Life with Kids is Not as Repetitive as Shrek Would Have You Believe
While I still maintain that Shrek Forever After is one of the best films in the franchise—perhaps the second best, after the first film—that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have anything wrong with it. It’s darker than the rest of the movies in many instances, and Fiona is badass, which are pluses for this viewer (thought he former isn’t necessarily that great for children). But its take on kids in general does sort of make it a big fat fail in my book.
Before I even saw the film I knew I didn’t like its premise, because having babies in one film and following that up with an entire movie where they don’t even exist is a cop-out. A big one. It’s like saying you can’t have an adventure story with children in it, which is bull. Then I saw the film and generally liked it, but it still presents a problem with the way children are viewed.
The beginning of the movie is a complete stereotype, portraying life with kids as the same thing, day in and day out. It shows Shrek fixing the outhouse, trying to soak in the mud or enjoying an eyeball martini without any luck (seriously?), changing diapers every day, and how insane he is after months of this seeming monotony. Yet when we saw the Shrek Halloween adventure last year, it was adventurous and fun, with his children pulling delightful pranks on the villagers. Why the disconnect?
Well, because there would be no plot without it, of course! Why would Shrek want to leave this life behind and wish he’d never met Fiona in the first place if his life didn’t suck? But this entire stereotype perpetuates the myth that life with kids is repetitive and boring—which, of course, only means that YOU are repetitive and boring, as anyone with a brain could figure out.
No matter what you do, if you are bored, it’s pretty much your own damn fault. It means you aren’t creative or fun in the first place. Life with kids is an adventure, with something new—from steps to words to funny sayings to discoveries—each and every day. Yet the makers of Shrek refused to point this simple fact out, opting instead to portray the parenting lifestyle as so many bachelors would envision in the first place. So thanks a lot, Myers and company, for helping to keep parents and children painted in this same inaccurate lighting that so many other men have done before. Way to be progressive in your fairy tales.