suppliedAfter a landslide victory in a poll asking what movie students want to see, the Students’ Union will be showing Shrek on Valentine’s Day.
A total of 116 students voted in the Students’ Union’s poll asking students to choose the free movie for their Valentine’s Day event. With 61 per cent of the vote, Shrek was the most popular choice, outdoing all the other options including La La Land, Bridesmaids, and When Harry Met Sally. The movie will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Myer Horowitz Theatre.
The screening is being organized by the campus activities board, which works in collaboration with students and student groups in organizing events in response to student demand. The board consists of student councillors and students at large, and is chaired by fifth-year ALES student Steven Lin.
Lin called the movie, which follows an ogre who falls in love with a princess, “a classic” from many student’s childhoods, adding that he wasn’t surprised that Shrek won the poll.
“Just walking around campus, people are just really pumped that Shrek won,” he said. “And Shrek won by a landslide, it was not even close.”
Lin anticipates a decent turnout for the movie, adding that the movie appeals to all students with its non-traditional love story, and not just those who are currently in a relationship.
“I don’t think (Myer Horowitz Theatre) will be packed full of couples. There will be couples obviously but I think a lot of it is also like friends that don’t want to do anything on Valentine’s Day, don’t have any plans to do anything on Valentine’s Day, and just want to hang out,” he said. “Shrek is not thought about as a traditional romance movie so you wouldn’t be like ‘oh I should only bring my significant other to this event.’”
Lin added that with Shrek, the event will be stepping away from the stigma Valentine’s Day generates towards singles.
“Valentine’s Day has this thing of like you have to have a couple love, and when we were planning this event we really wanted to be inclusive of other ways of love,” he said. “Valentine’s Day always appeals to couples only, we should stray away from that.”
