By John Q. Hosedrinker 
A roundtable discussion among Russian lawmakers condemned Western animation, toys, and video games, alleging a negative influence on Russian children. State Duma deputy Yana Lantratova highlighted the perceived shift from positive Soviet-era characters to flawed Western counterparts like Shrek and the Grinch. The lawmakers argued that these characters, despite seeming innocuous, promote undesirable traits while being presented as positive role models. This cultural infiltration, they claimed, erodes the image of the purely positive character prevalent in Soviet media.
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Russian lawmakers have declared war on Shrek, and it’s… well, it’s a lot. The sheer audacity of it all is almost comical, if it weren’t for the disturbing implications of this bizarre crusade against a beloved animated ogre. Apparently, the recent focus on characters with flaws in modern children’s films, like Shrek and Monsters, Inc., is seen as a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate Russian children. The argument is that these films, with their protagonists exhibiting character growth and overcoming imperfections, are somehow morally corrupting.
This perspective seems to stem from a belief that traditional Russian tales featured only perfect characters, a view that ignores the rich complexity and occasional moral ambiguity found in many classic stories across cultures. The idea that a children’s movie about an ogre finding love and acceptance is a threat to Russian values seems, to put it mildly, far-fetched. It’s a case of projectivism taken to an extreme – seeing malicious intent where there is none, while simultaneously overlooking the darker implications of their own actions.
The timing of this “war” is equally baffling. Shrek and Monsters, Inc. are both over two decades old. It’s not a recent insidious plot; these films were released in 2001. Targeting them now seems like an arbitrary choice, indicative of a government searching for enemies where they don’t exist. The whole thing reeks of desperation, a search for external scapegoats to distract from internal issues. It’s a classic case of blaming the messenger.
The official reasoning is even more perplexing. Russian lawmakers claim that characters with physical or personality flaws are inherently destructive. A child seeing a protagonist with imperfections is apparently seen as a threat to Russian “spiritual values,” prompting them to advocate for “legal implementation of ‘traditional Russian spiritual values.'” The implication is that only flawless heroes are acceptable, creating a chillingly narrow view of appropriate storytelling. This grossly underestimates children’s capacity for critical thinking and understanding nuanced characters. The desire for “purely positive characters” seems far more likely to instill a distorted view of reality than a healthy understanding of the world.
The whole situation is reminiscent of past moral panics, but with a strangely modern twist. It’s as if the Russian government is waging war not on an actual threat, but on the very concept of character development and nuance in children’s entertainment. The ironic hypocrisy is not lost on anyone. A nation engaging in a brutal war, actively causing harm to innocent people, is concerned about the “destructive impact” of a fictional ogre’s flaws? The contrast is jarring and speaks volumes about their priorities.
It’s not just the incongruity of targeting Shrek; it’s the underlying message of intolerance for anything that deviates from a rigidly defined ideal. The whole affair highlights a disturbing lack of self-awareness. And the choice of Shrek as a symbol of this perceived cultural threat is darkly comical. He’s a beloved character who embodies resilience, kindness and acceptance. To attack Shrek is to attack those values. Is this a deliberate attempt to suppress any form of individualism or acceptance of difference? It would seem so.
The absurdity of the situation is undeniable. But the underlying threat is very real. This campaign against Shrek is not just a strange political stunt; it’s a symptom of a broader problem – an authoritarian regime attempting to control every aspect of its citizens’ lives, including their children’s entertainment. This is far more frightening than any ogre residing in a swamp. The whole situation leaves one wondering if this isn’t just a blatant attempt to distract from the country’s ongoing failures or perhaps a testament to their profound misunderstanding of the Western World. It is, at the very least, an incredibly bad look for an already embattled regime. And as for what Shrek did to deserve this, well, it appears the only crime he committed was existing, something which Russian authorities seem less than comfortable with.