Think We Can Rewind to the Heady Days Before Trump and Brexit? Think Again
The referendum and US election results may seem disastrous, but they were symptoms of social divisions that have still not been resolved
By Gary Younge
In Shrek Forever After, the eponymous ogre opens his heart to the arch-schemer Rumpelstiltskin. Tired of family obligations, Shrek wants to live just one day as a footloose, scary, bachelor ogre. “Back when villagers were afraid of me,” he says. “And I could take a mud bath in peace. When I could do what I wanted, when I wanted to do it! Back when the world made sense!”
Rumpelstiltskin grants his wish but in return demands a day from Shrek’s life. Shrek agrees, not realising that Rumpelstiltskin picks the day he was born. The film then lays out a counterfactual dystopia, where Shrek’s absence leads to a kingdom ruled by Rumpelstiltskin in which persecuted ogres organise a resistance.
The dominant mood among liberals is that we need to go backwards to better times. Brexit followed by the election of Donald Trump provide such undeniable illustrations of self-harm to some that they should be reversed or even erased. (A proportion would add Jeremy Corbyn’s elevation to Labour leader to that mix.)
