Plot View Points
I'm gonna be the ruler of most everything around, from the grandest of the
mountains to the humble common ground, my reign will be a superawesome thing. Oh, I just can't wait to be king!
- I Just Canʼt Wait to be King - Elton John Version
While many films may seek to expand philosophy or show different philosophical views The Lion King touches the soul in a way that these other films can only hope to do. This seems to be due to its ability to connect to an audience on different layers. The first layer is, of course, the basic story outlined above with fun little lion cubs instead of people. This layer appears to be made to resinate with children, yet it is this layer that allows the film to grasp the depth needed. A smooth lake often hides its true depth from its viewers until the waves begin to crash. The second level of understanding is where the film gets interesting. Annalee R. Ward suggests that much of the story resembles the Creation, Fall, Redemption paradigm of the Christian Tradition.
1 She believes that there are several places indicating this the first of which is the opening scene where the good king Mufasa, representing God, having a son and ruling over a beautiful land where everything appears to be at peace. The second motif is when Simba is told where he can go, “everything the light touches is our kingdom,” however Scar, representing the tempting serpent, twists Mufasaʼs words stating that “only the bravest lions” go to the “shadowy place.” A place expressly forbidden to Simba by Mufasa. In a step away from the biblical narrative, likely for feminist reasons, Simba tempts Nala to go to the “shadow places,” a reversal of the biblical story. Yet true to the bible, both Simba and Nala know what they are doing is wrong and do it anyways, much like Adam and Eve. This is the beginning of Scarʼs plot to kill Mufasa and Simba, taking his place as king.
2 Indeed, Simba is exiled from Pride Rock and Scar does become the King, much like Adamʼs exile and Satanʼs reign as the God of this world.
3The third motif is Simbaʼs flight, he is in the desert wandering and is saved by Timon and Pumbaa, much like Mosesʼ flight from Pharaoh in Exodus 2. However the story would not be complete without a return of the King. After years of carefree living, Simba, like Moses, receives a vision from God, that is Mufasa, telling him to “take his place in the circle of life.” So Simba journeys back to Pride Rock to claim his throne. He finds that the beautiful world he loved was destroyed, however he must fight for it because if he doesnʼt “fight for it who will?” Simba finally defeats Scar, but does not deal the killing blow, rather the hyaena hordes betray Scar. The story ends with Simba returning from the dead, metaphorically speaking, as the hero and warrior savior of the Pride Lands and a new creation of Pride Rock, much like the new Jerusalem of
revelation.
4
Yet there is also an eastern element to the story. This element is represented by the lifestyle of Timon and Pumbaa. Their way draws upon the Taoist idea of Wu Wei, or living at harmony with nature.5 Timon and Pumbaaʼs philosophy takes over Simbaʼs life from the time he is very small until he is all but fully grown. This lifestyle, epitomized in the song “Hakuna Matata” shows a real and working philosophy of apathy. That is a philosophy that will not go contrary to nature but rather much like Wu Wei go with the flow of lifeʼs river.6
Moreover, Rafiki the wise shaman is the bridge bringing these eastern and western ideas together. He is the priest who preforms the “baptism” of Simba, but also teaches Simba that his fatherʼs spirit lives within. Rafikiʼs major scenes seem to involve the combining of these two worlds into a more pluralistic world. The “baptism7” of Simba occurs while the “Circle of Life” is playing in the background. When Simba meets Rafiki before his vision of Mufasa, Simba is engaged in a crisis of existential proportions. He is at a moment where he cannot simply “Hakuna Matata” away his past. Rafiki from the Lotus position begins to explain to Simba who those touching the lives of others live within. This image seeks to combine the western idea of God living within, with the eastern idea of ancestor worship. Finally at the end of the film, Rafiki once again dons the mantle of priest to preform the “baptism” of Simbaʼs daughter Kiara again to the tune, the circle of life.
Still the religious east-west reading of the film is only the second of many levels within the film. There is a different east-west reading that some critics find attractive. This reading see the film as one of conquest. Mufasa was the good king reigning over Africa. He and his ancestors represent many years of unadulterated reign over the African continent. Scar symbolizes western nations ruining this unspoiled land. Simbaʼs journey is then to be understood as Africaʼs struggle to find itself and his return as the regaining of Africa by Africans. This may be seen most clearly in the election of Nelson Mandela, who was of African Royalty and elected in the same year as The Lion Kingʼs release.8 While this is an interesting reading it does leave certain portions of the film unexplained. There is also a LGBT reading of the film emphasizing the relationship between Timon and Pumbaa is not one of mere friends.9 Others believe there is a large element of racism being promoted through this film, due to the casting of the hyenas.10 This seems rather strange as James Earl Jones was cast to play Mufasa.
Mark Pinskiʼs view on the story is much different from that of Ward. Pinski sees the story as much less influenced by the Christian tradition; instead his view is that Minkoff is drawing on the Hindu tradition, citing the lyrics of the opening song, “The Circle of Life.”11 He also sees certain aspects of the of Scar and Mufasa as economic ideas. Scar is viewed as a welfare state, promising free meat to the hyenas. Scarʼs rule is symbolic of the Soviet Russian state, with the hyenas as the proletariat and the lions as the bourgeoisie.12 This view is quite interesting as it ultimately condemns communism as a bad system that will cause ruin to the land. The emphasis on strong and wise authority is shown to be of the utmost importance since Scarʼs state falls to pieces in the few short years of his rule. Accordingly many Marxists would suggest that Scarʼs reign was not a pure communism, rather a Stalinism.
1.) Annalee R. Ward, Mouse Morality: The Rhetoric of Disney Animated Film (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2002), 14-17.
2.) Ibid.
3.) Genesis 3:23-24 cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4
4.) Ward, 17.
5.) Jennifer Moore, Understanding Taoism Origins*beliefs*practices*holy Texts*sacred Places (London: Watkins Publishing, 2011), 34.
6.) Ibid.
7.) This “baptism” appears similar to those seen the the Anglican, Roman Catholic, or certain Presbyterian churches. However rather than crossing Simba, Rafiki simply creates as single line across his head.
8.) Mark I. Pinski, The Gospel According to Disney, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 159.
9.) Ibid., 157.
10.) Henry A. Giroux, The Mouse That Roared, (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999), 105.
11.) Pinski, 154.
12.) Ibid., 154-55.
