The Viaduct: Shrek, Psychoanalyzed
This is fourth lecture of The Viaduct Fall 2025 Lecture Series.
Shrek, Psychoanalyzed by Sherry Ning
Shrek is a large, disgusting, terrifying ogre that lives in a swamp. But, what does this story say about the nature of love? What does the swamp symbolize? What is truly driving Lord Farquaad's ego?
Sherry is taking a deeper look at things. She writes about experiences you've had but don't know how to describe—from heartbreak to the feeling of self-sabotage to the joy of boredom.
Event Timing
6:00 PM: Doors Open and Live Music
7:00 PM: Lecture Followed by Q&A
8:30 PM: Social Hour
10:00 PM: Event Concludes
Patron Tickets
Our patrons make the work that the Toronto Society does possible. Every patron ticket includes
A reserved front row seat for every lecture
Dinner with the lecturer following the show
An invitation to the post-series Toronto Society Ball
Access to all future series before public release
Our sincere gratitude
Our Vibe (The Toronto Society Etiquette Guide)
Toronto deserves the most welcoming intellectual community in the world.
Society events are a place for our community to learn, make friends, and develop their ideas. Everyone should feel energized, engaged, and most importantly at ease. Here are a few pointers to help build that spirit:
Put in the effort. The most interesting dialogue you will have all week will be at a Toronto Society event but being part of a sparkling conversation takes work. Pay attention. Really listen. Push your thinking. Try to make the other person laugh. Dress 10% better than you usually would.
Extend grace to everyone. We’re here to learn together. Learning means being able to make mistakes. No one knows everything and no one should ever be made to feel bad about their ideas.
Prioritize Love. We do this because we love to learn, we love the world and believe we can make it better together, or because we simply love to spend time with our friends. Whatever the motivation, we want to make things better. This means bringing a spirit of optimism, however tentative, and not cynicism, nihilism or the desire to outsmart or undermine.
About the Viaduct
The Viaduct is a lecture series highlighting people and ideas that could transform our city. Season Two is about crossing—between knowledge and mystery, the imagined and the real. Each lecturer will build their own span of ideas for you to walk across: Shrek and the fear of being loved; the psychology of horror and its strange seductions; and more. Each lecture will be preluded by live music played by local artists, from R&B to classical. We meet to be changed—by a sentence that rearranges the mind, a frame that lingers in the dark, a story that can only be told once. Patron ticket holders will join the speakers for a private dinner after each lecture. The season ends with a Regent-era country ball—bring a date, or leave with one.
About the Toronto Society
The Toronto Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge is building intellectual infrastructure that will promote education, community, and cultural creativity for the next 100 years and beyond.
Notice of Filming and Photography
When you attend this event, you enter an area where photography, audio, and video recording will occur. By entering the event premises, you consent to this recording and its release, publication, exhibition or reproduction.