My Lion King Forum

Unfortunately, this is the first article about TLK that I read(back in 2009)... Something reminded me of this and I'd like to dig it out again for everyone for a laugh.

http://people.smu.edu/qmyers/Lazarus%20 ... alysis.htm

"All's Not Well in Land of The Lion King"
by Margaret Lazarus


It's official: Walt Disney's The Lion King is breaking box-office records. Unfortunately, it's not breaking any stereotypes.

My sons, along with millions of other kids around the world, joyously awaited The Lion King. I was intrigued because this time Disney appeared to be skipping the old folk-tales with their traditional and primal undercurrents.

I hoped Disney had grown weary of reinforcing women's subordinate status by screening fables about a beauty who tames an angry male beast or a mermaid who gives up her glorious voice and splits her body to be with a prince.

So off we went to the movies, figuring we would enjoy an original, well-animated story about animals on the African plain. Even before the title sequence, however, I started to shudder.

Picture this (and I apologize for spilling the plot): The golden-maned -- that is, good -- lion is presenting his first born male child to his subjects. All the animals in the kingdom, know as Pride Lands, are paying tribute to the infant son that will someday be their king. These royal subjects are basically lion food -- zebras, monkeys, birds, etc. -- and they all live together in supposed harmony in the "circle of life."

Outside the kingdom, in a dark, gloomy, and impoverished elephant graveyard, are the hyenas. They live dismally jammed together among bones and litter. The hyenas are dark -- mostly black -- and they are nasty, menacing the little lion prince when he wanders into their territory.

One of their voices is done by Whoopie Goldberg, in a clearly inner-city dialect. If this is not the ghetto, I don't know what is.

All is not perfect inside Pride Lands, however. The king's evil brother Scar has no lionesses or cubs. Scar has a black mane, and speaks in an effeminate, limp-pawed, British style done by Jeremy Irons -- seemingly a gay caricature.

Scar conspires with the hyenas to kill the king and send the prince into exile. In exchange for their support, Scar allows the hyenas to live in Pride Lands. But property values soon crash: The hyenas over-populate, kill all the game, and litter the once-green land with bones.

Already Disney has gays and blacks ruining the "natural order," and the stereotypes keep rolling. The lionesses never question whether they should be serving Scar and the hyenas -- they just worry a lot. They are mistreated, but instead of fighting back these powerful hunters passively await salvation. (Even my 7-year-old wondered why the young, strong lioness didn't get rid of Scar.)

The circle of life is broken; disaster awaits everyone. But then the first-born male returns to reclaim power. The royal heir kills the gay usurper, and sends the hyenas back to the dark, gloomy, bone-filled ghetto. Order is restored and the message is clear: Only those born to privilege can bring about change.

This is not a story about animals -- we know animals don't behave like this. This is a metaphor for society that originated in the minds of Disney's creators. These bigoted images and attitudes will lodge deeply in children's consciousness.

I'm not sure I always understand the law of the Hollywood jungle, but my boys definitely don't. Scared and frightened by The Lion King, they were also riveted, and deeply affected. But entranced by the "Disney magic," they and millions of other children were given hidden messages that can only do them -- and us -- harm.

It's another article that picks a few points and goes along with them to represent the entire movie.

It's like when TLK was called racist because non of the main protagonists were black. Last time I checked, Mufasa had a black actor. Same with Sarabi and cub Nala.

And now this article is also calling TLK racist... Burn the article?

*Facepalm* What. An. Idiot. Seriously. I don't get why some people have to be such party-poopers and analyze EVERY single aspect of a film. It really annoys me =/

I hope I never, EVER turn into a mother like that.

I think they're more dangerous than underprotective parents.

SO true ^

LOL. Sorry but I gotta agree on the lionesses awaiting salvation part. xD His conclusion didn't make sense though... that's the message of the film, the message of the film is to never run away from your past. You've got to be really dumb to NOT get that.

They didn't really await starvation, they were pushed to overhunt and therefore there were no herds left. As Sarabi said "The herds have moved on, there is nothing left, we must leave Pride Rock" and I take that as they were running out of food before, but now it has run out and they have to do something quickly before they do starve.
Also...Simba does not have a golden mane ¬¬ It's red, Scar is clearly not gay and well, the entire cast should be black, technically! They are African, after all.


EDIT: Also, as slimey and creepy as he was, Scar was Sarabi's brother in law and she really didn't have a reason not to trust him. We all saw what happened, she did not.

Wow.. I just.. ugh. *walks away*

Omg lol this is hillarious xD

[quote="Jiirani"]Omg lol this is hillarious xD[/quote]
That's what I thought too when I first read this. But actually this isn't funny but it's seriously ridiculous. But the part where she writes scar is gay made me kind of... laughing (not that it's fun someone is gay but how stupid it is to think that a character from a kids-film would be gay)