Race and Power in The Lion King Essay Example

Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers' film The Lion King (1994) is an animated musical film that seeks to show the audience what it feels like to be an heir in a political environment that is filled with both jealousy and envy. The film mainly features the life of Simba, cast by Matthew Broderick, who, as a child, is presented as the individual who would assume the leadership of the Pride Lands kingdom upon the departure of his father, Mufasa, in fulfillment of the arrangement in the kingdom that the next leader must come from the royal family. The movie depicts Simba's tribulations in his quest for power to fulfill his birthright, revealing that power is the dominant theme in the story (Kegerreis, 2013 p. 334). The film shows that power comes with social class, the power of choice, and suffering, all of which are built through acting, cinematography and design.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Social class plays a significant part in acquiring power. This is depicted in the gathering of animals for the presentation of Simba as the future king of the kingdom. Cinematographic techniques come into play at the first scene to accentuate the theme of power. In the scene, Mustafa lifts his newborn aloft as the camera follows him for all the animals to see the future leader. It is a blessing ceremony of sorts as Rafiki gives baby Simba a blessing and all animals bow to the next leader of the kingdom. Afterwards, Simba is even heard remarking that he cannot wait the time he would assume leadership of the kingdom as the anointed leader (Blair, 2016. P. 24). The other show of cinematography is seen in the song "The Circle of Life". The lyrics of the song propagate the theme of power of power in the sense that it promotes hereditary leadership-leadership is handed down from one member of the ruling family to another, and those that fall outside the royal family not only act as subjects but occupy the lowest class in the social stratum (Van Wormer & Juby, 2015). This shows that power is not something that one acquires naturally but a result of the privileges such person already enjoys in society. Non-privileged persons who try to ascend onto power may never succeed in doing so.

It can be seen throughout the movie the crafters use various symbols to advance the theme of power. The prevalent symbols in the film are the battle between darkness and whiteness as well as the juxtaposition of water and desert. A light color is allocated to Simba whereas the Scar and other members of the kingdom such as hyenas are dark-colored. In other words, darkness denotes doom and while lightness represents the power that benefits society. In the period Scar seeks to strengthen his grip on the temporary control over the kingdom, it can be observed that the images in the scenes conform to darkness up to the point of his death. At the same time, a desert is evident during the short-lived reign of Scar and upon his death; there is water upon the kingdom which comes as a result of Simba taking over as the designated leader (Blair, 2015; Reiner, 2009). What becomes clear in these symbolic representations is that leadership that is acquired through 'illegal' means is detrimental to the kingdom as it promotes evil. Even though it can be observed Scar seeks to promote democracy in the kingdom by disrupting how leaders are chosen, his attempt does not succeed because existing power arrangements in society are not favourable to his aspiration hence his removal from the throne and death. Additionally, through acting, one sees the clear picture of hierarchy in society and how such stratified social order enables or disadvantages individuals regarding their quest for leadership. For instance, hyena actors speak with urban African-American and Latino accents (Van Wormer & Juby, 2015). This symbolizes power in the context of whites, African-Americans and Latinos thereby making an indirect glorification of class as a source power in the US society.

Another aspect of the movie that Minkoff and Allers aim at informing the audience is that the process of acquiring power may appear simple in the eyes of the common citizens, but it involves suffering to those individuals aspiring to become leaders. This is because there always detractors if one seeks to acquire power. Despite being born in a privileged family, Simba experiences some form of suffering in the form of isolation and denial of his birthright. First, Scar kills Simba's father with the view of creating a power vacuum which would, in turn, actualize his desire to wrestle the leadership from the family of his brother. The stampede that resulted in the death of Simba's is a manifestation of mercilessness on the part of Scar and the pain on Simba and his family. Besides the death of Mufasa, Simba is forced into exile to escape the vileness of his uncle who took over the kingdom by force (Van Wormer & Juby, 2015). What is critical in the exiling of Simba is the portrayal of hyenas as brutal and unintelligent. In the scene 'be prepared', hyenas are shown as brutes who aid Scar to perpetrate violence in the kingdom. Staying abroad not only denied Simba his birthright but also made him stay away from his loved ones. These experiences depict highest levels of suffering before he eventually conquered Scar and regained his position the leader of the Pride of the Land.

Conclusion

Overall, Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers' film The Lion King gives an in-depth exploration of the power struggles in a society that is not equal both, socially, economically and politically. A take away from the film is that social class plays a vital role in the ability of an individual to ascend to power. Those who try to introduce a new order may not succeed because the class system is so entrenched in society that those who are oppressed by aid in maintaining the status quo. The makers of the movie succeed in delivering this message through the choice of different symbols along the storyline. For instance, they use color to create contrasts among characters as a strategy developing the theme of power. Additionally, scenes are skillfully designed to show the savage nature of characters such as the hyenas and Scar. Watching this film, one can discern how social class and race act as tools of domination in the US society.

References

Blair, R. G. (2015). A hero's journey: Simba's assent to the throne. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(2), 24-30.

Kegerreis, S. (2013). Freud and Klein inThe Lion King. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, 39(3), 334-345. doi:10.1080/0075417x.2013.846583

Reiner, H. (2009). Simba's leadership - A socio-symbolic content analysis and its empirical examination among children and students. Journal of Social Sciences, 20(2), 121-128. doi:10.1080/09718923.2009.11892730

Van Wormer, K., & Juby, C. (2015). Cultural representations in Walt Disney films: Implications for social work education. Journal of Social Work, 16(5), 578-594. doi:10.1177/1468017315583173