Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The same old hocus-pocus: pedagogies of gender and sexuality in Shrek 2

2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01596300902809104

1469-3739

Elizabeth Marshall, Özlem Sensoy,

Digital Games and Media

Abstract The Shrek films are a popular worldwide and economic success. Drawing on an analysis of the film as well as responses from undergraduate students enrolled in a children's literature course, we analyze Shrek 2 as a teaching machine in which normative discourses of gender and sexuality circulate under the guise of ‘girl power’. We argue that while Shrek 2 purports to offer viewers a more progressive curriculum about girlhood in relationship to other media texts such as Disney, it ultimately reifies heterosexual white femininity as the norm. Keywords: children's filmcritical media educationgirlhoodfeminist analysis Notes 1. Students filled out an informed consent form on the first day of class in which they agreed to have their course-related activities analyzed and used in research articles as a way for the instructor to investigate how undergraduate students’ understandings of race, class, gender and/or sexuality influence their interpretations of children's texts; and as a way to add new knowledge to the field about how to develop effective strategies for critically teaching children's literature and film. Pseudonyms are used throughout the paper to ensure confidentiality and students were informed that they could withdraw their consent to have their coursework used at any time. Twenty-seven students attended the class session and filled out a viewing response form the day the film was shown (five of these students had elected not to have their work used for the purposes of research on the first day of class).