Film Analysis Essay on The Scorpion King: Leadership Lessons for the Modern Business World

Introduction

The film "The Scorpion King" focuses on how leadership can be used to shape the ethical behaviors of the community. Through the movie, leadership types and admirable qualities can be identified which can be incorporated into the modern business world. As a historical action film, "The Scorpion King" provides useful historical lessons that modern-day leaders can combine to achieve a successful leadership relationship with their subordinates. The film starts with a simple mission by Mathayus and his team to kill a sorceress but later evolves into a complicated war that requires the application of decision-making and strategic skills to win. Therefore, this film is educational yet entertaining at the same time.

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Most people believe that ethics is the first step to guiding the ethical behavior of a community. However, the majority of the people may sometimes fail to realize that the leader plays a vital role in shaping the ethical conduct of the community. If people within the community recognize that their leader is behaving in ways that are not truthful or honest, they will believe that they can act in the same way without any repercussions. For instance, Memnon hired Mathayus to kill the sorceress because she was against his plans. Even though Memnon was their king and had the freedom to do as he please, his unethical behavior may inspire his followers to kill individuals whom they are not in agreement. Furthermore, the actions of a leader towards his people affect their ethical behavior in such a way that good leaders act as a role model for the ethics that they would like their people to have. For instance, since Mathayus was supportive of his teammates and effectively worked with them as a team to encourage them to work together as a team and to support each other. As a result, all members in Mathayus army became a united front who were willing to support each other as a team to help them win the war. Furthermore, the notion that Mathayus trained his army helped to instill an ethical behavior among the group that focused on helping each other improve in areas that they needed improvements. As a result, the army became unified and was able to win the war.

The film "The Scorpion King" illustrates two types of leaders who are the main protagonists in the movie. Both Mathayus and Memon are leaders who had different ways of leading the people. Menmon can be identified as an autocratic leader since he made all the decisions without consulting the subordinates. His leadership instilled fear among the people and did not allow any form of flexibility in such a way that the people were too scared to defy the king. On the other hand, Mathayus was a team leader. He assembled an army and painted the vision of victory from Memon's cruel leadership. This strong sense of leadership combined with his unique leadership skills such as decision-making abilities, strategic skills, his orientation to achieve his goals as well as his participation in the war. Moreover, his supportive nature and sense of direction become useful in inspiring his team to believe that they will win the war which they win towards the end of the film.

The choices of leaders are most affected by the events that happened in history. The trend that leaders set in history help to determine the type of leader that individuals are likely to choose. For instance, in the movie, the Mathayus sets an account that leaders who are likely to be selected should be able to listen before making decisions since he decided to listen to what the sorceress had to say before deciding on whether to kill her or not. Additionally, in an industry such as the military, both the leaders and subordinates need to be highly specialized to ensure the success of the sector. For example, soldiers need to have combat skills, should be familiar with using weapons while the leaders need to have logical, decision making, organizational, and strategic leadership skills to coordinate the military activities effectively.

Work Cited

The Scorpion King. Directed by Chuck Russell, Perf. Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Kelly Hu, Michael Clarke Duncan. 2002. Universal Pictures, 2002.