The Unexpected Journey of Shrek: From Film to Meme Phenomenon

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Success of Shrek
3. The Rise of Shrek on the Internet
4. Shrek's Repurposing as an Internet Cult Figure
5. The Creation of a Shrek Paratext
6. The Changing Definition of Shrek
7. The Why and How of Shrek's Online Resurgence
8. The Blurred Lines Between Producer and Consumer
9. The Advancements in Technology Facilitating Fan Creation
10. Conclusion

The Rise of Shrek on the Internet

Shrek's tans is one of the most, successful movie franchises of the 21st century with the titular ogre being the subject of numerous films TV spin-offs, and hundreds of pieces of merchandise. If You've been lurking around the internet for the past decade, you've probably noticed his presence in a very different Context. A quick Sweep across websites such as YouTube, Reddit, and Pinterest will Show a bizarre array of content dedicated to the franchise, ranging from memes to fan arts to fully fledged fan films centered on Shrek and his companions. While a lot of this content seems innocent at best and ironic at its worst, there has been a slow growth in content which re-routes the franchise from its family-friendly origins to place the characters in a more disturbing adult context.

Released in 2001, Shrek tells the tale of a temperamental ogre who, after finding himself disturbed by a group of fairy tale creatures, accepts a job from the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad to retrieve sleeping Princess Fiona. The film was released to both box-office success and critical acclaim, grossing four hundred and eighty 4.4 million dollars over a 60 million budget and becoming the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This success resulted in a myriad of sequels, televised holiday specials, and a spin-off film entitled Puss in Boots. The franchise was so successful that DreamWorks even chose to use donkey as a guest star in their short-lived television series Father of the Pride to try and salvage some ratings.

However, by the late 2000s, it seemed as though the gates to Far Far Away would soon be closed for good. Audiences and critics grew tired of the green ogre, and the brand began to depreciate. But somewhere in the murky depths of his swamp, Shrek was festering away, ready to reimagine and rebrand himself as one of the internet's leading cult figures. This rebrand, however, wasn't coming from DreamWorks, but from the even murkier corners of the internet.

The internet's love affair with Shrek began with DreamWorks' launch of the Shrek official Facebook page on December 1st, 2009. Shrek would bizarrely speak to users in the first person, often with posts filled with Shrek puns. These posts routinely garnered thousands of likes and comments, and it wasn't long before fans began to repurpose the language used by Shrek to Create their own original, often incomprehensible, content. The rise of Shrek memes and fan art showcased an ironic detachment, taking shots at the pop-culture references that the Shrek franchise was originally famous for.

But the most prominent and infamous example of Shrek's repurposing online is "Shrek is love, Shrek is life." Originally posted on 4chan in January 2013, "Shrek is love, Shrek is life" tells the tale of a nine-year-old boy who is mocked and abused by his father for his obsession with Shrek. To his delight, the titular ogre flies through the boy's window and proceeds to sodomize him violently. The green text spread like wildfire online and reached its peak when it was reanimated as a video by YouTube user PsychoStick, using Valve's Source engine. From there, the internet became littered with Shrek-Based content, including numerous CGI fan films set to "Smash Mouth's" "All Star," the establishment of online message board Shrek Chan, and even the creation of a modded version of Slender featuring a bloodthirsty Shrek who stalks you as you search for onions.

These pieces of content have in turn spawned countless numbers of parodies, offshoots, and an extensive range of fan-produced merchandise. The fan trend of graffitiing "Shrek is love, Shrek is life" in public places further solidifies this weird new iteration of Shrek as arguably the franchise's own rights.

This resurgence of Shrek Speaks to the creation of a massive Shrek paratext, an external Type of text that supports and changes the meaning of the original text. Paratexts can be difficult to define clearly, but they play a crucial role in our understanding of the main text. In the case of Shrek, the addition of fan-created content has fundamentally Altered our understanding of what Shrek is. Where Shrek was once a popular and critically acclaimed family franchise, it is now simultaneously a symbol for internet culture and profanity.

The why and how of Shrek's online resurgence can be attributed to various factors. Theories range from the appeal of transgression and the aesthetics of rebellion to advancements in technology that have made it easier for fans to engage with Texts and create their own content. The lines between producer and consumer have blurred considerably, and the dividing line between professional and amateur has grown smaller.

Platforms like YouTube have facilitated fan creation and provided an outlet for content to achieve the same levels of popularity as big-budget counterparts. With accessible digital technologies, fans can now remap the definitions of their favorite works through the production of auxiliary content. While not all fan-produced Shrek content is intended to be taken seriously, the fact remains that these pieces have fundamentally changed our understanding of what Shrek represents.

The advancements in technology have played a significant role in enabling fan creation. The creation of CGI content, which was once limited to highly skilled teams and large budgets, has become far easier and cheaper. With consumer PCs and free tools like Blender, Maya, and Source Engine, anyone can start creating their own content. This ease of access has resulted in a vast array of Shrek-based videos, fan films, and other content that showcases the creative abilities of fans.

While some of the fan-produced content associated with Shrek may be crass, crude, or outright disturbing, it's important to recognize the achievement it represents within the context of technological advancements and changing fan practices. Shrek's online resurrection demonstrates how fans can actively remap the definitions of beloved texts, ultimately reshaping our understanding of the franchise.

In conclusion, Shrek's Journey from a popular movie franchise to an internet cult figure showcases the power of fan engagement and the changing landscape of content creation. The prevalence of Shrek-related memes, fan art, and fan films highlights the blurring lines between producers and consumers, as well as the advancements in technology that have made fan creation more accessible than ever before. Shrek's online resurgence has fundamentally altered our understanding of the franchise, transforming it into a symbol of internet culture and provoking a redefinition of what Shrek represents.