What if someone thought he was strong enough to defend himself from imminent dangers?Wouldn’t that person need to live in a community?In this article, we will study the effects of loneliness from the point of view of the film “Shrek”.
Living in community is a natural thing for human beings. First it was to survive, to defend ourselves from animals, for rival tribes and to make food supplies more efficient, villages and villages offered their inhabitants protection, sense of belonging and safety. Community.
- Shrek is a 2001 animated film produced by Dreamworks Animation Studios.
- The protagonist is an ogre who lives in a very remote swamp.
- In the middle of a forest.
- This individual is perfectly at ease in this situation and loves the solitude of his home.
One day, however, Shrek’s precious loneliness is suddenly destroyed by an invasion of boring fairy tale characters, all banished from his kingdom by the evil Lord Farquad.
The ogre, determined to save his house, reaches an agreement with Farquad. Si keeping these characters out of fairy tales, Shrek would save Princess Fiona. Therefore, Shrek must embark on a very long and adventurous journey with a single companion named Donkey. to find the girl. Therefore, he must face not only all kinds of dangers, but the end of his loneliness.
Generally, people tend to believe that being alone is a personal failure. This idea is incorrect. Loneliness is just a state of transition, which can be chosen voluntarily or not. Loneliness, when chosen, comes from decisions made by oneself.
Often, voluntary isolation arises from the desire to be the engine of one’s life, born of the desire to be authentic, without masks or fantasies, the loneliness chosen can promote personal development, in addition to the realization of projects and aspirations Here are some advantages of being alone due to a personal choice:
In the film, the ogre must go in search of the beautiful Princess Fiona, locked in a tower guarded by a dragon, when Shrek and Donkey manage to free her from their fearsome guardian, she is delighted; however, this happiness dissipates quickly when Fiona discovers that her savior is an ogre and not a prince.
On their journey back to Farquad Castle, Shrek and Fiona discover that they have much in common, along the way they fall in love, but the princess has not yet revealed her secret to anyone, due to a spell, she also becomes an ogre every night, although she becomes human again at dawn.
Who first discovers the princess’ secret is the donkey, Fiona then explains that she was bewitched as a child and that a simple kiss of her true love will return her to her normal form. Shrek surprises part of the conversation between Donkey and Fiona, doesn’t understand what’s going on and feels betrayed.
Although he spends a lot of time in solitude, Shrek does not have a good level of self-knowledge, although loneliness is good for introspection, it is clear that Shrek did not benefit in this way, the protagonist of the film had very few abilities. to define and express their needs and feelings.
Therefore, when Lord Farquad takes Fiona back to his castle, Shrek returns to the swamp, now empty and alone, where he feels bad for not expressing how he felt about the princess, even though he believed that she felt contempt for him. The swamp has now become a self-imposed prison: the same loneliness that made you happy now makes you unhappy.
Shrek soon realizes that although he has regained his intimacy, he feels unhappy. He needs the company of the one he loves: Fiona and Donkey. However, the ogre has low self-esteem, does not feel worthy of anything.
Shrek, like many people with low self-esteem, feels compelled to reject others. This bad image of yourself can lead to feeling unable to communicate with others. This seems to be the cause of Shrek’s loneliness, rather than being freely chosen. His fear of suffering or being hurt by others, decided that it was better not to approach anyone.
In cases where loneliness occurs for similar reasons, the person must work to feel worthy of the companionship of others. Being away from others must be a choice, not something caused by fear. In Shrek’s case, when he realized he could love others, he decided to spend time with Donkey and Fiona, the people he loved the most.
When loneliness feels like something imposed, it is common to link it to negative emotions, in this way the sadness and mood of the person worsen, however being alone should not be bad, the person feels bad when he is not a chosen one. situation, but something that arises from fear.
So don’t be afraid to be alone. Take advantage of these moments to get to know yourself better and work on what you want to change, however, if you want to spend more time with others, start working for it, because we all deserve to be accepted by others.