Social Psychology In Shrek

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Social Psychology is the scientific study of how we influence, affect, and relate to one another. Social psychology is studied to see how the influence of others can impact how we act. This can be seen in many aspects in life. Most specifically, social psychology can be seen in movies. Recently, I have viewed the movie Shrek which was released in 2001. Shrek is a kid’s movie about an ogre named Shrek who rescues a princess from a castle for Lord Farquaad in order to regain his swamp and privacy. During this process, however, Shrek falls in love with the princess and discovers a secret about her. While watching Shrek, I have noticed that many theories and concepts from social psychology were apparent in the film. Many vocabulary terms learned in social psychology …show more content…

This is noticeable when the fairytale creatures were banished to the swamp by Lord Farquaad. Since they were not normal human beings, they were seen as outcasts and thus banished away from the kingdom. This is also obvious when the townspeople go to kill Shrek with pitchforks. Shrek, being an ogre, is seen as different from the townspeople and a threat to them. This causes them to want to kill him to ensure security. The second thing I noticed in Shrek ties along with in-group and outgroup, which is prejudice. Prejudice is seen in Shrek during the scene when Shrek has a conversation with Donkey explaining why the world doesn’t understand him. Shrek spoke of the prejudice people had towards him. He told Donkey that people judge him before they even get to know him. People view him as a big, ugly, stupid ogre who wants to do nothing but eat them. This is the reason why Shrek is so isolated and avoids becoming close with anyone. The townspeople are prejudice towards Shrek because of his appearance which is similar to how certain people are prejudice based on skin color. Right after this, friendship formulation occurs between Shrek and Donkey. Like Shrek, Donkey has been treated

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