Political Underpinnings of TLK & SP?

[SimbaKovu]

I recently got into an argument with one of my friends who's a member of the College Republicans at Binghamton University (my school) about whether or not the underlying political message in The Lion King films--mainly TLK, though--are liberal or conservative in nature. I argued that TLK was liberal because it is a story of a disgraced outcast (Simba) who rises up to overthrow a figure who had risen to power illegally and had broken the Circle of Life by mindlessly abusing the Pride Lands' natural resources (Scar), and also the obvious anti-Nazi overtones in "Be Prepared". My friend argued that TLK is conservative because it suggests Scar was sort of this Stalinist figure who had overthrown a monarchy by gaining the trust of a brutally oppressed lower class (the hyenas) in order to seize power and redistribute resources to their group. He also argued that it was an appeal for personal responsibility during the argument scene w/ Simba and Nala. Personally, I don't feel that conservatives have a monopoly on the principle of personal responsibility. I also have a very hard time recently wrapping my mind around this idea that we're supposed to see the lions as "the good guys", when they're the ones who are engineering an aristocratic, undemocratic regime of starvation and apartheid over the hyenas, much like the political system of South Africa, which was undergoing systemic changes in that system at the time TLK came out in 1994. I also feel that the hyenas are not intended to be universally irredeemable characters; they become oppressed and angry at Scar near the end just as the rest of the lions do, because they have their own self-interests which Scar had not fulfilled for them when he lead the coup which they had backed.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Is TLK a liberal or conservative movie? Also, take a crack at SP while you're at it. haha XD

[Moka]

Approved: This topic has great potential, but if it turns into a political debate, we're gonna have to lock it.

[Pixie]

Wow lot of political stuff there. I think that it is neither, that it is a metaphor for life, not politics. Yes, it has the potential to be political, but I think that's not as clear as the metahpor of remembering your true place in life, etc.

[SimbaKovu]

I just found what I think is a college thesis about 30 pages solely devoted to the topic of destructive political morals in TLK. It makes the very logical case that the Circle of Life motif is merely disguised as an environmental message in order to ingrain the conservative message that breaking the status quo and escaping from one's preordained place in the world is harmful, as exemplified by what happens when Scar and Simba break their traditional roles (i.e. Scar is supposed to be the lowly royal brother and instead becomes King; Simba is supposed to be King but ends up self-exiling himself to a life of Hakuna Matata). The effect in the movie is very harmful, thereby teaching children that social mobility handicaps society as a whole and that it is best to remain put in your inborn position in the social ladder rather than seek to elevate yourself. Why else would it be so blatant that TLK essentially celebrates the Apartheid system it places the hyenas in (hyenas, btw, serve as an anthropomorphic stand-in for Blacks)? It was meant as a wag of the finger to South Africa at the time, essentially saying to that country's government, "See, this is what happens when you let the lower groups have a say in the government! This is what happens when you upset the status quo by getting rid of Apartheid!" It's disguised as an environmental message to deflect such analysis.

Here's the thesis I was talking about:
http://www.allacademic.com//meta/p_mla_ ... 2821-1.php

[Mike]

I think it's quite hasty to characterize hyenas as "black" and lions as "white". Mufasa has possibly the most recognizably black voice in the film, along with Rafiki, both of whom are very much the symbols of good and balance. In contrast, the three main character hyenas could be taken for black, mexican, and mentally subnormal. Take your pick of which one's under discrimination in from the "classist" view of the movie.

My point is there's not enough consistency to take a message like apartheid from the films.

[Azdgari]

You know it's just my opinion, but I think it's possible to look too hard at things. It's quite possible to look at any movie and put it into a political context and draw some sort of conclusion from it; but is it really probable that a kids movie is intending to subliminally send a complex political message?

[Mike]

The depth at which this layer of meaning is hidden is also a telling factor to me. I'm quite sure that if the makers intended a message, it would be easier for it's intended audience to understand, or else it's not a message at all. The middle-ground option is some kind of "corrupt our kids" conspiracy theory, which I find to be ridiculous. Maybe I just have too much faith in my fellow human being =)

[SimbaKovu]

Obviously you guys aren't familiar with the allegory of The Wizard of Oz. The whole movie is a metaphor for the gold standard's role in the 1896 presidential election with Dorothy representing the American people, the Scarecrow representing farmers, the Tinman representing the working class, the Cowardly Lion representing 1896 Democratic presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan and the Yellow Brick Road representing the Gold Standard. Basically what I'm trying to say is that if THOSE connections can be drawn from The Wizard of Oz and make sense, then THESE connections I'm drawing w/ TLK definitely can and do make sense. BTW, "Oz" stands for ounce, as in 1/16th of a pound, as in the 1:16 gold to silver ratio. Just sayin lol

[Mike]

Of course they <can> be drawn. I didn't mean to imply that that wasn't the case. The fact that you're drawing them now proves it. I'm just debating with you how valid they are, with my position being "not very."

[supersimba]

Wow...you just blew my mind SimbaKovu....well done