He's mean, he's green, and he may just be the perfect representation of authenticity, in the existentialist sense. Join us as we journey into the depths of the swamp to discuss the Shrek franchise!

Note: We're a little unsatisfied with how our conversation about gender play in the franchise played out, so, to clarify: the gender play in Shrek is interesting in comparison to Disney's queer coding of villains, but it is still transphobic and not at all good representation. The point we wanted to make here was that the Shrek franchise embraces nonconformity, not that it is actually well-done or worthy of praise.

Some Links You May Find Interesting:

Mixing It Up: Generic Complexity and Gender Ideology in Early Twenty-first Century Fairy Tale Films by Cristina Bacchilega and John Rieder

Kantian Cosmopolitanism and the Dreamworkification of the Next Generation by Marianna Vardalos

The Mouse is Dead, Long Live the Ogre: Shrek and the Boundaries of Transgression by Daniel Downes and June M. Madely

"Happiness is Just a Teardrop Away": A Neo-Marxist Interpretation of Shrek by Alexander Spencer, Judith Renner, and Andreas Kruck

Green Consciousness: Earth-Based Myth and Meaning in Shrek by Jane Caputi

Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales by Jack Zipes

Why the Soundtrack to Shrek is Actually Genius

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