Erikson's Phychosocial Development In The Lion King

Watching The Lion King as a child, you see it as a tale of a young lion cub going through highs and lows and in the end defeating the villain and saving the day. But looking deeper, you see that the storyline has much more to it. It’s about the young lion cub Simba, who is the next in line to be king, who is taught by his father Mufasa. This leads to Mufasa’s brother, Scar, to create a realistic conflict, in which he kills his own brother and generates a scapegoat- Simba- by blaming him, giving him thoughts that everyone will be disappointed for the reason that it was his fault. This, in turn, causes the young cub to feel ostracized from his pride, leading him to run away. Simba meets up with a meerkat (Timon) and a warthog (Pumba), to which he conforms to their way of thinking as they raise him. They teach him Hakuna Matata - “No worries”- , which he follows and he uses it when Nala tells him to come back. It also created a self-fulfilling prophecy of

Now that we have applied Joseph Campbell’s model to the Lion King, we have an answer to our research question: “Does the Lion King’s use of the Hero’s Journey push an agenda towards adults of previous life experiences that are noteworthy, while still maintaining young children as the target audience”? Yes, although it is a children’s movie, it does push an agenda towards adults. We have covered a couple out of several lessons the directors fixed to the audience. We can now draw three important implications of this analysis. The Lion King campaigns for an environmental improvement before it is too late, a spiritual calling to build upon a relationship with the religion each one of us practices and a cinematic implication of CGI.

So Simba has spent basically his whole life in the jungle with his two friends which has taught him to forget about his past and responsibilities. The responsibility to lead the Pride Rock animals is one of

young prince, and the tragic death of a father. The Lion King explains the story

After Simba ran away he met Simon and Pumba, two friends that he made while growing up had taught him "Hakuna Matata, it means no worries" where don’t worry so much. Rafiki , the monkey had demonstrated that he may have it him on the head but its in the past, and had said he can either run from it or learn from it. So in the end Simba realized that he has to go back home and reclaim what was rightfully his and save his kingdom from Scars

After Simba’s dad is killed and he get’s blamed for it by Scar he runs away to the jungle where Timon and Pumba comfort him and make him forget. Years later, Nala comes and finds Simba and convinces him to come home where he must face his fear and brave his tribe and kill Scar, the lion who killed Mufasa and blamed it on Simba. The Lion King is about a young

Simba matures throughout the movie realizing his role, and forgiving himself, to defeat Scar and save his kingdom. “ The Lion King” proves to be a family film by providing

As a society, we feel the need for empowerment and seek this through the characters on stage. Simba recovers from the terrible loss and becomes a powerful leader. The story is a source of inspiration to the audience, especially those who are experiencing a feeling of loss. All forms of arts, music, and theater fulfill the audience’s need for experience a wide range of emotions and discovering a source of inspiration and empowerment in their everyday life.

To begin with, after Simba leaves Pride Rock he gets exhausted after a long walk in the desert and wakes up next to two strangers who have saved his life. Not long after he wakes up Timon and Pumba introduce themselves to Simba. ‘So where you from kid…who cares anyway I can’t go back.’. Not long after that Timon and Pumba walk Simba to their humble home and when they get there Simba is surprised because of how beautiful the whole place is.Timon and Pumba introduced Simba to bugs and he is disgusted but he learns to eat them. When Simba leaves Pride Rock this illustrates that sometimes people need to enter a new environment. Furthermore, when Simba is all grown up, one afternoon he hears Timon and Pumba screaming because of a big, crazy lion is chasing them to eat them. He runs to help his friends and all of a sudden a couple of seconds later Simba and the big, crazy lion start fighting. Simba is pinned to the ground and then Simba is surprised when he finds out it is Nala.‘Nala is that you?...’. Simba has to change and return to Pride Rock. Simba changing determines that sometimes you need to confront your past. Undoubtedly, the film reveals

When he’s with Timon and Pumba, for instance, he professes that life is “hakuna matata”, “no worries”, but in reality he’s riddled by guilt underneath. When Timon and Pumba accidentally make fun of his dad when they’re talking about stars, for example, Simba laughs nervously, then goes off alone. When Nala runs into him and says his mom will be surprised to know he’s alive, Simba responds timidly with “She doesn’t have to know”. He later snaps at Nala when she prods him to return, showing how his nervousness about his past easily turns to anger. In addition, immediately after Scar is killed and Mufasa lets out a “Remember!” from the sky, Simba lets out a small smile. While it looks like a smile of relief more than happiness it still confirms he’s slowly moving on. The final scene offers an even starker contrast: when all the animals have gathered for the presentation of his new son, Simba is clearly smiling and surrounded by his friends, mother, and “wife.” Even though it’s a stereotypical “happily ever after” ending, this and all the examples above underscore Disney’ belief that denying one’s past allows guilt and pain to always fester underneath; tackling it head-on is the only chance to true

The Lion King is considered a classic and one of the greatest animated films of all-time. Many say that it draws on the epicness of its source material, William Shakespeare’s timeless play “Hamlet”. While the themes of revenge and death are represented in “Lion King”, it is toned down in order to appeal to the primary target audience of children. One message directed towards the audience of children and adults is how natural enemies can cooperate and even become friends, as evidenced in the friendship of Timon, Pumbaa, and Simba.

What made the characters of The Lion King so popular to the children of 1994 directly translates into what makes the characters of

Well, Erikson dedicated his time investigating the development of a child to adulthood. During that process, he recognizes the importance of the first four stages of the life cycle, simply because they are the “prerequisites in physiological growth, mental maturation, and social responsibility to experience and pass through the crisis of identity.” (d’Heurle & Tash, 2004, Pg. 255) Those stages are imperative for his growth, without them, his future could possibly look bleak; ultimately, become troublesome. (d’Heurle & Tash, 2004, Pg. 259) The others were equally important and slightly more reliant on the earlier teachings, which will also prepare the child for either an accomplished life and a hopelessly, depressed and despair life.

The movie The Lion King, a Disney animated, is about the adventures of a young lion named Simba. He is the son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, the royal family of the Pride Lands. All of the animal kingdom is thrilled to hear about Simba’s birth, except his cruel, evil uncle Scar. He knows that Simba will become the next king, so he sets out to kill both father and son. However, Simba escapes, but Mufasa sadly did not. He died fighting for his son's life. Therefore, Simba now returns as an adult to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends. The Lion King can be shown through narrative archetypes such as Mufasa representing the wise, old man, Scar as the witch or sorceress, and Simba being the hero.

Of the characters in the film, we see Simba and his friend Nala as lion cubs in the start of the film. Simba and Nala are both roughly six to eight months old, which is roughly ten years old for humans. (“Animal Ages”). Simba, born into privilege, is being groomed by his father in the beginning on how to rule his future kingdom. Using Piaget’s theory of childhood development we will look at Simba and Nala, as well as how they compare developmentally to the average ten year old. This age would put Simba and Nala in the