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“The Lion King” is a Disney film that was produced in 1994. The hit film starred Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones. A lion prince, Simba, is born in Africa and the animals of the Pride Lands pay tribute. Later, Simba is told by his father, King Mufasa, that when Mufasa dies, Simba with become king of the pride lands. Simba’s Uncle Scar would have been king after Mufasa had Simba not been born. Scar plots to kill Mufasa and Simba so he would be able to take over the throne. He uses his hyena slaves to instigate a stampeded through the canyon where Mufasa and Simba are, and personally causes Mufasa to fall to his death. Simba survives so Scar takes the opportunity to say that the stampede was Simba’s fault and the pride will blame him. Simba flees the Pride Lands meaning to never return home. Simba is found collapsed with exhaustion by Timone the meerkat and Pummba the warthog. The three of them become best friends. Simba stays and grows up with them well into adulthood until he encounters his childhood friend Nala. She was hunting beyond the Pride Lands because there was nothing left. Surprised that he was still alive, she begged him to come back. She pleads saying all of the animals will starve if he does not return. Simba agrees to return and fight for his kingdom. Simba battles Scar, and learns his father’s death was Scar’s fault and not his own. Simba wins the battle. In time, he has a son with Nala, mirroring the “Circle of Life”.
 * The Lion King**

“The Lion King” depicts several psychological issues within its context. The most notable issue is the death of Simba’s father. Simba’s development was hindered. He was forced to leave with the blame of his father’s death and grow up without any adult or parental figure. It appears at this point in the movie that he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Post- traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition that is triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, and uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Simba depicts this in the scene when he has an apparition of his father visiting him. He has a constant struggle with the fact that the blame of his father’s death has been placed on him. It is always in the back of his mind. When he reunites with Nala, his circumstances only get harder because he will have to face a pride that believes he killed his father and their king. Simba faces constant pressure throughout the entire movie. Scar, Simba’s uncle, has a very mean streak in him. His personality is centered on his ego, which leads to his psychological disorder. “Alfred Adler specified the inferiority complex. He believed that each person strives for superiority and are consequently are at risk for developing an inferiority complex, which occurs when an individual becomes fixated on their own perceived incompetence and lack of power” (Friedman 2009, p.119). Scar is angered at the fact that his older brother, Mufasa, was given the opportunity to rule instead of himself. Feeding into his obsession, he does anything for his quest for power, including murdering his own family members. He convinces others that his plan is right and that his new ways of ruling will be best for everyone. When finally confronted by Simba in the end, one can catch a glimpse of the true coward he is. Instead of accepting banishment as Simba did, Scar lashes out and attacks Simba, giving literal meaning to “stabbing him in his back”. This act of violence is not only cowardly, but intimate. He did not strike where Simba could see him and he attacked him so closely that that behavior suggests he really, truly, wanted Simba dead.

The Lion King is based off of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Hamlet”. So I believe the screenwriter’s main intention of including these issues was to create a parallel towards that play. Simba plays Hamlet’s character, Mufasa is the older Hamlet, Scar is Claudius, Nala is Ophelia, and Timone and Pummba are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Some of the settings are the same. In one scene in “Hamlet”, Hamlet Sr. appears to Hamlet Jr. as an apparition telling him he must avenge his death. Simba’s father also does the same. “The movie makes excellent use of imagery, for example rain, dawn and dust are used to symbolize hope or evilness, and from time to time act as foreshadowing” (EnglishPlace). The author may have had the intention of including Scar with the behavior he has to depict him as more unstable and more of a hazard to others. The author most likely depicts Simba with PTSD to show how effected he was by his father’s death and how much trouble he went through after witnessing it.

It is suggestive that the hyenas in the movie represent racial conflict. The voice over’s were black and Hispanic placing the wild animals in the equivalent environment of an inner city ghetto in the jungle, according to the University of Miami’s Advanced Social Psychology Department. Some other conflicts have arisen with the movie as well. There could be a possible noted gender-role issue. Females are not shown very often and the movie portrays males protecting them but also ruling over them. There is a scene in the movie where Scar strikes Simba’s mother. This also sends the message that women must depend on men for survival. Being that this movie is intended for children, children would be most affected by this. “Children learn gender roles by absorbing the culture around them” (Neil Chethik, Seattle Times Company). There are more human growth and development related subjects in the movie. Parenting styles is one. Mufasa, Simba’s father, is very protective of him and makes aware that there are many things that his son is not allowed to do. Although he set many boundaries, the “Because I said so” phenomenon, which indicates an authoritarian style of parenting, was never evident. It is to be assumed that he inhabited an authoritative style of parenting. He allowed his son to do certain things but also set some ground rules. Simba, of course like any other child, broke those rules. Another one of those subjects is the concept of social class. The Circle of Life represents this. The animals on the bottom of the food chain have a lower standard of life and have a harder time making ends meet. The animals on the top part of the food chain, such as the lions, have a better way of living and have it easier when it comes to finding food. When the social structure is interfered with, such as when Scar became king and put everything off course, the usual way of life becomes harder for everyone. In the movie, there was a lack of water to go around and if the animals do not have water then they cannot survive. If they cannot survive, then they cannot be hunted as prey or they will travel and leave to find better means of living. Organizational patterns keep the gears turning and when a stone is thrown in, the parts become disorganized and nothing works properly in order. The major symbols in the movie reflect the Shakespeare play, “Hamlet”. As mentioned before the characters in the movie play the same roles that are written in the lines of “Hamlet”. The king is murdered by his brother and the king’s son is at blame. The son is exiled and is never to return. The brother takes over the kingdom and turns the land upside down. The son reaches self actualization and comes back to rescue the kingdom and avenge his father’s death. The brother of the king fights the son and loses the battle in the end while the son restores balance.

Some have noted that although The Lion King was rated a G movie, it was one the only Disney movies that should have been classified as an adult movie. It depicts scene of fighting, violence, and death. A young son is orphaned for many years and must come back to fight for the throne that which belongs to him. There are many different views of the movie and many different takes on it. It could certainly be analyzed more deeply in every area and come up with some amazing results. The Lion King is a good depiction of some real aspects of life such as having to care for oneself, parenting styles, and family issues. Many can probably relate to this timeless childhood classic by Walt Disney.


 * Allers, R, dir. //The Lion King//. Prod. D Hahn. 1994. DVD.
 * Chethick, Neil. "Disne'ys "The Lion King": Same Old Sexist Jungle Out There." (1994): n. page. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.
 * "Disney Portrayl of Culture and Race in Film." (1999): n. page. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. .
 * Friedman, H.S., and M.W. Schustack. //Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research//. 4. Boston: Pearson, 2009. Print.
 * "Hamlet and The Lion King." (2010): n. page. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. .
 * Null, Christopher. "The Lion King." //On DVD//. (2003): n. page. Web. 21 Apr. 2012. .

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__Subject Matter—15 points out of 20__ You need in-text citations to the textbook for the concepts you are referring to.

__Higher-Order Thinking—15 points out of 20__ You leave many things unsaid about psychosocial stages, identity achievement via crisis and other key issues from the film that are covered in the textbook. For the things you did cover, you need to cite the textbook.

__Organization--25 points out of 30__ The structure is a little loose. For example, your foray into the Hamlet parallel is interesting, but distracting and unnecessary.

__Format--10 points out of 10__

__Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--10 points out of 10__

__Readability/Style--8 points out of 10__ Awkward paragraph transitions--try breaking them apart using empty lines (hit "enter" twice).

Grade: 83/100