10 Lessons The Lion King Taught Me - Writers Forum

thelatemitchellwarren · 10-09-2005, 01:08 AM

First off, how are you doing you bunch of WF-ers? Love what you've done to the place. Uh...sort of. I heard WF.com had a new look so I had to come and see it for myself.

Is Eleutheromaniac still here or has he disappeared from the internet? I saw a few of my old buddies in another thread, but honestly I'm too lazy to search every single discussion going on. Too crowded, like Trump Tower in here...too many rooms too many rich people.

Anyway I can't think of anything else to say, so this is an article I wrote about "The Lion King". See ya around.

10 Lessons The Lion King Taught Me

I've been watching The Lion King obsessively for quite a while now for my own personal reasons. However, it wasn't until reading an article online (from...D'oh, forgot--obscure news journal) that I really started to understand why the movie affected me on such a subliminal level then and now. (Of course it's subliminal and self-revealing, that is why we obsessively watch anything) Anyway, the article went on to explore Disney as a "moral educator"; that it had surpassed the simple role of guardian and had stepped into the shoes of a full fledged parent for moviegoing children. How so? Because of the moralizing shown in its family flicks. When Disney presents a movie like Beauty & The Beast, in which man and woman fall in love, or Aladdin in which Robin Williams goofs off on B material while a man and woman fall in love, they are entertaining our children. But when they crossover into morality, religion and existentialism, they take on the role of moral educator and begin indoctrinating into our children. Should they be doing this when children who watch Disney films are at an especially impressionable age and might possibly be incapable of fully accepting the concept of faith or morals from someone other than mom or dad? After all, would you allow your toddler aged son or daughter to listen to a full grown black man explain his view of God, the bible and evolutionary theory?

Let's put that thought on hold for a second.

I was more or less a kid when I first saw The Lion King in 1994 and these are the lessons I believe I was taught at a somewhat impressionable age of 17. (Keep in mind, preaching to a kid any younger than a teen is almost
inculcating)

1.When the man roars, the women listen and roar back. The Lion King was accused of being sexist because no strong female character was present, and all the female characters mainly just sat back and watched the men dominate the kingdom. And ROARED when the male lions roared. Does this mean that women are not leaders by nature and seek to be dominated in relationships? Hmmm this does make sense if you buy the whole Speed Dating philosophy. But I won't give much thought to this, since this is part of a much more broad idealogy...

2.Namely than great works are often repeated. The simple (and possibly alarming) fact is that the Lion King borrows heavily from the Bible. And Shakespeare. And ancient mythology. Everyone knows that LK is loosely based on Hamlet and other works but it adds a bit more trepidation when you learn that the supposed word of God is being drawn in funny shapes and expressions--and in an alternative universe. Consider well known biblical story lines and Disney's caricaturized interpretation of them. Paradise that a man rules over, given to him by God. Mufasa tells Simba everything the light touches is your kingdom. But God commands Adam not to partake of the forbidden tree. But that shadowy place is "beyond" Simba's borders, a place which he may never go. Adam breaks the law. Simba defies his Father's order and walks on the wild side of danger. Instead of Adam going along with Eve and finding death, Nahla follows Simba and they are met with disaster. Fast forward to the halfway mark: Simba becomes the Prodigal Son and leaves his "spiritual" responsibilities behind. Meanwhile the monkey sees that a promised Lion-ssiah will return to the kingdom, that has been lost in spiritual/literal darkness, and reclaim his rightful kingship and restore the desolate wasteland to paradise once again. Parallels to Revelation and the Gospels abound--and paradoxically, traditional Christianity is pushed here, which is in sharp contrast to the next point I learned...

3.We are all connected in the circle of life. Darwinism now contrasts the teaching of traditional Christianity, teaching us that we are all connected in a neverending chain of life and death. Our bodies become the dirt, the grass as Mufasa tells Simba, and we must respect the life in everything. Fascinating how in one animated film Christianity, Hinduism and Darwinism have been amalgamated into one unquestionable Lion Religion.

4.But speaking of religion, is the Lion King a religious movie? I think the answer is surely yes although again, it combines many other religions into a caricatured "true religion". During one of the best moments of the whole movie, Simba and his new friends Timone and Puumba speculate what exists above the sky and into the stars. Simba recalls his "religious" upbringing in which he was told by his father was DOES lie above the stars--the great kings of the past. However, Timone and Puuma here take on the roles of agnostics, laughing at Simba's explanation, and pushing their worldly wisdom of Hakuna Matata and the cynic's view of spirituality. Timone says the stars are fireflies--he sees the stars as a poet would, having no real concept of a Godlike being, but only of what he has observed in his very limited perspective. Puumba sees the stars in a purely scientific manner, believing them to be balls of gas burning billions of miles away. Of course, he being a very flatulent creature, he explains only according to what he knows. The ultimate moral lesson of course, is that every creature has his own way of viewing the world. And everyone has their own unique brand of faith. There's more to see (about faith) in this movie than can ever been seen...more to do than can ever be done...(at least in this post). So we'll take a break from the religious angle and come back to it at the very end. Let's digress and talk about some other innuendos.

5.Poor Uneducated Black People Lower Property Value. Let's talk about the suspected racism in the Lion King. The three hyenas, I agree, are drawn and voiced to represent ghetto blacks of lower income families. It's no coincidence that Goldberg and Marin, with their distinct ethnic voices, were cast to make the hyenas "hip" and "urban." The fact that the third Hyena known as Ed is a little "slow" and ultra-goofy could also be a cloaked criticism of the mentally challenged. The topper though is the fact that when Scar lets the Hyenas into the pridelands, all hell breaks loose and what was once a shiny kingdom of paradise gradually turns into the projects--the worst block in the hood. Are all hyenas evil or is it just their unwise spending habits and bad money management? Why are hyenas always starving? I should point out though that I don't believe the Lion King is a "racist" movie. Simply because half the entire cast was voiced by black actors. James Earl Jones played the "whitest" lion of them all, in Mufasa. Now is this a cloaked statement regarding "educated, political" African Americans progressing in society as opposed to the ones who adopt the hip hop fashion, stay street smart and thus earn George W.'s contempt? I can't say I believe that. I do however believe that the hyenas were drawn and voiced in a certain way, for a purpose. Is the movie racist in that it exploits or abuses black actors or is insensitive to African Americans as a whole? I don't believe so.

6.Homosexuality--Good & Evil. Was Scar designed to be an effiminate Lion who disliked the company of lionesses? Well yes. Was he a gay lion? Apparently not, if you remember the underrated direct to video sequel, Simba's Pride, in which we learn that Scar left behind a resentful widow. Now if Scar was the only sexually ambiguous character to see, then we might have a problem with homophobia. However, Disney also portrayed homosexuality in a positive light with Timone & Puuma, who were inexplicably close to each other (how many times can a character fondle another's butt without being accused of having sexual thoughts) and sharing the same forest bed--thus strongly but safely implying they were very special male friends. The fact that Simba befriends two homosexual creatures also recalls the lesson of overcoming prejudice and realizing that your pespective (especially the right wing religious majority) is only one of many perspectives held by many individuals all with very different upbringings. Exploring the world, shattering old taboos, and making new friends you never would have thought of befriending, is a real life lesson as old as the circle of life.

7.Death Is Real & Ugly. Mufasa's death was graphic and took place on screen-far surpassing the unseen death of Bambi's mother years ago. Was it wrong to teach children about cold blooded murder and to depict the violence in such a beautifully drawn scene as the wildebeest stampede? I don't think so because children need to learn about death, about injustice, and about the fact that "Life's not fair is it?" It does take away some of their innocence but given the message of the movie and the hope it restores, to depict a death early on in the film is a necessary evil. It was also a good move to show Scar's death, as it teaches that criminal scheming and deception will always result in punishment. Disney should be "respected, saluted" for being this daring. As violent as Pulp Fiction, but with more of a point.

8.Sex Is Good. What I don't get are the protests of this movie, claiming there's a subliminal message about sex in one dirt filled scene that is secretly sending mental messages to children. Hellooooo? Let's talk about the OVERT SEXUAL MESSAGES we find in this movie. Mufasa and Sirabe have sex and thus give birth to Simba. Simba grows up, falls in love with Nahla and they have sex and give birth to Kiara. For years Disney has been sending messages to children saying, Sex is a part of life. When you're young you have a crush. Then you grow up. Then you fall in love. (hopefully) Then you engage in SEX and thus produce children. What the hell is the matter with these people? So what if you see the word SEX spelled out in the dirt? The whole movie is partially about sex. If you really want to nitpick, ask yourselves how many lionesses did Simba and Mufasa really have and just what were their duties, anyway?

9."You are more than what you have become," an angry Mufasa explains to Simba from beyond the grass. Haunting words, when thinking about the implications it gives us as an audience. What do we owe anyone, besides that we live and breathe and try not to eat each other? While I think there is a religious subtext here, pushing people to faith & religion of some sort, I also think that this scene is just as much about guilt and redemption. We all suffer from trauma in our lives, mistakes of the past or unrequited ambitions that we never fulfilled. Analyzing it from a nonreligious standpoint, if there is something that we yearn to do, and yet hold back from accomplishing out of fear, resentment or guilt, then we are being a Simba--we are running away from what calls to us. Is it belief in God? It can't be absolute preaching here, since Disney is also advocating Darwin's philosophy that life is a never ending chain of circular events, life and death, decomposition and conception. So we have to take it that Disney is painting a surreal picture of "faith" open to our own interpretation as unique and varied human beings--it is whatever we make it out to be. Are we running away from our self-granted destiny or do we have the strength of a lion to face our greatest challenge and conquer the demons of the past?

10.But the biggest lesson to learn here is a tough one: "I know who you are. You're Mufasa's boy," Rafiki teases a brooding Simba late one night. Speaking again of destiny and of quasireligious undertones, when you really get down to it--what more can we expect of a child, but that he grows up to be who his parents want him to be? Children are mostly the product of their upbringing. Bad children grow up into bad adults as a result of a bad household. That leaves all the good children, all well behaved and with loving parents, who each go their separate way because of the subtle but solid parental examples that were left behind for them. It wasn't Simba's obligation that he become king. His father could have looked down on him and wished him well, living with a warthog and eating bugs all day. But it was Mufasa's will for his son that he become king, as his father did, and his father did, and etc. The example parents set for their young ones leaves leaves a definite mark and becomes a burned image of grown up success in the mind's eyes of a young person. There is a good chance that if a boy was taught by father to put work ahead of family that he will grow up to be a wealthy workaholic. (ala "Cats In The Cradle") On the otherhand, if a girl was taught by her mother to be strong-minded, industrious and proactive in the community, you can bet this girl won't be sitting at home content to be just another housewife. Lastly, if a young man is raised by parents to believe in a particular faith or an understanding of God, though he might go soul searching in his rebellious youth, it's likely he will follow in their "pawprints" when he settles down in life. On the otherhand, a little Girl Mouse who was raised in a household with no specific religious study, will have no specific "faith" to turn to, and may even find the thought of a "religious" discussion about The Lion King out of place and nonsensical. (dedicated to Minnie Mouse of writers.net)

We cannot escape our destiny. We all do have a destiny, you know. And whatever that destiny is, is determined when we are young and as we spend time with our moral educators who teach us the circle of life--as they see it.

Coming from an extreme religious background myself, I do see a lot of faith discussion in the movie, whereas others only read the more general faith-healing message of Live & Let Live. Remember, all are agreed as they join the stampede you can never take more than you give. Meaning, no matter your faith or belief, be good to one another! (A nice safe message worthy of Jerry Springer hehehe...the only clear message Disney would be allowed to give in a press release, but certainly not the only one they implied)

The Lion King is a great film because while it entertains and educates our children, it also provokes deep discussion on all things symbolic, literal and interpretive for adults who are willing to pay close attention to its allegory.

And I think I'll end this long post with my favorite Steve Martin joke. But it's great to be here back live in front of people. I mean, I love doing movies, because.. well, the movies are very important to our lives. I can still remember sitting in a darkened movie theater with my arm around 17-year old Mary Jo Rasmussin, trying to get to first base. I can even remember the name of the movie: "The Lion King".

tekp · 10-09-2005, 04:04 PM

The Lion King is one of my favourite Disney films of all time, and this post has made it even more so.

Thanks

Pawn · 10-09-2005, 07:59 PM

I must say I've a soft spot for Disney. Clearly you've lost your inner child, Starr.

Jason (eleutheromaniac) has been away for some months. His whereabouts are beyond me.

Wyndstar · 10-09-2005, 08:39 PM

Dating myself, I remember a japanime program called "Kimba, the white lion". Parents die, has to grow up to be king of the jungle, yattayatta---lot of the same premise. Just enough differences so there'd be no dispute about copywrite I suppose.

Anyway, with some minor exceptions, I'm not a real big fan of disney. There's something disconcerting to a mother when all the possibly strong female chars are dead (most of the mothers, Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella, Pochantas, even the new Chicken Little), deranged (Ursula, the Black Queen, the stepmother,) or docile (Simba's mother). And females that start out strong end up stupid when they grow up (Ariel---has a daughter like herself, can't think of a better way to protect her kid than put up a fence? Simba's girl can't do anything about Scar until she finds Simba? What?) Jasmine's ditzy father raised her to be the slickster she is? Ariel's father, Timone and Pumba raise Simba---so far, disney makes a good arguement with their chars that mothers aren't any more necessary than being breeding machines. LK is the perfect example of this point. Nuala doesn't even really convince Simba, his dead father does that. All the lionesses do all the work, can't raise up, Simba has to be their savior. Oh goody, we're back to the patriarchal decree that women is subordinate to man because we're just inferior creatures.

Not to be anti-childhood or anything, but with few exceptions, I don't see disney as a good for younger children to watch. Better my daughter watch The Wild Thornberrys, Spongebob, Dora, Diego, The Teen Titans, and my personal fav, The Grim Adventures Of Mandy and Billy.

silverwriter · 10-10-2005, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starrwriter

He's not lost. I keep him chained up in a closet and feed him only bread and water. Little bugger got me into too much trouble.

Haven't been able to catch mine yet.

Hodge · 10-10-2005, 01:46 AM

Ah, Disney... I love Disney movies. I really do. Except for The Lion King, I really hate Jonathan Taylor Thomas and the animation just didn't draw me in. Nor the plot. My favorite is Aladdin, but I like most of them.

Wyndstar: Mulan and Beauty & The Beast had a strong female leads. Can't think of any others that really did, though... Maybe Pocahontas, but I never saw it and don't want to because the animation looks like crap (and I really don't like John Smith).

Wow, that's a trip... I'm looking at a list of Disney's animated movies and it brings back so many memories...

Pawn · 10-10-2005, 01:50 PM

Ye canny beat Robin Hood. Now there's a film.

Rico · 10-10-2005, 01:58 PM

Pawn, are you talking about the old, animated version?

I watched that when I was stoned once....wow...that was such an excellent film

Pawn · 10-10-2005, 02:17 PM

Yup Rico. It was a childhood favourite, and I rewatched it recently under the influence. Man, that film kicks ass.