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Dramatic Irony In Shrek

Decent Essays

Salvador Dali once stated to, “Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it.” Although a widespread concept, unattainable perfection seems unrealistic. For instance, society today inscribes the notion of perfection into its’ members, from the first days as a newborn to the last days of life. So, is it healthy to strive for perfection when it in fact doesn’t exist? It is healthy for society to distribute support for this unrealistic perfection? No. Therefore, to balance the unrealistic goals of perfection set forth through certain branches of society, society has those individuals who not only mock, but ridicule, through various forms of media, these unrealistic expectations of perfection. One example of such mockery and ridicule includes …show more content…

For example, in the beginning of the film, a significant scene in which Princess Fiona gets rescued by Shrek, an ogre who masks his appearance with a helmet and disguise, is displayed. Throughout this scene dramatic irony is evident because before Fiona knew Shrek’s true identity and outward appearance, she, guided by her misconceptions, believed that her disguised rescuer was a typical “Prince Charming.” However, the audience was acutely aware that this was not the case. Similar to aspects of our modern society, all her life, Fiona has grown up believing in the generic “happily ever after” with the perfect “Prince Charming” and had never dared to think that other alternatives exist. Therefore, through developing dramatic irony and using this specific technique the satire effectively attains its goal when Fiona discovers the true identity of her “Prince Charming.” Although Shrek had an unrealistic and improbable situation, the audience clearly understands the criticism towards society’s great desire at perfection based off of fairy tales. Overall, the film Shrek, provides an outstanding example of contemporary satire that is not only indirect and horatian but also well-known to society. Through what appears a children’s film, Dreamworks has effectively tackled one of society’s pressing matters when addressing society's unrealistic expectations of perfection in accordance to fairy

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