desparation. This mirrors things like the Russian Revolution because WWI made the Russian proletariat desperate for reform.
Shrek was able to have his happy ending because he was commodified by the system. He came as close as possible to resigning to fatalism i.e. he almost let Farquad marry Fiona, but he strikes when Farquad is most vulnerable. Shrek has caught fascism in a trap of its own making; his epic powers were used to get Fiona and serve the upper-class, but he intervened spectacularly when it mattered. The music becomes awe-inspiring as Shrek objects. Farquad is eaten before the viewers can finish processing the magnitude Shrek's intervention had on the plot.
Thus, because Fiona was used to seduce and trap Farquad, she is the accomplice in the Revolution. Shrek' epic intervention changes our affective relationship to "the story of the princess" by showing uprising is possible. Fiona was the thing thay lured Farquad into that Church where he was murdered after all.
BUT SHREK WANTS YOU TO GET OUT OF HIS SWAMP!
The fairy tale creatures violated his NAP.
Shrek does not care for political theory
its personal property
So much NAP violation! Wew...
i'm late but isn't this a representation of "don't make it all political now!" rhetoric
This is a work of art
I’ll never see Shrek memes the same way
Shrek is Love Shrek is Life is just a boy accepting Marxist Communism against the wishes of his capitalist father
I have never seen anything as wonderful as this at such a late time
Thank you
Fiona is innocent, and part of the oppressed.
Very well done. Although, really, it's hard to tell if the unequal order is preserved until you watch the sequel.
Great video, but I disagree with your analysis of the ending. I see it as Fiona rejecting her own social class and relating more to the proletariat. I also believe it is a successful revolution, as the fascist dictator is overthrown and Fiona, the only other member of the bourgeoise that we see, has joined the working class in their struggle.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this only works if you ignore the sequels; if you acknowledge them, then Fiona returns to her privileged life, and all the other main characters become counter-revolutionary class traitors who are simply subservient to a "nicer" royalty. M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶e̶t̶a̶p̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶d̶e̶m̶o̶c̶r̶a̶c̶y̶
Uh oh
I love my dad
I’m also gay for my dad
Why are there only like 30 comments?
Also, I love how Bonnie from Family Guy is narrating this.
the ending kind of makes me think of people’s reaction towards Harry and Meghan leaving the Royal Family
Society is like an onion, it has layers
when you're presenting to class at 8am after all night bender
At the top of the list of things that I never thought that I would watch.
Shrek, a working-class ogre who doesn't actually... work for other people?
nvm this is somehow gayer
What if that was the secret intended meaning all along?
why even read das kapital when its already been perfectly adapted?
please tell me this is ironic...
yo who's here from cumtown
i have contentions with the interpretations of fiona. her final transition symbolizes her rejection of her class of birth after a lifetime of social isolation imposed by her bourgeois parents. she in effect becomes a class traitor at the end of the film and stands in solidarity with the working class after realizing she could not marry into her "own" class after experiencing oppression from it for not complying with class norms--before her final transition her daily transitions can be interpreted as her collaboration with the working class while maintaining the appearance and standing of an elite. again, she experienced imposed isolation because of this, and through meeting shrek realized that continuing to be a part of the bourgeois was antithetical to her work (i am ignoring the sequels)
Comrades, for a proper class analysis we need to consider the relationship of Shrek to the means of production, and it's clear that Shrek doesn't produce any wealth; he just hangs around in the swamp. Thus, he's a lumpenprole/lumpenpetitebourgeois, an outcast, a vagrant. He has rejected his class consciousness a long time ago, yet we can admit he regains some of it in the end by becoming a comrade to a class traitor of the ruling aristocracy and fellow Ogre. True, this movie doesn't go beyond liberal reforms and class collaboration, but it's clear that material conditions and subjective factor of these lands, as shown in the movie didn't allow for the quantitative change to become a qualitative one and allow for a transition towards the Socialist transformation of society. Sometimes, we need to make do with what's available, the lack of a strong Vanguard Party is also apparent.
TBH I cannot see how Shrek represents the proletariat since he doesn't work.
You sound like Deb from Napoleon Dynamite
First they made a book
Then they took over Russia
Then they got Africa and Asia
Now.
They got Shrek.
No one:
Cuck Philosophy: Donkey is Lenin
This is one of the gayest videos to ever be made why is it doing numbers
Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.
Also if shrek is a marxist why does support private property
Abolish private property means that no rich group of assholes can own a beach, factory, apartment complex etc. etc.
It doesn't mean that someone is not entitled to the space they need to live.
3:51
This aged well
I never realized how hilarious Marxism can be when you're high.
An excellent analysis. However, I must point out two disagreements that I have. One, I do not believe that the dragon is another revolutionary but violent revolution itself. Dragon, in the beginning is chained, but the threat of dragon (violent revolution) keeps Fiona (the petty bourgeois) inside her socially assigned place. But when donkey arrives, he fights dragon (violent revolution) in an attempt at solidarity with Shrek (the true prole) who finds dragon to be far too scary.
However, after donkey (comrade revolutionary) is separated from Shrek, he finds chained dragon and realizes that even if she makes Shrek uncomfortable, she really is the only thing that can save them from Lord Farquad (the ruling elite. )
Second, as stated earlier, I do not believe that Fiona is neoliberal reform personified, but rather the petty bourgeois, who after violent revolution is unleashed by comrade revolutionary, convinced true proletariat Shrek that they aren't so different, and unwittingly guides him to accepting the status quo with the conclusion that things were only bad because it was Lord Farquad (the person) who was to blame, and not the system itself.
Good work.