Type 100+ words expressing an epiphany (or "aha" moment) you experienced during our study of The Lion King. Which lens is most helpful or revealing for you? What have you learned from the "Lenses 101" flexbook I made for you? What has been most interesting thus far?
Also, in a separate comment, sincerely compliment a classmate's statement from class or a classmate's work on this blog task.
Also, in a separate comment, sincerely compliment a classmate's statement from class or a classmate's work on this blog task.
173 comments:
While watching the Lion King I started to make a few parallels between the film and an old bible story I learned as a kid. Since we thought this to be a very spiritual film, I saw that this film was somewhat like the story of the fall of Lucifer. In the story the son of god wanted more power, therefore he fought with the heavens, but lost, falling from grace, and giving himself into "evil." In some cultures people say that Lucifer becomes the devil. By relating this story to the Lion King, I saw Mufasa as "God" and Scar as Lucifer, although Scar was successful in killing Mufasa, he still fell from grace, which is why it didn't rain for him as King in the Pride Lands, because "God" or rather Mufasa was punishing him for his greed for power.
I'd have to compliment Marty M. on seeing the connection between what is preferred and degraded when he mentioned that masculinity was preferred, and feminism wasn't. He also made the brilliant observation of Scar's "limp wrist" which added to the feminism he shows.
- Hauser 1
While I was watching The Lion King, I had an epiphany when Simba first met Timon and Pumba. I always knew they stood for something else besides being funny, lazy and cute characters. But when we looked at them through the Fruedian lense, I learned that the were like jokers for the royalty. Simba is the king, and Timon and Pumba were the jokers, entertaining the king. Not only were they jokers, but they were also bachelors living up the "good life." The quote they live by is reason enough to believe that they don't have any responsibilities. They don't have any kids to worry about, or any bills to pay. All they have to worry about is making sure they stay alive, and how they do it is up to them. While Simba grows up with them, he starts to give into them and live their type of lifestyle. When he is a little boy, he "just can't wait to be king." But once he grows up he never wants to return and face his past. Acting as if his past won't affect his future is the type of life that Timon and Pumba live, which is exactly what they want. Timon and Pumba are smart enough to realize if they keep Simba around, then they won't be eaten later in life. Simba turns from being the highest of royalty, into a bachelor kicking it back with no worries. McClanahan 1
The Marxist lenses were ones I used most often, they showed social classes and power. The power is passed on from generation to generation. Mufasa's father gave it to him, and he passed it to Simba. Mufasa was more powerful and masculine so he won the power over the more weak, feminine, Scar. Mufasa had money and capital, he was rich and Scar was poor. Pride Rock simbolized money and power. The land was overflowing with green grass which could suggest money while the elaphant graveyard is desolate and bare with harldy any signs of life. Looking through the Marxist Lenses showed that most often, the families with riches and power strive and will always do so. While the families with poverty will continue with struggles to survive.
Weisenbach. 1.
McClanahan--you're using a Marxist lens when you discuss royalty. A Freudian lens would reveal Timon & Pumbaa as serving their ids (or animalistic, impulsive sides) only, while rejecting their superegos nearly entirely--until the end when they help Simba and risk their own lives for the cause.
During then ending scenes of the movie I started to notice mutiple motifs. The most obvious one being Scar's hubris in the beginning it was when he chose to let the hyenas kill Simba instead of killing him himself, and later on in the film he thought he could manage all the hyenas on his own. The most useful lens for me in the movie was the feminist lens. It showed parts in the movie you wouldn't otherwise see and how it relates to women. For example, shouldn't Nala be king before Simba? She is always beating Simba when they fight. This example shows a lack of acceptance of women holding a position of power.
Zody 1
The fact that the lions actully act like humans in this movie is very interesting. Like the way they talk to each other. And when you see simba and scar fighting they are standing up on there hind legs like humans fight. And I never noticed the racism in this movie before. You have the whites which are the lions and you have black, and hispanic which are the hyenas. And the really weird part is that mufasa's voice is played by a black person. I think the marxist lenses helped me see how money and power was used in the "Lion king." I haved learned that looking through the lenses can give a bunch of ways to look at things better and evalute things better.
-Blair 1
Zens Pd.1
I realized that the Lion King uses the Marxist lens a lot in this movie. The Lions, white people, are the ones in power while the hyenas, other races besides white, are the ones who get denied the right to be with everyone else. It is also saying that the lions are the rich people so they are the ones who get to be in power and get everything they need. While the hyenas are the poor people so they have to go off and find rodents to eat. Using the lenses I have learned that you should look at things in different points of view other than your own. If you don’t then you would never realize the true points that the author is trying to make you see. The most interesting thing for me is finding all of these underlying messages in the lion king that I never knew existed.
I found that the marxist lense was the most helpful. It showed how scare wanteed to climb the social ladder and become king. When we were watching the Lion King many things that i didnt get back when i was little i get now. How they are very religious. They like having the whole good vs. evil. They even give some good advice. Like one was with great power comes great responsibily. Whcih is so true. Another was they have a lot of puns throughout the movie. They also talk about about winning the Genetic lottery which is getting the looks, brains, and body/abilities to do things. Since Mufasa got them so did his kid. Which simba did. He won it big time. The movie also makes it so that we like the white people and dislike anything else. I like a classmates of mine comment when he said that simba was running though the sands of time. It all makes sence now.
Jones 1
Watching the _Lion King_ as a child and watching it recently are two completely different views. As a child, Timon and Pumba were just a couple of funny relief characters that made the darkening moods seem less. Now with the different lenses such as the Freudian, I see that Timon and Pumba are selfish wealthy bachelors. I would say the Marxist lense was the most revealing in all categories. The seperation in scenes and the sequences were showing the split differences. Scar is Hitler and the Hyenas are his worshippers. Minorities are put down through out the entire movie even when Mufasa is in control. The comparison to how animals behave like humans and vise versa is extreme. An important scene when Scar fights Simba, they fight on two legs how humans stand on two legs. My epiphany in this movie would be the truth of how animals and humans behave so similar even though we exclude ourselves from behaving like "savages". The flex book has taught me much about Freudian lenses. The egotistics, id's, psychological sides of things, and powers have been revealing in my perspective of many different movies including _The Lion King_ and how Mufasa is a representation of all higher powers and is Simba's reflection. The Marxist lense has taught me much about the social class differences expressed in society. It's helped me understand that movies and films are not meant for just viewing, but is another form of art. Our world has become what is today due to a lot of these artistic expressions even from the beginning of theatrics. The ability to view our social class struggle is extremely important. Why is it that Tamon and Pumba are chosen to have the good life, the slobs of the circle of life? The most interesting to me would be the behavior of social class in animals and humans are extremely relative to each other, although we try to exclude ourselves from it.
FRANKY P
I really like what Hauser 1 is saying here. I too have heard the story about Lucifer, but I never related it to Mufasa and Scar. I thought it was a very clever way to look at it, and in all reality she is right. Since this movie is a very religious one, we do have to relate certain things to bible stories, and that one is a perfect example from the bible. McClanahan 1
While veiwing The Lion King, I experienced an epiphany when you realize that Mufasa won the enviromental lottery and the genetic lottery. Meanwhile Scar won the genetic lottery by being smarter than Mufasa and also by being born a lion. He lost the enviromental lottery because his brother became king and not him. The Marxist lens was most helpful to see the movie in a different way. This lens was also easier to relate to or believe. From my flex book I learned what the three mostly used lenses are and the deffinitons of them. I also learned some exhibits that would fit under each lens. I found that the Freudian lens was most interesting so far. The way he looks at exhibits and how it helps examine the way our brains influence what we interept.
Grimmius pd. 1
While studying The Lion King, I had several "aha" moments. I realized this movie was actually carefully thought out and the message is basically what our society should be like in the eyes of many. Although children watching this movie may not understand all of it, the underlying message seems to be pro-faith, hard working, white, rich individuals, heterosexual people. In this movie, if you dont fit any of the previous descriptions, you merely dont belong in the circle of life. The Marxist lens was most helpful in pointing out many of the messages while veiwing this film. The Marxist lens focuses a lot on social statuses, specifically money, and lack of it. As my classmate, Braden stated, "the animals in The Lion King represent a social cast system." This hit the nail on the head for me, after realizing these things from a Marxist lens. I however may not one-hundred percent agree with everything Marxist lens veiwers believe, it was most helpful in picking up underlying messages. I really found studying this film particularly interesting because I have viewed this film many times as a youngster and now viewing it with a more anylitical approach, I realized things I had not before such as the movie catering to the white, rich, hard-working, heterosexual, religious "people." I realized this is more than just an entertaining film for kids, this is a film that trys to teach kids what to be like and what not to be like. Carlson Pd: 1
The "aha" moment I had was when Mufasa told Simba that the sun will set on my time and rise on yours. That was the truth because the Sun set on Mufasa when he was killed by Scar. But the sun didn't rise on Scars time it was in the shadows, dark, creepy looking never rained on his rein he didn't get to have to have all the elephants, other animals around because Scar wasn't liked by anyone. But Simba came back to fight Scar and he won a the Sun then again rose on his time. So that saying of Mufasa telling him that the Sun will set on his time and rise on his was my "aha" moment.
Not capitalizing The Bible, the most popular book ever published?
Within the first five minutes, I realized the depth of the movie. There are many hidden messages but the most occuring to me is the conflict of prefered and degraded charactors, through a marxist lens. Our flexbook contains information on the thoughts of a marxist critic, and I found myself most like that point of view. Throughout the movie an american view on prefered characotristics is constantly dislayed by having the white, religious, masculine, rich, strong, and capitalistic characters overcome charactors showing other ethnicities, feminine, poor, and communistic views. In the movie the lions, except scar, represent the prefered group and the minority hyenas, led by scar, are the degraded group in which they unsuccesfully try to overcome the caste system to which they had been born in.
Braden Heidbrink
As a child watching The Lion King, I overlooked many important themes and ideas. One reoccuring idea that sticks out in my mind is the voices of the characters in the movie. All of the ‘good’ characters seem to have a white person’s voice. All of the opposing characters have voices of other dialects and races. Mufasa is a near exception to this observation. Mufasa has the voice of a black male that sounds intelligent and nearly white. Scar has a weird homosexual, brittish type voice. The hyenas sound like minorities such as a black female, a hispanic male, and a disabled or crazy person. This is an important idea in the movie that I failed to notice in my younger days. The Marxist lense is currently the most interesting lense in my opinion. This lense can easily be applied to the class struggle withing The Lion King. Observing this previously unknown struggle is quite interesting.
Murren period 1
I honestly haven't watched this movie since about the age of 8, probably. At that age, you obviously don't grasp all the concepts this film depicts. An epiphany I experienced during the study of The Lion King was all the religious symbols. It's pretty easy to watch this film at a young age and notice some religions symbols, but after watching it again I noticed so many more. For example, after Simba is born and Rafiki holds him up to all the kingdom like he is a priest at a baby’s baptism. Also, Rafiki, himself, is depicting a priest. He has no wife and no children, just like your average priest. Another religious event takes place later on in the movie when Simba has a spirtual conversation with his father, Mufasa, in the clouds above. Throughout the movie Mufasa tells Simba that once he dies he will be up in the sky as a star watching down on Simba. This is a parallel to somone being up in Heaven watching down on the living below. I think the marxist lens helped me the most throughout the movie. It helped me to notice all the struggles between opposing forces by the amount of power each one has.
Swanson1
The "aha" moment I had was when Mufasa told Simba that the sun will set on my time and rise on yours. That was the truth because the Sun set on Mufasa when he was killed by Scar. But the sun didn't rise on Scars time it was in the shadows, dark, creepy looking never rained on his rein he didn't get to have to have all the elephants, other animals around because Scar wasn't liked by anyone. But Simba came back to fight Scar and he won a the Sun then again rose on his time. So that saying of Mufasa telling him that the Sun will set on his time and rise on his was my "aha" moment.
A. Merkel Pd.1
Zody, I see a lot of the same motifs as well. Great job analyzing what a motif is and being able to recognize how that affects the outcomes of the movie.
FRANKY P 1
Krege, period one
The Marxist lens was by far the most evident in "The Lion King". Early on in the movie we see a major split in social classes. While Simba is born into the highest class, King, hyenas are forced to struggle their entire lives just because they were born into their class. The hyenas have become greedy from the lack of recognition and have begun to succeed from the kingdom. It’s not until Scar is king that hyenas are even welcome among the rest of the pack. At pride rock the classes are set and you have no opportunity to move up and improve your life. Even the middle class is meant to serve the royal family by giving up their lives to feed them.
Watching "The Lion King" has of many epiphany moments in the movie, but the one that really gave me that epiphany "aha" moment was when you can see the formation of an eye pupil representing jealousy with scar as the tear when he says "to die for" to Simba. The most helpful lens for me is the Freudian lens; for example Timon and Pumbaa served their ids while rejecting their superegos until they help Simba at the end risking their lives for their own cause. "Lenses 101" taught me alot with the different lens there is and how each one is used. Ever since day one everything has been interesting to me, from going on about going deeper in "The Lion King" with notes and how marxist, freudian and feminist lens are used in it.
Hillman. 1
I like how McClanahan pointed out how Timon and Pumba are not just the comic relief that kids see in the film but also they represent people not wanting to grow up and face their responsiblities like and adult and instead choosing to live the life of a carefree "bachelor."
Zody 1
I really get what Franky P is explaining, his connections between the animal relations and human nature are incredibly indepth, and very realistic to a point. He really backed up his views between the relationships animals have, and what humans have rather well, especially with how he used the lenses. In all truth, he's right too.
- Hauser 1
Hauser 1 makes an excellent point in relating religion with the movie. I had never made the connection between the two.
Heidbrink1
McClanahan - I like how you used the lenses.
-Blair 1
I like what Hauser was saying about the bible verus thing. I can totally see where she was coming from. Nice job Hauser. Yes the "Lenses 101" flexbook has been helpful so far. I have learned not to look at things from one point of view.
Jones 1
Braden, I strongly agree that the Marxist lense is extreme through out this movie and is necessary to view to understand this movie.
In my study of The Lion King, i found when looking through the Marxist lens, the movie to be became more interesting. Useing this lens, many things were revealed to me. One thing was the social classes of the animals and the voices that went along with those animals. The hyena's voices were protrade to be black, hispanic, and crazy. Therefore all of those classes of people are supposely bad in the real world. Then with the Lions, all of their voices are supposely white sounding. The lions in this film have all the power and sheltor. I found this film too be very racist when looking through the Marxist lens.
It is interesting with how much you pick up when switching from lens to lens. This will allow me in the future to watch movies over and over again with out getting fed up with the movie. I’m looking forward to researching more into The Lion King.
Sincerely, Schultz, pd 1
The "Lenses 101" flexbook was a tremdous amount of help before viewing the movie. It helped me to think through the lenses and view the film more differently than I ever would have. The most intersting part of the film was noticing the small details that I have never caught before. The eye in the desert was by far the coolest part about the film!
I sincerely applaud Franklin Parker for his noticing of Scar always in the darkness or the shadows. Franklin noticing these parts of the film and many others that he saw were excellent examples of deconstruction of the film! Bravo!
After reading Murren's blog from period 1, I think he did a marvelous job on stating what he realized after viewing the film from when he was a kid. I can completely relate to not picking up on many of the underlying statements the film was trying to get across. Well stated Murren!
Carlson pd:1
Braden, I really enjoy your expression of how important it really is to see through the Marxist view point.
FRANKY P 1
I would have to agree with Zens on how watching the film as a child and then watching it again as an approching adult is completly different. You see so much more when your older
Grimmius pd. 1
Grimmius I agree with you that Mufasa won the environmental lottery and the genetic lottery while scar also did he just got the brains. Good job analyzing.
Zens Pd.1
I really liked McClanahan's connection between Timon and Pumba as the jokers to the king, which would be Simba. Also, how they are just people who don't want to grow up and take on the responsibilites of everyday life.
Swanson1
Krege-I like how you explained the roles of each social class in the movie. I chose to blog on a similar topic because I share a similar view of the importance of the classes in the film.
murren 1
Weisenbach piont of the monarchy in "The Lion King" is great. The observation that the kingship is passed from father to son which doesn't mean you're getting the best leader, but they are the one to become king
Krege, period 1
While viewing "The Lion King" I noticed there were many points that seemed to be sexist or anti-feminest. In the begining of the movie Simba is trying to wake Mufasa and immediately Mufasa tries to pass off parental duties to Sarabie saying "He is you're son until the morning", because he feels it should be the mothers dutie to take care of children. Also we see a lot of this theme in many of the scene's Scar is in. Scar is the antagonist of the story and shows many feministic qualities throughout the film. Some of the most stereotypical traits include limp wrists, a British accent, and he is also scene flitting around the screen for most of the movie. Scar is the villian and is supposed to have traits we are taught to hate. People may wonder if Disney is trying to make an ant-gay film.
Through most of the film Nala and Simba are seen pouncing and play fighting, everytime Nala pins Simba. You'd wonder why, If Nala is stronger what keeps the females from being the leaders they gather the food and are stronger, what keeps them in their place? Later in the film Scar blames the scarcity of food on the lionesses, this problem was caused by him but the women are in charge of finding and preparing food.
As children we don’t question the movie all we see is the epic battle between good and evil. We don’t even realize we are being exposed these stereotypes.
Minihan 1
To me, the Marxist lense was the most helpful way of looking at The Lion King. The varying social classes very clearly represented the distribution of money and power within their society. Before reading the flexbook you’ve made, I never had looked at novels or movies in that way. In the future I can know more effectively critisize and understand messages in films and books. One epiphany I had during our analysis of The Lion King was when I realized how well written and in depth it was. Many of the things characters say represent something else, or it is some kind of clever pun. The most interesting thing about watching this movie was realizing how many things it tries to force our subconcious to think. Most of the movie is based on conservative christian values and many Americans believe in those same things.
Geurts Pd. 2
While watching The Lion King again after many years of not seeing the film, I saw many things that the Disney “Imagioneers” had slipped in and slyly incorporated into the movie made for young children. In the movie I had many “aha” moments, and many times things just clicked in my head and made sense, I would not have picked up on that when I was younger. One big “aha” moment was when I noticed that whenever Scar was in the scene he was always in the shadows, and even when he tried to leave the cave or get out of the shadows, he was forced back into them and was forced to stay in the shadows. This right away tells you that he is the bad guy, and keeping Scar in the shadows continues to make him evil and mean.
Zangara 2
While I was studying The Lion King, I was suprised on how almost every scene and moment in the movie could be a reflection on everyday life. For instance that the hyenas symbolize the lower class, "ghetto", people that live on the north side. It was a suprise that I never noticed this stuff before. When I was a kid I just thought it was a fun movie to watch. I never even fathomed what else this movie could mean, or the message it could give. Also I never realized that Timon and Pumbaa were more than just “the guys that save Simba”, they are outcasts as well. They are bachelor type men that don’t have any responsibilies. Scar, the main antagonist, is played at the beginning to be hated. The directors always cast him in the shadows or with the hyenas that are meant to be hated as well. This film also shows that capitolism is favored over communism. Also that Scar, to me at least, is like Hitler. The hyenas marching are like him assembling an army to overthrow Mufassa. In my opinion the Marxist lens has been most revealing to me. It shows the power shifts and money problems the most. I have learned mostly from Lenses 101 the difference between each of the lenses and how they can change the perspective on certain ideas. The most5 interesting concept is the fact that you can make a little toddlers movie actually mean something. Its almost as if they are trying to wire kids to how they think.
Peterson 2
While watching the Lion King in this class it opened my eyes to what geniuses they have working at Disney. There are so many real world problems brought up in this film that no child would realize but gives an adult something to think about while watching it with their child. This film starts out with the high up animals in the circle of life, or the higher end of capitilism. The birth of the new king brings every animal around to see it, but one animal, Mufasa’s brother, Scar. He is a very evil like animal that the people at Disney give a Hitler like characteristic. He has green eyes of envy and his hyennas are his Nazi soldiers revolting against society of the higher royalty like Mufasa. Scar is also given a homosexual like voice because homosexuality isn’t as accepted in the world so he is more of an outcast in the Circle of life. Scar uses his evil mind and Simba being young to be Mufasa’s downfall and then blames the death on Scar and he runs away in guilt that isn’t his. His lives a life of luxury but not hardworking to get it like it should be in life. When Nala finally finds him she is overjoyed only to hear he won’t come back to save the kingdom. It isn’t until Rafiki comes and gives him an ephifany that he finally realizes he didn’t kill his father and he forgot he is truly is and that is the king lion of pride rock. And we all know that its gonna end in a happy ending with good triumphing over evil as Scar is killed by the hyennas for his comments and the circle of life is restored to normal. The movie then ends as it started setting up for a sequel without an evil brother existing, or at least it appears so. However, after this movie I realized that the hyennas helped him just because they wanted to get out of the “ghetto”, that is what we would call where they live. Never once did the Disney people give us a reason to feel pity for them like the birth of a baby hyenna or what they felt. That’s the way it is in real life too. We don’t ask the poor how they feel, we just worry about the rich and thriving people in this world. It is a shame but it is what our society is today. I mean how stereo typical is that, that they use a black woman’s voice, a hispanic voice, and a crazy guys voice for the poor living hyennas. That is just what capitilism is and sometimes people never even have a chance to succeed in this life. That is how I view the Lion King to my point of view. Thanks for reading my thoughts and I look forward to reading yours.
Clark 2
The Marxist lens was the most helpful lens for me in watching The Lion King. The Marxist lens has to deal with the social ranking of the proletariat and bourgeoisie and how they interact with each other. In The Lion King, the bourgeoisie characters are Simba, Mufasa, Nala, and Sarabi. They are the upper-class, would be “white collar office jobs,” of the lion kingdom. Since they were born into royalty, they don’t really have anywhere to go but up. They were given the necessities for life and didn’t have to put forth an incredible amount of effort to get the things they needed. They were born ahead, so they didn’t need to “get ahead.” On the opposite side of that spectrum is the proletariat group. In this exhibit, the proletariats would be the hyenas and Scar. They were born into poverty, living in the ghettos, not getting enough food. They weren’t even given a chance to excel because of what they were born into. In relation to the bourgeoisie, they have to work for what they get, such as food, and sometimes even affection. Socioeconomic factors definitely do influence the characters and plot in any exhibit.
Oleson 2
While watching The Lion King I realized by looking through the feminist lense that Nala should be ‘king’. Nala is obviously stronger because she pins Simba multiple times in the film. She has the strength to be king which is what some people feel makes a good leader. Nala is also more intelligent than Simba. For example, she is the one that figures out a plan on how to get rid of Zazu so they could go on an adventure that he would not approve of. Some people base a great leader on their intellectual level, therefore Nala would be a great choice. Nala does not get to be in charge of Pride Rock simply because she is a girl.
Christensen 2
My epiphiny moment during our study of The Lion King was how much the movie really stands for. As a kid u just watched the movie for entertainment and to have a good time with the family. But now that I watch it there is so much I didn’t understand as a child. With all the capitalism in the film and how racist and sexist it is. The feminist lens really stood out to me in the movie. Nala is always wrestling Symba and always beats him and she is smarter but Symba is still chosen for King just because he is a all big and powerful male. Also in the film and in real life the female lions have to hunt for food so that’s just another reason they do more then the king. To me I think atleast if there is a king there should always be a queen there to make him do something instead of just being a figurehead. During the movie the most interesting things to me are all the hidden messages in the movie like Scar and the moon making the hammer and sicle showing he is communist. I always like trying to find those types of things in movies and trying to figure out what they stand for. Those were a couple of epiphonies that stood out to me while watching The Lion King.
-Crow 2
While observing “The Lion King” I realized that viewing the movie with the Marxist, Feminist lens has made it a little more interesting and eye opening to what is actually going on during it. For example: in the feminist lens, you would think that Nala would be queen because she is stronger than Simba and has been since they were cubs. Also the lionesses are the ones that are suppose to do all the hunting and bringing home the food for the lions to eat. That is just like the women having to cook for the men in our society in the past.
With the Marxis lens we could say that they are being really racest. The hyenas are black, hispanic, and people with down syndrom/crazy. Basically saying that those kind of people should be at the bottom of the way of life. While the “white” people, or the lions in this case, are always on top and are never on the bottom of the way of life.
Lush pd. 2
Peterson - I like how you point out how this movie 'wires' young kids to think. It makes me wonder what other sort of things I havn't noticed that wire us similarly.
Geurts Pd. 2
"you" instead of "u" please.
Truthfully when we were all kids all we obtained from "The Lion King" was that Scar was a bad guy and the the lions were royalty. Looking at the movie through the perspective of the "Marxist" lens, it opens up a whole new connection. Instead of the hyeenas and Scar being a bad guy now we see how they hadn't just attacked lions, but capitalism and what it stands for. The Hubris mentality is also showed as in the downfall of leaders, whether we had realized it or not but it tought most of us to be more humble and act less invincible. Social classes are very important in the movie, showing that the poor class wants more and goes to extremes to get it in retaliation and for equality but where it balances out it brings everyone down and helps no one but the leaders. It has been very interesting to see how in depth just a simple child's movie can be interpreted and proven.
Powell 2
In The Lion King, I was shocked by how often weather is used for symbolism. As a kid I thought the awesome animation of the sun meant nothing special. The sun was used several times through out the film. For example, when Mufasa dies the sun sets. This actually shows us that the sun is "setting" on Mufasa's time. Whenever we are shown a triumphant Simba the sun is always shining brightly making him look like a savior. It was also interesting that it never rained while Scar was in control of Pride Rock. It's almost as if nature didn't want Scar around. When Simba returns there is a monsoon as Scar dies in the fire which likely represents hell. Weather is a great symbolism tool and is used throughout the film.
The lens I used most in the film was the Marxist Lens. I saw a lot of covert content that I would not have seen as a casual viewer. Social classes are obviously shown in The Lion King . The lions are at the very top while the hyenas linger at the bottom. I would go as far as to say the lions are rich and successful people. They are the ones who won the genetic and environmental lotteries. The hyenas can be looked at as hobos or crack heads. The biggest "aha" moment was when Timon and Pumba first meet Simba. I never realized that Simba was being brought in for protection since he was at the top of the food chain. This would make sense because Timon and Pumba are lazy and could use some muscle to fight off Nala and other predators.
Klumpp 2
Zangara’s point on how Disney “slyly” incorperated ideas in the movie really struck me as true. It wires kids into thinking what is incorperated in the movie. Such as the hyenas having “foreign” voices. It makes kids want to oppress or look down on people that talk like that.
Peterson 2
Studying the film The Lion King was different than simply watching it as a child. I picked up on more than just the cute songs. I looked deeper into the meaning behind the film. An epiphany I had during this film was at the beginning. I noticed right away that the viewers were supposed to not like Scar or the hyenas. The film makers did a great job on creating a dark setting for Scar and the hyenas to live. Scar had lost the genetic lottery. The hyenas’ voices were also strategically not played by white men or women. As a child watching the film, I didn’t notice that I subconsciously was taught that Caucasians are “better” in society. The most revealing lens for me was the Marxist lens. Before reading the packet I was confused by the different lenses that were being discussed in class. After studying and taking notes in the packet I learned that the Marxist lens is studying the different levels of society, that the Feminist lens focuses mainly on how women are being portrayed, and that the Freudian Lens is the “dirty outlook”. I have found that studying films, mainly The Lion King, has been interesting and intriguing.
Kristin 2
It IS too bad that Nala follows the rigid gender rules placed before her; but what else is she supposed to do, go against the system to become King?
While watching The Lion King there were various points in which I realized a deeper meaning to, other than “good lions” and “bad lions.” One being the obvious Marxist approach. Power has a huge impact on pride rock because without power, pride rock would be chaos. From the begginging of the film we are supposed to like Mufasa and hate Scar. Mufasa is king, even if his might is far greater than his intelligance. Scar on the otherhand has the knowledge to be king, but he is constantly trying to climb the social ladder. However, in this movie climbing the social ladder is near impossible. You might notice it doesn't rain when Scar is king, but it does when Mufasa and Simba are. This tells us that nature is working for the "good side." The flexbook explains that human history should be observed by the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The good lions of pride rock would be the bourgeoisie, while the hyenas and Scar are considered the proletariat based upon what they recieve and how they are viewed. The most interesting part of annotating The Lion King is how much we don't necessarily see as children, but subconciously picked up on. Studying it now makes nothing seem like something, and it gives us a more broad perspective.
Merkel 2
While watching The Lion King I noticed many themes that were being degraded. One major one was the homosexuality. The children are taught to not approve of these kinds of people. Scar is introduced as a gay, british lion. He does not obtain the look of powerful with his limp wrists and british accent. His brother on the other hand is attractive, strong and more masculine looking. It shows where the power should be. Another thought would be the hispanics or mentally challenged. The hyenas take this role in the movie. In the movie they are treated poorly and position more in the dark, gray areas. The mentally challenged hyena, Ed is also shown as an odd hyena. Kids again are told to dislike those kinds of people or are being told they are different then the rest. The Marxist lens is the most interesting to me so far because it shows how the power is divided out between different classes.
Hovde 2
I love Minihan's comments about it being masculine. Why can't Nala lead the kingdom if she is more powerful than Simba and smarter. I also agree with his comments about Disney making and anti-homosexual movie. It should be accepted in life because it is a persons free choice in capitilism on how they express their sexuality. Nice comments Minihan.
Clark 2
Before viewing The Lion King I would have never thought of Disney brain washing little kids on how socitity should be. From white people (the lions) being in power and having all the money, to different races (hyenas and buzzards) and how they should live in the slums of their community. The movie also pushes that religion is very important key to life. The part of the movie that really freaked me out was how the producers were trying to show how bad communism is by having scar stand above the hyenas, as they march past him with their arms extended saluting him. The most interesting lens so far for me is defiantly the Marxist lens. I think this lens applies the most to this movie because everything shown is based on rank. The Marxist lens shows that the lions have the most power and “money” out of the community of animals. It also shows a distinct division of social classes, the lions are royalty and the hyenas are dirt bags that have no money and no power. Seeing this movie again as a young adult, and having different facts pointed out to me, really opened my eyes on what I thought was just a movie about a young lion when I was little.
Sundvold pd.2
Now that i'm older I now see the "Lion King" completely different than I did as a child. I now see that the circle of life is more than just a song but another way to view capitalism in wich i viewed thru the Marxist lens. I also saw that Mufasa represents God and Simba is his son Jesus Christ. Its also interesting to see how all the social classes are. They set the lower class people "hyenas" as black, hispanic, and a crazy white guy voices. Also the lions represent the rich. The lions have all the shelter and food. They also controle all the other animals of the kingdom. As the movie furthered on I saw that Scar represented Hitler along with all his followers "the hyenas" marching in order.
It was very fun looking thru these lenses to achieve a different point of view. I believe I will use lenses to look at many more movies in the future.
-Brown 1
While watching The Lion King in class I noticed many hidden messages I didn’t notice before. The Marxist Lens is very strong throughout the film. Mufasa was very lucky to have won the “environmental lottery.” He has all the female lions, is king of Pride Rock, and has the chiseled facial features. Scar on the other hand didn’t get so lucky. He isn’t as well built and as strong looking as his brother, Mufasa, and Scar also didn’t get to be king. Throughout the movie I realized many obvious things, that I didn’t notice watching it as a child. Scar has a British accent, and doesn’t seem to be interested any type of female lion. The producers thought out this film very carefully, the animals in the movie have a level of cast system. The hyenas are the lowest on the system; everyone is supposed to think they are disgusting and hate them. While they make the lions look as if they are the best animal out there, and powerful. Grimmius 2
I would have to agree with Zangara on how Scar is always in the shadows. As a child you realize that he is evil but watching it now you realize how Disney tries to portray Scar as evil through other ways, not just by his actions.
Christensen 2
Krege- I like how you stated how your born into a class and from then on you have to fight from where you started to where you want to be.
Powell 2
One section of the Lion King that caught my attention was the part when Scar is portrayed as Hitler. When I was younger I never realized how much of a communist view this part of the movie was hiding. The hyenas are marching in a line like the Nazi soldiers did under his reign and Scar is sitting on a stone pedestal high above his brain-washed army watching them suffer from starvation. Also during this part, before the scene ends, the moon is shining brightly behind Scar in the form of a crescent. If you look more closely, you will realize that the combination of Scar and the moon form the communist Russia sickle and hammer. The communist way of running a nation in this film is portrayed in a negative context. The Marxist Lens view is shown during this part because it tells you how Scar should really be the king. He is the smartest, but in the film, strength is valued more than intelligence. Sadly for Scar, he did not win the genetic lottery and he is the brother that is out casted and because of this, his eyes are green from envy and pain that he was dealing with when he was younger. Simba was very fortunate.
Kulzer 2
I liked how Christensen 2 used a feminist lens. She brings forward examples of why Nala should obviously be king but isn't perhpas due to the sexist role women have in the film. Women are the hunters but apparently can't be king even if they should be.
While watching a favorite childhood movie, The Lion King, I never noticed all of the underlying messages that it sends to children, who also don’t understand. Something tha t Mr. Christensen pointed out that I never noticed before was the ethnicity of Scar’s three lead hyenas. The leader of the pack is the voice of a black women, her followers are voices of a hispanic man and a man being portrayed as an ‘idiot’. If the hyenas were all voices of white males, we wouldn’t get the same affect for their personalities. The lens I can relate to is the feminist critical lens. In history women were always considered to be under men and were expected less of. Men were expected to do the outside laboring work, while the women did the cooking , cleaning and took care of the children. From the flexbook, I learned that most of humans thinking happens at an unconscious level and we arent aware of this thinking process throughout our day. Ive enjoyed learning all of the movies, books and works of literature that have these critical lens included in their underlying messages. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird shows all three critical lenses. McDonald 2
In watching the movie The Lion King, the marxist lense helped me the most. This lense helped me realize that the Hyenas aren’t liked for a variety of reasons. The first is that the hyenas the poo, and they are not allowed to climb up the social ladder. This is shown when Scar allows the hyenas onto Pride Rock. When this happens Pride Rock goes into a drought and all of the animals leave leaving Pride Rock to look just like their old home. With this no one throughout the movie seems to like the hyenas, even Scar. Scar had the hyenas do all of his dirty work for him, but in the end when Simba is challenging Scar for pride rock he blames the hyenas for everything that has happened. Without the Critical Lenses 101, I would not have looked for this. Therefore this handout has helped me tremendously in showing me what to look for. I’ve also learned more about other peoples point of view from this handout, not everyone will look at a movie from a certain view and when you switch what lense you look through how much the movie can change. The most interesting part of this class thus far is the deconstruction of the movie. Looking into underlying themes of The Lion King has really opened my eyes to how much Disney and other organizations controll the way we think.
Beukelman 2
I enjoyed reading what Heidbrink had to say about the characteristics of the animals in The Lion King. Kudos to pointing out the preferred and degraded parts of each person and social group. I agree with what he said about the caste system; that being born into it determines your fate, in a way.
Oleson 2
Clark I really agree with what you say in how as childeren we didn't understand much of what everything stands for in the movie.
Crow 2
I believe that i agree with Karsen. You were right to look the bible for this sort of religious based movie. so it was smart. GREAT JOB!
Lush. pd.2
An epiphany I had during the entire movie was the change from strong and peaceful to evil and sinful. The hyenas and Scar represent the poor and less fortunate. Simba and Mufasa are representations for the peace holders. The freudian lense revealed the masculinity and what American culture believes a society should consist of. Everyone in the kingdom is happy, besides Scar and his hyenas, while Mufasa is king. When Musfasa dies and Simba runs away, Scar takes over and the kingdom dies. Scar is portrayed as a British-accented, gay, weak lion. This teaches society to not engage in those lifestyles. On the other hand, while Mufasa was in power, everything was perfect. Mufasa is a strong, well-liked leader. This is how the movie wants to portray the American lifestyle. We aren't supposed to have a good feeling about Scar ruling the kingdom, but goosebumps should tingle through our body when Simba takes back his well deserved kingdom. The most interesting scene I have noticed is when Simba meets Timon and Pumba. Pumba presents the 'great life' to Simba and how beautiful the landscape looked. I noticed that one of the camera shots of the land looked like a postcard and Pumba was advertising it as a vacation spot. I think that this conveys Timon and Pumba's land being to good to be true. Simba is struggling with the thought of killing his own father, Timon and Pumba take advantage of it. Their lives are obviously going to seem great only because Simba is at a low point in his life. Boscaljon 2
While watching The Lion King, I had many "aha" moments from noticing much more in class than I did as a kid. I learned that the movie is not feminist since Nala does not get to be king (or queen moreof) even though she would make a better king than Simba since she is stronger and smarter. I also learned that the movie pushes religion and goodness. When Simba is born it is like a baptism when Rafiki comes and marks his forehead and then presents him to the rest of the animals. It never rained during Scar's reign because he never did anything good so nature didn't want to bless him; it only rains for Mufasa and Simba since they are the good ones.
I think the Marxist lens was really revealing in this movie. You could definitly see the difference in social classes between the lions and hyenas. The lions could have all they wanted while the hyenas were just scraping by for food which is why they looked to Scar so hopefully when they teamed up to take over the lions. The flexbook is helpful in understanding the different lenses.
-Huntimer 2
Swanson, I also agree with the prominent religious symbols. There are many in the whole film, I noticed that in the beginning of the film when Rafiki walked out of the light, though the crowed of animals towards Pride Rock. He was shown as the highest religious figure in this film. Great observation!
Zangara 1
One epiphany I experienced during The Lion King was when we saw the pictures in the tree. I thought it was very interesting how they used images like the green with envy eye and tear drop. The images were very clever and I’m sure not a lot of people notice them but, when you point it out to others they’ll think of it as an epiphany too. The feminist lens is the most revealing to me. During the movie I could pick out many feminist lenses. Nala would pin Simba down every time they were playing. That shows that she could be stronger than him but, he’s still King because he’s a guy. Nala is also smarter than Simba, she knows that Simba should’ve stayed and been King but Simba refused and ran away. The movie makes us think that men are always stronger and more powerful, which is not true. From the “Lenses 101” handbook I learned first of all, what all those lenses meant. It helped me discover things about each type of group. The lenses also helped me realize what, The Lion King, is really about. For example, the movie is based on Catholic religion, the monkey, Rafiki, acts as a priest/ bishop. The part I found the most interesting is when Mr. C pointed out that Scar is gay and British and the 3 hyenas are Mexican, dark, and crazy.
Meyer 2
While watching and analyzing the Lion King, I had an epiphany on how different the movie was the first time I watched it as a kid; to watching it now as a young adult. You can see many different views from just the three lenses we learned. The Marxist lenses really stood out to me in this movie. The authors of Lion King wanted kids to know how the social ladder works in life. If you don’t have the power and the money, you’ll be like Scar (and the hyenas); a proletariat and be miserable/depressed. The lions on Pride Rock are happy, powerful and successful. The two classes don’t come together happily. The social classes don’t work that way in life. I loved watching the movie in a new perspective.
Kruger. 2
After reviewing The Lion King, I realized there is a lot more to the story than a young lion growing up. This movie has many symbols and religious views. For example, Scar is representing the evil presence in the movie. His eyes are green with envy and his hair is wild like fire. The viewers are supposed to hate scar. He symbolizes the gay, smart, and British people. The Lion King in my opinion really captures the Marxist lens. It represents the power struggle of America. The Lions (the white people) are on top while the hyenas (the black, Hispanic, and crazy people) are just trying to get by.
Tofteland pd.2
Hauser- I really enjoy how you made the connection to the fall of Satan.
Powell 2
While viewing The Lion King I found that viewing the movie from the Marxist lens made the movie more interesting, because you see that the animals and there different social classes. Shown though this lens is how slums or the hyenas are not welcome in the wealthy part of the town or in the movie Pride Rock. Scar unlike Simba was born unto the lower class; therefore Scar had to struggle to stay alive just like the hyenas. Simba was born unto the highest class so he had everything handed to him, but when his father died he ran away. Scar became the king and gave sympathy to the lower classes because he was one of them. When Simba finally realized what he had done to Pride Rock, making it so that the slums own it and it hadn’t rained for a long time. Simba then went back to Pride Rock and made it how it was, green and beautiful. The movie shows you that once you are a slum or born unto a lower class that there is really no room for you to move up and that if you do it will be for a short time and your rein will soon come to an end.
Dede 2
Hauser 1 I enjoyed how you explained the bible story I didn’t know that one and it was very helpful to show how you thought of it that way and gave it a different view of the movie.
Dede 2
I agree with Zens 1. It is very different watching the film as a child and watching it as an adult. As a child we are lead to believe we should hate the "poor" and love the "rich."
Grimmius 2
The marxist lens was the most helpful in The Lion King. Shown in the beginning of the movie are the different classes and why the hyenas are mad about their class rank. When simba is born all the other animals are there except the hyenas. It’s kind of interesting when we find out that the hyenas are following a lion but are outcasts to most of the other lions because of the social ladder. Then later we find out that the hyenas turn against the only lion that likes them. They later kill him and get what they were after all along.
McConniel 2
Crow 2 does a good job of looking through all lens to find futher content.
Klumpp 2
Blair 1 showed me how similar the lions are too humans throughout the movie.
Klumpp 2
I agree with Brown in the way he talks about the different social classes. The hyenas or the “poor” are represented with a black, Hispanic, and “crazy” person voices. This is showing that the lions, besides Scar, represent wealthier or rich people. It is interesting on how Simba is worshiped and so is his father when really Simba’s mother and Nala should be the king(s).
Kulzer 2
Where do Rafiki, Zazu, and other characters--even the animals who do not speak in the film--fit on the social hierarchy/ladder?
Does Scar represent oppressive British rule? Remember the "Intolerable Acts" that drove the early British settlers/Americans to revolt? You've studied the Revolutionary War and our boy George Washington?
I enjoyed analysing The Lion King. It made me realize how our society looks at different people. The animals look down and anyone who may be different or act different. We don’t like scar because he is very femine and comes off as he maybe gay. We also don’t like the hyenas because of the way and where the live. They live in the “ghetto” or the elephant graveyard. They also have voices that we as a society look down on. We stereotype people a lot, in the movie we assume scar is gay, we assume that the hyenas are poor, unresponsible, and dirty. We also assume that males should be the “kings” or in charge of most things, certain females maybe very talented but because they are not male they are looked down upon and are to be believed less talented.
-Paul 5
I agree with McClanahan about Timon and Pumbaa. They do give more meaning to the story then what i had thought before watching it again. They show that having no worries doesnt work in a society like ours.
I agree with McClanahan about Timon and Pumbaa. They do give more meaning to the story then what i had thought before watching it again. They show that having no worries doesnt work in a society like ours.
-Paul 5
One thing I realized while watching The Lion King was the clear distinction between classes. The lions are superior to everyone in the kingdom in everyway possible. The hyenas are at the bottom of all the classes. They live in ultimate ghettos and slums. The hyenas are totally frowned upon and it seems to be teaching the viewer to not like poor people. The voices of the hyenas are of a black woman, a Hispanic, and a “crazy” person which also seems to teach the viewers to not like those types of people. All of the other animals treat the hyenas like garbage. They are portrayed as unintelligent and are called idiots. Using the Marxist lense has made noticing these things easiest for me.
Wickett 5
While watching The Lion King I had an epiphany that annalyzing a movie is much more intersting then just watching for entertainment. The Lion King was a perfect movie to portray the Marxixt point of view. By using the Marxist lens it showed how the social ladder affected everyone. Some of the animals, such as Siba, were fortunate enough to be born a king. However, the hyenas were born in the “ghetto” and really had no chance of being successful. From the “Lenses 101” flexbook I have learned how to look at literary work from different points of view. By doing so The Lion King turned into more than just a childrens movie, and instead a movie that actually has a real meaning that people can learn from. So far the most interesting thing for me was seeing how racist, sexist, and egotistical The Lion King truly is.
Hoff 5
During the movie The Lion King, I had an epiphany by looking through the feminist lens. Clearly in this movie males are preferred over males because Nala is clearly smarter than Simba and has pinned him multiple times throughout the movie proving that she isn’t king/queen just because she is a female and Simba was already put in line to become the king as soon as he was born. Some other things that I noticed in this film is what is preferred over other things. White is preferred over the “minority” category, religious is over atheistic, democracy over dictatorship, family over the single life, and the blessed over the cursed. Clearly in this movie the gods prefer Mufasa and Simba over Scar. When Mufasa and Simba “reign” it rains quite often but when Scar is, there is a major drought.
While analyzing the movie “The Loin King”, I realized how religious the movie really is. The lions are taught to look up to the stars for the kings of the past as if to give them guidance. Little kids are now thinking that those stars are people looking down upon them from the heavens, trying to tell them the right thing to do. The sky seems to always be a determining factor of how to feel in the movie. For example when scar is in power, it is always dark, cloudy, and dry; but when Mufasa or Simba were in power it was a clear sky, or raining for joy, everything was green and healthy. The Almighty is shown to have control of the movie throughout the entire film. It seems as though He blesses the lions with the light and Scar and the hyenas with shadows and darkness. This teaches young children what to believe and who to like or dislike. I used to think the lion king was just the story of life as a lion and how to overcome the challenges and not to run away from your problems . But while viewing this film I have learned there are many other meanings than just the simple ones you think of as a child.
I would like to compliment Carlson Pd:1, I agree with all the carfully thought out messages throughout the movie. Also how the film looks at what most people would think as the “typical society”, but that’s not exactly how it always should be. Great job analyzing the film.
-Cushing 5
I think that my "aha" moment would have to be being able to look through the different lenses and realize that my favorite movie as a kid was racist, sexist, anti-poor and many other things. I think that the most helpful lenses would have to be the feminist lense because even though women are suppose to have equal rights and oppurtunities we are taught as young kids that they really shouldnt have those things and are not equal with men. What i learned most from the flexbook was a better understanding of the lenses and from that i could contribute more in class with a more scholarly approach to the subject. I think that the most interesting thing so far is how your teaching has opened the eyes of me and many students to a whole new way to look at the world.
Wible5
Marxist lens: power, money, social ladder/hierarchy, genetic lottery, environmental lottery, class division, socioeconomic status, system(s)
Freudian lens: superego, id, ego, Oedipus complex, sexual symbology, dream analysis
Feminist lens: gender roles & predetermined destinies, stereotypes
THESE THREE LISTS ARE SIMPLIFICATIONS, BUT OFFER A CORE.
My epiphany also called an "aha" moment in the movie The Lion King was when Mr.C first told us that Scar was gay then you see that scar acts like a homosexual throughout the majority of the movie. This showed through the most in the musical numbers. The way he danced was so feminine that it was almost scary. Scar also has a tone of voice that sounded very feminine. If you view this movie with a very critical lens it seems as if the directors were trying to teach small children to hate gay people. Using the same lens the movie clearly teaches small children to hate minorities. The voices of the hyenas (who are clearly the villains of this movie and should be hated and in no way pitied ;) are a black women and a Hispanic man there for showing small children to dislike minorities. Also if you take the critical lens one step farther you can interpret that when the hyenas (minorities) attack and kill scar (a white man) it teaches small children to be afraid of minorities because they will attack you. That may be taking the analysis to far but that’s for you to judge and make your own opinions.
Sivertson 5
I agree with Kruger about how different the movie is now as a young adult compared to first watching The Lion King as a child.
Heidi 5
Wickett 5, I couldn't agree more with you. In this movie it seems as though the lions are the rich white people, all the other animals are just regular white people and the hyenas are the "minority" who are never given a chance to advance their social status
After we began watching the Lion King, I made a few quick connections in which the animals have been personified or given human traits. I saw Rafiki as a catholic priest, Mufasa as a "God" like figure, and Scar as a combination of traits Americans are not supposed to value. I had a realization that in our society we only value the strong and gifted. Mufasa is this broad and proud lion who has become king of the pride lands. Scar on the other hand is an outcast. He has qualities that are not celebrated. He is intelligent, feministic, weak, and maybe homosexual. Scar does not fit the "perfect" ideal that a king should be. Scar does prevail in killing Mufasa and during his reign the savanna is a desolate waste land. Once Simba returns, good and evil have their climactic showdown and as always good prevails over evil. Simba defeats Scare and takes his place as the true king.
During The Lion King the lens that showed up most in my eyes was the Feminist lens. The directors of the film basically degraded women, and showed that they are not worth anything. They did this by having the lioness’s hunt for the food while scar, and the hyena’s just waited to be served. Another reason why I belive the directors are not feminist’s is because of how the Simba is supposed to be king even though Nala is obviously more powerful such as strength, and she is always winning in a fight with Simba.
I will have to agree with Boscaljon on the Lions being the rich and the hyena’s being the poor, it shows a marxist point of view.
Keller 5
The epiphany that really got me in The Lion King was Rafiki told Simba to look in the water and tell him what he sees. When Simba looked the first time he just saw himself and then Rafiki told him to look harder. Simba looked again and saw his father. Which means that his father was in him the whole time that he was hiding from everyone. This gave Simba enough courage and strength to go back to Pride Rock and take on Scar. The Marxist lense helped me reveal this because it showed that if he believed his father was in him than he would have the strength to take on Scar and become King. The “lenses 101” flexbook has really taught me to look from different angles and has shown me how to look from those different angles. The thing that has been most interesting so far to me is just looking at The Lion King from the different lenses and seeing how they kind of break down movie and other things.
Thorson 5
I believe the Feminist lens played a very effictive role in analyzing _The Lion King_. There were many moments in the film that portrayed women as the lesser animals. There are multiple parts of the film where Nala has proven herself to be tougher than Simba. They wrestled twice throughout the film and both times Nala was the victor. Although she has proven herself physically tougher than Simba, he still becomes king. Also, towards the end of the film when Simba’s mother advized Scar to move everybody out of Pride Rock because it was dangerous, he ignored her. Although she had a great idea about protecting all of the lions, she was ignored due to the fact that she was a woman and she wasn’t king. Throughout the film, the female lions proved themselves worthy both physically and mentally, but due to the fact that they were women, they were overlooked and ignored which put the lives of the other lions in danger. From the _Lenses 101_ packet, I learned about all the different ways you can analyze films. The Marxist lens helped me analyze how money and power function in the movie. The Freudian Lens helps to examine what causes people to do what they do and their motives for their actions.
Ekeren 5
While watching The Lion King I saw everything through a marxist lens. Mufasa was the more masculine and successful son, so all the power from his father was passed down to him. Mufasa lives at Pride Rock which shows a sense of being rich and everything is bright and colorful. That makes us believe that’s how we should live and most of us would want to live that way. Scar was the more feminine son and was given no power so he simbolizes the poor. He’s always in a dark place and everything seems “dead” when he is around. He lives in the elephant graveyard and that is a place that no one would like to live. This movie portrays that if you are masculine and powerful you will be leader. It degrades the smart ones, saying you don’t have to be smart to be successful.
Corcoran 5
While watching The Lion King, I looked through the feminist lens the most. They express woman as the weeker link and that they can not be anything important such as “the leader”. They show that when woman are leader’s they would/do a bad job. The hyenas would be an example of this understatment that the producer’s make. The woman hyena takes the role of the leader for them but, yet they are at the bottom of the food chain. Also, this could be considered racism for having the woman be a black womans voice.
The lionesses don’t get a lot of say in how things run through out the pack. They are not allowed to role and are just there to have cubs. The leader of the pack just reproduces with all the lionesses while they don’t get an opinion. They are in other words, “tossed around” and only usefull to the lion(s) when they procreate. Also, even if the lionesses are stronger or smarter then the lion and deserve the right to the thrown they are not allowed to because of their gender. The society for human’s and animals have always thought/seen a man as a leader and the woman as a support figure.
-Schroeder, 5
Looking at The Lion King through a Feminist lens, the women are shown as “housewives” who are supposed to stay home, watch the kids, and feed the family. Some of them, as with Nala, could’ve probably overpowered the men at any time. When they are younglings, Nala pins Simba twice with ease. Then when they were older, Pumbaa was attacked by Nala and Simba tried to protect him but was pinned down by Nala again. If Simba’s mother or even Nala were given the chance to become the “king” Scar may not have had the chance to rise to power and put the pride land into such a drought. Ladwig 5
While watching The Lion King in class an epiphany moment for me was seeing the eye in the gorge before Mufasa was killed by Scar. Having seen the movie numerous times in my childhood that was the first time I ever noticed it being there. Studying the different lenses really opened my eyes as to how to anylyse movies or other works. The most revealing lens I’ve used so far would be feminism. Looking at The Lion King through a feminist lens shows how much being feminine is looked down upon by people. Scar is seen as week and feminine and is way smarter than Mufasa or Simba but he can’t be the king because Simba is the more masculine lion. Simba is considered masculine but really isn’t the strongest lion of the pride. Nala and Simba and showing play fighting and even fighting and Nala always comes out with the upperhand on Simba. Nala, being female, can not be leader of the pride though because she is a female. Reading the “Lenses 101” packet has taught me how to see through each of the lenses. The packet tells dtails of the questions asked when using a certain lens and it has really opened my knowledge up to a point that I use the lenses for many things now. The most interesting part of learning to use the lenses was actually seeing the ways directors use the different point of views to show what they are trying to teach.
Herl – I like how you point out the fact that Nala can’t be king/queen because Simba has been born into the position of being King even though Nala is way smarter and way tougher than Simba.
Kuck 5
Before we analyzed The Lion King in class, I didn’t realize there was so many “hidden” messages. Last time I saw this movie; I was very young and did not realize this. I noticed the most things looking through the Marxist lens, the social rank in the circle of life varies on the the kind of animal and how it is portrayed in the movie. For example, the lion is the king, and hyenas are at the very bottom. A student in another class compared it to a social caste system, which I think describes it perfectly. After watching this film with the intent of analyzing it, you pick up on many things or ideas that you would not normally find if you just watched it for pure entertainment.
Grogan 5
I agree with Meyer 2. The way the film using imagery, symbols, and colors is very interesting.
Wickett 5
While watching the movie, I realized that when Simba was growing up he sang the song “I just cant wait to be king.” When I watched this film as a kid, I did not realize that he wanted his father to die so he could become king. After talking about that in class, it really made me think deeper about what things really mean. I would have to say that the Feminist Lens sticks out the most to me. Nala beats Simba everytime they wrestle, but yet Simba still gets to be king because Nala is a girl, and you can’t have a girl be king. The thing that has stood out the most to me is that I did not actually realize how much you can analyze The Lion King. It takes a lot of what we learn in different classes at school, and kind of hides them, so it makes your brain think harder, and look at movies differently.
-Drexler 5
After we began watching the Lion King, I made a few quick connections in which the animals have been personified or given human traits. I saw Rafiki as a catholic priest, Mufasa as a "God" like figure, and Scar as a combination of traits Americans are not supposed to value. I had a realization that in our society we only value the strong and gifted. Mufasa is this broad and proud lion who has become king of the pride lands. Scar on the other hand is an outcast. He has qualities that are not celebrated. He is intelligent, feministic, weak, and maybe homosexual. Scar does not fit the "perfect" ideal that a king should be. Scar does prevail in killing Mufasa and during his reign the savanna is a desolate waste land. Once Simba returns, good and evil have their climactic showdown and as always good prevails over evil. Simba defeats Scare and takes his place as the true king.
Klumpp 5
I would have to compliment Hoff 5 in saying that the Marxist Lens shows how the social ladder works. This also happens to humans as well, if you are born into a good family you are believed to be good at most things, and if you are born into a lower family, the same is to be true.
-Drexler 5
As I was reading most of the blogs posted from this morning, I realized I might be the only student who saw The Lion King for the first time last week in class. I’ll be honest, I thought it was odd to start out a College Bound English class watching The Lion King. I just thought of it as a childrens’ movie and never thought I’d get anything intellectual out of it. I was wrong. After watching The Lion King I found that it was in many ways different than other Disney movies I watched as a child. Yes, Cinderella taught us to stand up for yourself and that every girl gets her prince charming some day. Disney makes movies based on what children should be taught. The Lion King was different to me in that it succeeded in convincing society that people shouldn’t be gay, like Scar, for he is “weird”. The writers tried to convince us to grow up from more of a Christian stand point, too. Right from the beginning when Mufasa takes Simba out to the edge of the cliff and lectures him that the sun is the almighty, and that he shines on the royalty, and the stars are all the kings looking down on everyone. That was key to me that the first goal of the writer was to head children to believe as a Christian.
My “aha” moment was towards the end of the movie when Rafiki took Simba to “see his dad” when Simba knew his dad had died a long time ago. When Rafiki revealed Simba’s own reflection to him, Simba realized that his dad lives in him, his dad expects him to be king and to stand up for the promise land. That was the turning point of the movie for me because Simba finally realized that he had been letting his dad down in not standing up for himself against Scar. Overall, watching The Lion King has taught me that there is a reason for every little detail disney added in trying to teach children basic lessons.
Hoffman 5
I believe the last time that I watched The Lion King was when I was probably around seven years old. It is now 10 years later, and everything that I remembered about The Lion King has changed dramatically. While watching the movie this past week, my eyes were opened to a few different ways to look at the movie: Marxist, Feminist, and Freudian. Throughout watching the entire movie, I feel that the Marxist lens was the one that I was able to understand the best, followed closely by the Feminist lens. Marxist lenses view different events based on money, power, etc… Mufasa is the king because he is stronger, and more physically atractive than his brother Scar is. The Marxist lens shows that Mufasa was given the right to be king due to his family status, and his masculinaty compared to Scar, and because of Mufasa’s status, he gives the Simba the rights to be the next king in-line. Feminist viewers would also see that Simba is only king because he is a male. Nala should clearly be king since she is both stronger and smarter than Simba. While looking through the “Lenses 101” flexbook, I have learned how to look at different events in time and think about, “should that event really happened that way? Or is there a secret reason behind all of it?” So far, the most interesting thing to me has been analyzing The Lion King using the different lenses that we have learned.
-Johnston 5
I agree with Murren. Disney is trying to tell us that black, hispanic, and handicapped people are bad. I like the connectiong he has made.
Klumpp 5
The Marxist lens was the most helpful to me in The Lion King. I find it interesting how the hyenas get treated much more poorly because of their social class. The lions are considered to be much more superior to the hyenas and therefore the hyenas do not like the lions. The lions have all the power of the land but the hyenas wish they could have it. From the “Lenses 101” flex book I have been able to learn all the different types of lenses and the questions that particular lens pertains to. I find it most interesting that in a Disney movie there can be so many different literary devices and also include these different lenses we are learning about. Also, that Scar is supposedly gay and was emotionally and maybe physically abused as a child.
I agree with Boscaljon 2 when he says that Mufasa and Simba are representing for the peace holders, I have never thought about it like that before.
Van Hemert, 5
I agree with what Krege said about the class system. Good job stating the responsibilities of each of the classes and how the lower class is affected by their class.
While watching The Lion King I discovered numerous messages that were infused into the plot so that, even if you’re not old enough to analyze the movie’s messages, they still can have an impact on you subconsciously. I used the Marxist lens the most frequently while watching this movie. I realized how biased towards basically anyone who isn’t white, athletic, rich, and straight this movie is. It makes anyone who is crazy, poor, any race but Caucasian, intellectual, and gay out to be a horrible, evil person.
Hair 5
My favorite thing about the communistic theme is comparing Scar to Hitler. They are exactly alike! Scar wants to kill Mufasa and Simba so he can take over the Pridelands and rule over the entire kingdom. He raised an army (the hyenas), oppressed the intellectuals (Zazu), and started a sort of exodus/genocide of the Lions. Communism is also present in signs like the Russian sickle and hammer flag when Scar stands at the top of the rock with the C-shaped moon surrounding him. Earlier in that scene his army was seen marching in neat squares just like you may have seen during Hitler’s rule.
Hosman5
I agree with Ian about Timon and Pumbaa. They don’t have anything to worry about and are living the bachelor life. They are just there for entertainment for Simba. The two don’t have wives or children or jobs. After Simba hangs around them for awhile he starts living the same way and doesn’t worry about being king anymore. As long as Timon and Pumbaa keep Simba around their lives will be even that much easier.
Corcoran 5
I would have to agree with Hauser 1 on stating the biblical reference in her post
Wible5
Through the Feminist Lens I discovered, while watching The Lion King, how all the characters seem to be caught up in a world where masculinity is everything. At first glance I thought it seemed normal that Mofasa would be king, by his appearance right away Mofasa looks strong with his head held high. I shortly realized that none of those characteristics I first noticed really defy the reasoning on why he is king. In reality, a king should not only be strong, but wise, thoughtful, and truthful. This realization came to me after watching how confused Simba was toward the end of the movie. At first, He didn’t want to go back and help his people. He was coward like, while Nala saw the trouble and knew what needed to be done but didn’t have the power to make the changes.
Vivens 5
I really like McClanahan 1’s blog. I didn’t really get that that part in the movie until I read that. I believe it is in the Fruedian lense. Thank you McClanahan 1.
Thorson 5
I found the Feminist lens quite helpful as I watched the movie The Lion King. One of the things I noticed was how Nala was always stronger than Simba, but when the hyenas were chancing them both Simba was the one to save Nala when she was obviously the strongest lion out of the two of them. Also near the middle of the movie it shows Nala, once again, pin Simba to the ground even when Simba is a fully grown lion. I also noticed at the end of the movie when all the hyenas were attacking that it was mainly the lionesess that were taking on all the hyenas and Simba struggled with a lot of them. Some of the things that amazed me in the movie was how when Scare was mistreated back in his youth by Mufasa, he later on became an abusive king who always abused Zazu. One of the other things I kinda thought of while I was at home was how Scare kind of resembled himself as the Devil/Satan. He shows how devious and cunning he was in the movie in how he tricked Simba into thinking he killed Mufasa. He also tricked the hyenas into doing his bidding. The way Scare was so deveous and cunning kind of reminds me of a bible verse I once heard. “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, waiting for someone to devour” ,this is how I think of Scare. As I said before he is like the devil, he prowls around and waits pateintly waiting to trick his next vicome to destroy.
Stoltenburg 5
While watching The Lion KingI noticed many different views through the lenses. Watching it now that I am older I found The Lion King to be portrayed in a different way than when I was younger. The Marxist lens shows that the lions are the high rank and have all of the “money” and the hyenas are at the bottom with no “money.” The hyenas were lower class and were portrayed as black, Hispanic, and a crazy white guy. The hyenas barely have enough food or water to live and the lions have all they need. The Marxist lens is definitely been the most interesting for me.
Burkman5
Kulzer2 I really liked your point about Scar's army being brainwashed. Now that I look at it, I can see it. Very nice.
Hosman5
I like how McClanahan 1 said that tamon and pumba were more than just comic relief. They play the role of being the jesters of royalty. Also liked how he mentioned the bachelor life as the good life because it is funnier but with no responsibilities there really is no point
Sivertson 5
By watching this flim I would have never thought of the idea that the animals are acting as humans. Even when Simba and Scar fight, they’re shown on their hind legs, just like a human would fight. One thing I also found very interesting was how the animals protrayed how us humans act today. For instance in this day in age the ones with athletic ablity and toughest get the edge. Just like in this flim the loins that are tough and strong get to be king, over the intellectual ones such as Scar. I perfer the Marixt lens because I see things by looking at power, and what through what lotterys people have won. I learned that there are many different lens you can use to see things differently such as the Feminist lens. Through the feminist lens you might see that Nala should be in power because she can clearly beat Simba.
I would like to compliment Wible 5; I agree that these different lens have allowed everyone to view things in a new way. It deffinently will come in handy in class and in the outside world.
Eigenberg 5
I really like what “Klumpp 2” is saying about how the weather is a major example of symbolism. I understand completely how he compares the sun to be prominent compared to darkness, and how it is always shining on Mufasa (except when he dies and the sun sets) and Simba. The way that Klumpp described the fire that Scar died in as “hell”, and also that the weather never seemed to be on Scar’s side.
-Johnston 5
I really resound with what Franky was saying in his blog post about humans trying to separate ourselves from animals when really we are animals too so there is a carnal side of us that is naturally very prevalent.
Hair 5
I agree with Johnston 5. He’s right on about why Mufasa is king, rather than his brother Scar.
Vivens 5
I actually just had an epiphany as I was trying to write about an epiphany I had. Looking back, _The Lion King_ is a story about the ultimate, on going fight between “good” and “evil”. Simba is the savior of the lions, perhaps, saving them from a corrupt or “wrong” governing class. Scar becoming king tosses the world into turmoil, including plagues and droughts. Only once the “right” king becomes king does the world become normal again, with green grass, rain, and animals. The true question, though, is what defines the right and wrong king? Simba, who is, as shown in the movie, the proper king, was strong, light colored, masculine, truthful and young. Scar, though, is dark, cowardly, feminine, deceitful and old. Looking through a Marxist lens, you see a rigid social class, where the poor are not capable of climbing the social ladder, simply because the rich are disgusted by the ways the poor must live; the ways the rich impose upon them by denying them the right to climb the social ladder. I agree with Hauser 1’s viewpoint, too, that the film can be seen in a very religious way. Could Simba be Jesus? The “savior” of the lions?
Stirrat 5
Murren-1, good point on the voices and how the "good characters" sound white, where the "bad characters" voice's are of different races. This is just another point to disney teaching "American Values" to young kids.
Sundvold, pd.2
I agree with klumpp 2 the weather plays a huge role in The Lion King. The sun is always shining on Mufasa and Simba but never on Scar. This shows that the weather is always on the “good” lion’s side. Another example of this would be that it never rains when Scar is in power, pride rock is lifeless. When Simba takes over the circle of life is complete once again bringing life back to pride rock.
Tofteland pd.2
I was impressed with Hauser 1 by making a connection from The Bible to The Lion King. I had never thought about relating those to particular stories, but now I will.
Pollema 2
I had an extreme “aha” moment during The Lion King as Scar was proudly singing the song “Be prepared.” If you were skeptical at anytime at the beginning of the movie about it being racist, sexist, etc… you will notice what I consider the “Nazi Walk” as the hyenas walked in their rows. The Marxism really knocked me on the head in that moment. The dark environment not only brought the whole audience down, but it made people, especially young children, almost forcibly hate the hyenas. It is sad to realize that the only reason that we hate the hyenas is because they are poor, an extremely Marxist evaluation. There appears to be no question in the sexism and racism in this film, but it is the Marxist that, in my opinion, completely overrides the overall movie. This is where the flexbook especially helped. It really dove into the Marxist, Feminist, and Freudian criticisms in not only The Lion King but many other enjoyable movies.
Rokeh 7
The lens that was most revealing to me was the feminist lens. I had never realized before how sexist the movie The Lion King was until I started looking from this point of view. I realized that the “king” should have been Nala because she was the one who was stronger (this was proved when she pinned Simba more than one in the movie) and smarter than Simba therefore more equipped to be “king” yet Simba was picked because he won the genetic lottery and was born male. It shows that in our society being male, even the dumbest male is still picked over a female because men don’t think that a female could rule over them. They think that females are supposed to stay home and make the food and have the babies and that is all they are good for.
Corliss7
The hyenas, like the Germans post-WWI, were starving and miserable; hence, they were both easily manipulated.
I agree with Hair 5 when he talks about there being messages in the plot and that even if you are young you still are getting trained to think these ideas that things such as race and sex are the reason that some people get ahead in life while others are left behinds because they are "not good enough."
Corliss7
Burkman 5, I could not agree more. The only reason that we feel we need to hate the hyenas is because they are poor and have no “money.” Considering that “money” in this instance means that the lions have plenty of food, are powerful and can basically do what they please, while the hyenas are hungry and live in a dark atmosphere with nothing to eat and are at the bottom of the theoretical food chain.
Rokeh 7
I haven’t seen The Lion King since I was a little girl. I never knew the difference between Mufasa and Scar, their differences was never pointed out or noticeable to me. Now that I watch years later I realize the irony and hidden messages throughout the movie. Marxist was used numerous times in The Lion King from Mufasa being more dominate over Scar in both lotteries. To Simba still being more powerful over Nala; because she is a female, when clearly she was stronger, smarter and better off than Simba. The Most interesting thing I have learned from this movie, is the dramatic irony such as I Can’t wait to be king, sung by Simba. Subconsciously Simba wants his father Mufasa to die so he could be king. Also all the little things in the movie that has been brought up are shown again, such as when Mufasa says, he will always be with simba because the stars are the previous kings, towards the climax of the movie when Simba goes back to pride rock, there are a few shooting stars, the kings are there to protect and help simba.
Knudtson 7
The Lion King to me, when I was a little kid, didn’t seem like the film I watch during this past week in College Bond. When I was a little kid, the film was just a film to me, but now the film does seem sexist and racist with many different lens, for example Marxist. Now that I have learned the Marxist view of the film, I never would have thought that Scar was considered gay and weak compared to Mufasa and Simba when I was a kid. Scar waves his paws (hands in human feature) feminine like. Another lens I saw was the Freud lens that Scar was indeed wrongly treated by his father when he was a young lion, while Mufasa was treated to be king. I also agree that Scar didn’t win the genetic lottery for strength, but I do think he won the lottery for brains because mostly everything he said in the film was a pun. I agree with Eisenberg 5 with the statement about Simba and Scar fight. The film does give them human features when they fight.
J. Nelson 7
For me, watching The Lion King as a child was a completely different experience than watching it these past couple of days. As a child I watched the movie out of pure enjoyment, but after some discussion we had in class I viewed the movie in a more analytical way. While viewing the movie in this way I realized that the Marxist lens was used quite often. I never noticed that the lions are seen as the upper class. They have all the food and lush surroundings that one could imagine,also known as the Pride Land, yet the hyenas are seen as the outcasts, or lower class. The hyenas are living in a deserted, dilapatory area. They look dirty and hungry. The reason they are only able to live here is because of the kind of species they are. It hardly seems fair for one species to be superior to another, but like the Marxist lens suggests, socioeconomic factors influence where and how these certain species will live. From all the lenses we have studied and analyzed, I have learned that you should not view things in only one way. By viewing certain scenarios in different ways you can reveal the true intentions of the author or creator. Discovering these intentions and ideas is what makes those “aha” moments” that make learning enjoyable. The most interesting thing thus far has been learning the ability to pick out symbolism within the movie.
I would like to compliment Franky P. because of his comparison of animals to a human parallel. I agree with his statement about Scar being Hitler and the hyenas are his followers. I think this is a very good point.
Donovan 7
Podhradsky7
I find it interesting that the lions, which are known at the “good people”, are played by white people; and the hyenas ,which are known at the “bad people” , are played by Hispanic man, black women, and crazy guy. The most interesting part of the movie is that even though the movie hates minority groups mufasa’s was played by a black guy. I thought the Freud lens was the most helpful at reveling different things as I watched the movie. It helped me realize that even know Simba, Mufasa, and the lioness where the “good people” they also had a dark side to their brains. The most interesting thing so far that I have noticed while studying this movie is that Nala means gift and Nala is a girl. I thought that maybe this movie is saying that girls are just to be given or owned. I have learned that there are many different ways to view everything.
Podhradsky7
I thought it was cool how Houser 1 related the movie to the bible. I never thought of connecting The Lion King to the bible. Very Fascinating!
While watching The Lion King, I realized that I agree with the Marxist Critical Lens. I pay close attention to theme, and the social classes in which people/animals are seperated. In this film I realized that there is a huge separation between what we think is “good” and “evil.” The theme that I saw re-occuring was how the “good” and “evil” characters kept being appeared in light and dark. Everytime we would see Simba, he would be in the light, headed towards the light, or in a few scenes he was the light himself. Scar was always featured in the dark, or the shadows. We ususally define the light as being “good” and the dark is associated with “evil.” In this film, the characters were definatley seperated by classes, or popularity. Scar is the typical animal/person that would be sitting alone in the lunch room verses Simba who would be the one who would be followed and have plenty of friends. The film is very buyist on who they want us to be more intrigued by. By getting us to be more for Simba this is where they bring in what we were earlier talking about by being pro-religion. Simba praised “the gods” and Scar, who fails to be King is featured in shadows and fire, which basically means failure. Who wants to be a failure? Were obviously going for Simba, who is featured as religious so why wouldn’t we want to be like a king? In this movie, Simba is featured as what a Marxist Lens would say a “winner” and Scar is the “loser.”
The most interesting thing I’ve found this far is simply how we anaylze through different ways. By watching The Lion King I would never guess that this film featured , Pro-religion, Homosexuality, Racisim, and even incest. I also found very interesting the “symbols” that can be featured in the film if you look very closely. First example being the Hammer and Sickle that was shown as Scar and the moon in the background, which shows a relation of probably being communist. The next example is Scar walking away as a “teardrop” where the tree is the pupil of the eye. Analyzing can bring out many emotions behind the making of a film.
Seydel 7
The Lion King
The Marxist lens was helpful to analyze this movie. Throughout this movie they show giraffes and water buffalo along with elephants and other animals representing the working class, and how they work hard but are not rewarded with power. The lions are the ruling class even though all they do is eat and sleep. I believe that Disney is praising the higher classes and those who won the genetic lottery through this movie. What was interesting to me was that as a child I never noticed Scar’s eyes were green with jealousy and the hyenas’ voices were minorities; always frowned upon by the higher classes. Like 7
My “aha” moment while watching The Lion King was when I realized that all of the little details in the movie were not there be accident. I noticed that the lions were always on higher than any other animal, the sun always shined down on Simba but not on Scar. I realized that Simba wanted to grow up so fast but when the time came to take responsibility he just ran and didn’t want to return. This entire thing seemed to relate to US culture stereotypes, the men with the power will always have their blood line rule, that men are more powerful than women or British are to be disliked. I think some of them are very old stereotypes but we still have a tendency to follow. As child I don’t think know what the movie is really saying but I think that some of it goes into what we think is right. It all goes with our culture thinking if it is in a movie why can’t we do it? I agree with what Grogan 5 said that there are so many hidden messages in the movie. Also that the circle of life is like the caste system in that you can never go up or down. You’re in a social class for life.
Guinn 7
While watching The Lion King, I first had an epiphany when Nala pins Simba to the ground more than once. I also saw how Nala is stronger than Simba by the way it was her idea that helped Simba and her ditch Zazu on the way to the Elephant Graveyard. As I enjoyed The Lion King as a child I never thought of the fact that Nala is much stronger and smarter than Simba and I saw this using the Feminist lens. If Nala is so much smarter and stronger then why can’t she be king? Nala means gift so this is saying that the female lion is a gift to the male, therefore, she can’t be king. For many years it has always been the strong male lion who is king when that male could, in fact, be a horrible ruler because they don’t have the brains as well. Mufasa, Simba’s father, is king because he won the genetic lottery in being strong, not because he has brains. His brother Scar is frowned upon because he is not as handsome and isn’t as strong as Mufasa but he is smarter than him. In the film, Scar is portrayed to the point where kids are supposed to dislike him. It makes kids dislike the ones who did not win the genetic lottery. Why do you have to be strong and male to be king? This is looking at the movie through the Marxist lens. Like his father, Simba won the genetic lottery and will become king once his father dies. The flexbook has taught me more about the different lenses and how to look at everything from more than one point of view. I thought analyzing a film that I enjoyed and watched as a child was interesting because I had never thought to look at it through different lenses before. I was impressed with what Hauser said because of the way she said it. I also had never thought of it from the Bible point of view.
Sorensen 7
I had never realized that The Lion King was so racist before. I knew it had racist qualities in here, but I had no idea it had this many until I took this class. I didn’t think to see the lions as white for this showing them as the superior species in the whole kingdom. What is weird though is that Mufasa was voiced by a black man in this film. The lens that is most revealing to me is Freudian. There are so many things in here dealing with superego, ego, and id. The fact that Simba wants to be king the only way that will happen is if his dad dies. He may not actually want that to happen but subconsciously he really does want his dad dead.
Ryan C. 7
The Lion King
I experienced an epiphany when I realized how many religious rituals were going on that this movie is very pro religious and makes people who are not religious look like heathens or that they have no sense of responsibility. Characters like Scar and the hyenas are not religious and are pictured as heathens through events such as Scar killing his own brother, and the hyenas attempting to kill children, which make them look like they are behaviorally unfit to function in the “American Society”. Timon and Pumbaa are not very religious and are pictured as unmotivated people that do not work through their characteristics and actions of not caring about anything and just enjoying their lives, rather than thinking about what they can do for others or how they can improve their futures.
Waller 7
Fontenille7
My big ‘aha’ moment if you will was with the hyenas they did strike me as the minorities in the The lion king . At first couldn’t quite believe on Mr.c’s word that it was a racist sexist film but after seeing it for myself it really made me realize that it does stereotype the majority of the population it is quite surprising that they can do this. It makes me think that everyone is so naive not to see this in the film. But then again who would actually be looking for it in a children’s film. The hyena’s voices are dominant minority’s voices. (African, Hispanic, and the crazy white guy) Not only do they stereotype them in the movie but they also degrade them they are walked over them and are thought of as less of an animal or human if you will. The lens that relates is the Marxist lens that is relating to power, poor, or even the normality of society as to who should normally be in the leading position. From the lens 101 flex book I really liked about how someone would consciously do something to feed their subconscious. The fact that there is so much more then what is really showing is most interesting to me.
While studying The Lion King, I realized that this film is a lot more in depth then what I thought it was when I saw it as a child. It has many hidden messages little kids don’t even think of when they watch it. The message that caught my eye the most is between perferred and degraded characters in this film. Mufasa is my example of that, he is born to be the king. He is born to be big, strong and handsome, with a deep intelligent voice and scar his brother didn’t get so lucky. He is one of the main degraded characters in this movie. Scar is skinny, gay, weird and has a brittish accent, I think he also may be resembled as simbas uncle that lives in a trailer court and just drinks his life away. The hyennas a resembled as minorities such as black women, hispanic men, and disabled or crazy people. All that is very important to this film that I didn’t not see when I was a child. I think that the matrix lense is the most important, the lense can be easily applied to our lives or class in general. Understanding all of this is very interesting to me.
Reta7
While watching The Lion King I never questioned all the animals cheering another lion being born to hunt them. It shows they’re happy with the balance. I can also see how much Scar resembles Hitler in the way he brings hope to the hyenas, and basically brainwashes them out of the depths of their depression. Everything about Scar leads you to not like him, for example the fact that he is smaller and less broad than Mufasa and his fur is darker, and he has an accent different from the other lions. It makes you think that being different automatically makes you worse or less great than the lions that have power or all look the same. In this case, Scar would be different because he’s gay, so he’s less of a man than Mufasa. Therefore, he wouldn’t be fit to rule the pride lands. Even though, he is clearly smarter than Mufasa.
I also noticed that the sun and shadows play a huge role in this movie. In the beginning, it was very bright and the sun was shining. The sun baptized Simba when he was born, and again at the end when his son was born. Every time Scar would be on screen he would be in the shadows or shade. I think that the light shows power, and since Scar had no power he would always be in Mufasa’s shadow. The only time Scar was ever in the sun was when Mufasa died.
Speiser 7
Hauser 1 – I like how you bring up the story of Lucifer, because it goes so well with the story and relates very well. This is a spiritual movie and has a lot to do with The Bible. Knowing that Scar use to be the next king in line before Simba was born, His jealously got into the way and he became like Lucifer, the fallen angel.
Knudtson1
The Lion King
When I heard about the subliminal messages in The Lion King and people saying it was racist I didn’t believe it AT ALL. After watching this though, my views and thoughts about the movie will never be the same. I agree the movie is racist; the hyenas for example, are at the bottom of the social pyramid just as some minorities were and still are in some cases. They have to hide out and live in the ghetto and pretty much scrape up food or have it handed to them, just like the minorities of our country. Realizing this really hit me when Scar was singing as if Hitler were preaching to his Nazi soldiers. Also like Hitler Scar is very sneaky and conniving he took down the king and persuaded everyone into believing his lies to gain power. That’s when I started to think maybe there is more to this Disney movie. The movie is also feminist because the males are in control of everything. The females could easily take down scar but then who would rule, surely not a female. Also Nala meaning “gift” will be forced to marry Simba she will be handed over pretty much as a gift in a planned marriage to her brother; all so completely wrong on every level. This movie does a good job showing differences in theories of society I would never have expected to see those messages in a Disney.
rise
While watching The Lion King I found it interesting how the littlest thing could show what is going on. For instance the tree were scar puts Simba and tells him his dad has a surprise for him in the valley. The tree when it zooms out looks like and green eye that Scar has. Also how when Simba is running back to Pride Rock to save his home the stars represent the kings, who have passed away, to go help him. The Marxist Lens helped a lot. It helped examine how the characters are being portrayed. For instants Scar is supposedly gay. The hyenas are the poor social group and the lions are more of the rich group.
I agree with Marty who said that when Simba was down Timon and Pumbaa start sing “ The Lion Sleeps tonight” it is referring to taming a lion.
Brannan 7
I agree with Like about how the different classes. Even though some work harder then the others the lions are always rewarded with being the hightest praised because of the "genetic lottery." They are potrayed to be better because they look better.
Seydel 7
I agree with Karsen's idea of The Lion Kind telling the story of lucifer. While watching the movie another thing i noticed was something Rafiki said. After his meeting with Simba, Nala asks Timon where pumba is and Rafiki answers "he is not here, he has returned" and sounded almost like what the angel said at Jesus's tomb "He is not here, he has risen."
Minihan 1
I agree with Schultz 1 when he mentions the different lenses keeping it interesting. It's true that you can now watch a movie multiple times without getting bored. We can pick up different things throughout the movie everytime.
Hovde 2
I would like to compliment McClanahan. I like how he said that Timon and Pumba are just more than comic relief. They have more meaning than just comic relief.
-Brown 2
I agree with murren 1, as children we we never saw all these symbolic meanings in The Lion King. We were to believe that the lions were the good and the better. The hyenas and Scar were the bad guys.
Olson 2
One of my "aha" moments was everything we learned while watching The Lion King. From the symbolic meanings displayed to us. I believe my favorite lense to use is Marxist, this lense is closer to what reality is really like. Marxist shows the difference between the higher class and lower class. Like one of the critics questions, the question asks "how do "uppers"/"winners" flaunt or exploit their wealth or power"? Simba walks around singing and talking about how he is going to be king one day. Exploiting and flaunting that he will be king.
Olson 2
I agree with Tofteland 2 that The Lion King has a deeper meaning than what we just see as kids("a young lion growing up"). Most movies and stories have deeper meanings that what we see on the surface so it is important to dig deeper in order to understand the full effect that movies and stories are trying to tell us.
-Huntimer 2
The Lion King blog
Before whenever I saw The Lion King I thought it was just merely for entertainment. Now that I am older and a little wiser I can see it is much more then that. I noticed that the hyenas in the movie are portrayed as the “bad” guys just simply because they are hyenas. I believe the hyenas represent the minorities in America and Disney tells us that we are not suppose to like them, because in the movie we do not like the hyenas. It is not fair to the hyenas that they must be banned from the pride land just simply because they are hyenas. They can not control that they are hyenas. It is not their fault that they did not win what you might call the “genetic lottery”. This is just something I thought about when I watched the movie this time and the lens that helped me pick this out was the Marxist Lens. I learned that looking through lenses like this one it can help you pick out things like this.
Petersen Pd. 7
I liked Speiser's comment on how we are not expose to like scar just because he is different from the other lions and being different is supposedly makes you less great then everyone else.
Petersen 7
Looking at how much the movie relates to the Bible and the almighty, could Scar possibly be resembling the devil, instead of Hitler?
Hoffman 5
In my time viewing The Lion King, my 'mind's eyes' have been further opened thus, allowing me to reveal to myself and my notebook, all of the symbolism, various details and insignificancies who's typically small presence had the potential to completely change the direction of the plot (Ex. in the very last scenes where Scar is at the cliff of the back side of pride rock and Simba chooses not to push him over the edge, but to force him to leave. At which point, the storyline is then opened up -yet again- to the potential for a valiant duel). Along side of being mentally re-awoken by the engaging curriculum based around this movie, I have also managed to 'soak in' a sizable 'gob' of vocabulary. In a sense this movie has also enabled me to answer a series of critical questions from an individual stand point (Ex. Marxist or Freudian? Ans: Marxist w/o the communism). Several features throughout the film that I noticed were the generalized roles presented by each character. Such as: Rafiki doubling as a life coach of sorts and proving such further great utility beyond just a 'medicine man'. Then, there's Timon and Pumba, in ways, they're the perfect examples of what for one to do with their life, but they also demonstrate various critical skill sets later on throughout the movie such as distracting the hyenas with an unusual hula dance.
Before watching The Lion King in class I just watched the movie for entertainment. I never looked at all the different symbols in it. After the first day of analysis I started to get the hang of things and found many observations. One epiphany I had was how they segrate different people just like we do in our daily lives. Eddy has a disability that they make obvious in the film and he is a hyena. Hyenas are lower on the social ladder than the lions, therefore, making them live in the shadows and in the gully. I feel like that is unfair and yet we do it in real life too. People with a disability at school get treated differently. Even if we try to treat them the same we don’t. They are put in different classes than us. So they are basically separated from everyone just like the hyenas. By reading the “Lenses 101” packet it taught me the meanings of all the different lenses and how to look through each one. It also had things in it for each exhibit we do in class to help us understand the viewpoint of that literary critism. After understanding each view point I realized that the Marxist lense was the most helpful for me. I could easily pick out all the symbols of Marxism in the film. One example is how they separated the lions and the hyenas. The lions are the kings of the kindom and they treat the hyenas badly. Just because the lions were born into their class meant that they were to live a fulfilling life while back in the shadows the hyenas are forced to struggle day to day just because they were born into that status. It all seems unfair. Also, the most interesting thing I have found this year is how many different ways we can view things. I never looked at movies or books in the way that we are looking at them now. I find it very interesting.
Benz 7
I think that Hoffman 5 made a very good point. The almighty and the Bible are mentioned a lot in this film. Wouldn’t scar represent the devil more than hitler? The lions call there previous kings the gods and Scar lives back in the shadows and dies in the fire, so I agree with Hoffman 5 and would consider Scar the devil.
Benz 7
I also agree with zody on the feminist lens being a very key lens to look at in the movie. I like how he pointed out that Nala should be the leader because she is stronger than simba. All the females in the movie aren’t treated as equals like they should be. Instead they are made to do all the hunting and to do what they are told by the male leaders.
Dede 1
Fontenille7
Like 7 i completely agree with you about the working class that was a great observation about the majority of the animals and how they dont get rewarded I LIKE it...Like 7
While watching the movie the thing that shocked me most was all of the degrading that occurs in the movie. An “aha” moment in The Loin King for me would have to be when Mufasa told Simba that the sun will set on the ending of his time and the sun would rise at the beginning of Simba’s time. The sun sets when Mufasa dies. The sun doesn’t rise when Scar takes over, instead it is dark and dry. When Simba finally takes back control of prime rock, the sun rises; just as Mufasa said it would. The Marxist lens was most helpful in The Loin King . During the movie I noticed that the heyenas and Scar are portrayed as lower class than Mufasa, Simba, and all of the other animals. For instance, even though scar is older than Simba, he would not be king when Mufasa dies, Simba would be king. I also noticed a lot of the feninist lens in The Lion King . For instance, Nala can beat Simba but yet she isn’t “king”, if Simba can beat Scar and Nala can beat Simba then she should be “king”. Since it doesn’t work like that in the movie, it shows that they think males are better than females in some ways. The women have to hunt food for the hyenas and Scar when scar is in control, rather than everyone just hunting for their own food.
Bennett 7
I agree with Fontenille 7 in that, I did not expect The Lion King to be so racist and sexist especially for a kids movie. It’s amazing how Disney is putting all of this in their movie.
Like 7
I agree with Fontenille 7 in that, I did not expect The Lion King to be so racist and sexist especially for a kids movie. It’s amazing how Disney is putting all of this in their movie.
Like 7
Thorson 5, I like how you pointed out the scene where Rafiki told Simba to look into the water to see his father. When in reality, Mufasa was a part of Simba the whole time, but Simba never realized it. He let himself go into a carefree environment and to abandon his responsibilities in his homeland at Pride Rock. McDonald 2
When we began watching The Lion King, I vaguely remembered anything from when I was little and saw it. I heard many observations from previous students and was excited and willing to begin analyzing. By reading the “Lenses 101” packet it showed me what each meant and how to use the 3 lenses. Once I finished studying the packet and discussed the lenses more in class, I decided that the Marxist lens was most apparent and interesting to me. One thing that stuck out to me was how there is a major division among social classes through out the movie. On the “wealthier” side, we have the lions; strong, knowledgeable, powerful, and they rule the Pride Lands. Then there are the hyenas; who have done nothing wrong to be placed in the slums, separated from the rest of society. They are looked down upon as unintelligent, uneducated, heathens.
Now wealth is referred to as power, the lions have better hunting grounds and food, and are the privileged ones according to their place in the food chain. Otherwise why couldn’t Timon, the tiny meerkat, become the king? Aside from the fact he doesn’t possess the intellectual qualities to be a ruler; but neither does Mufasa. Mufasa is the king not because of brains, but of his strong masculinity that professes power.
I know when I was younger it never crossed my mind that Scar could be a homosexual. But by just studying his feminine tendencies and the way he sachays across the ground made me realize the obvious. Also the movie ingrains certain stereotypes into kids subconscious mind. The fact that Scar has a British accent develops the connection that if you are not American, you are evil. Also the hyenas are not accidentally casted as a black women, Hispanic, and a crazy guy. They are showing how the world puts down people and treats them differently than other “normal” peaole in society. Mufasa is another example. To viewers young and old it seems his voice is of a strong white male, when in fact it is a black man. Which I never would have thought and it‘s racist of the creators to do so.
I discovered these observations through the Marxist lens and found it all very interesting. -Baumann7
Post a Comment