Essay - Shrek: Modern Myth Storytelling is as Naturally Human as Breathing....

Shrek: Modern Myth

Storytelling is as naturally human ***** breathing. Every culture has stories, and usually a venerated position of storyteller or re-enactor—whether they are literally oral storytellers writers, actors, singers, artists, and even film directors, ***** have existed as long as ***** society has. As Linda Seger notes in her essay "Creat*****g Myth," there are also many similarities between the stories that all cultures tell (Seger, 1). These mythical archetypes are universally recognizable, and even modern films like Shrek can be shown to stem directly from these sources (seger, 5).

***** is an animated film about an ogre who ends up—quite reluctantly—on a quest to s*****ve a princess. The film incorporates ***** commonly known fairy tales and nursery rhymes, largely ***** comic effect, ***** adds some changes to the basic fairy tale plot. But at its heart, this movie is a very typic*****l fairy tale, which is perhaps ***** most direct form of myth available to us today. *****re are some very easily identifiable archetypes in the film—Shrek, ***** hero; Donkey, the sidekick; Fiona, the princess in distress—and ***** plot also follows a fairly traditional trajectory. Like most fairy tales, Shrek is a story ***** person*****l discovery as well as external achievement.

Seger identifies two basic types of myths ***** the start of her esy, the search*****g myth and the hero myth: "Some ***** these stories are 'search' stories. They address our desire to find ***** kind of r***** ***** wonderful treasure...[hero *****] come from our own experiences of overcoming adversity, as ***** as our ***** to do great and special acts" (Seger, *****). It is significant that ***** phrases her statements in the *****clusive first person; these s*****ries are collectively ours, and remain entertaining and compelling *****cause they express sentiments and desires common to all human experience, and this is one ***** the most important lessons in *****.

The film falls into both categories of myth that Seger identifies. Shrek ***** a "se*****rch" story because it involves a quest for tre*****sure—externally, Shrek is after the Princess ***** is seeking the reward of being left at peace in h***** swamp, and on a more profound level ***** ***** shows both he *****nd Fiona on to be quests to discover themselves and their capac*****y ***** love and self-acceptance that ***** didn't really now they were on. Both internal and external searches ***** str*****g origins in ***** (Seger, 1). It is also a hero story *****bout overcoming prejudice against the fairy tale creatures (one of the best scenes ***** the brutal interrogation of a gingerbread man ***** is a member of the resistance), with Shrek as the primary hero. The film is non***** in that ***** ***** never starts out as mundane, but ultimately gains a "normal" existence (Seger, 2).

Despite the high level ***** mythical identification that is possible in myth, it ***** doubtful that the ***** was constructed by a formulaic adherence to mythic structure, or even a conscious and designed departure ***** such structure. As ***** points out,