Lion King Stereotypes

Misinformation and misperception about mental illness can lead to the stigmatization of ourselves, our parents, our children, our spouses and others that we care about. The consequences of stigma range from social isolation to poverty to barriers to quality treatment and care. Stigma perpetrated on a grand scale can result in a system that reinforces the idea that people diagnosed with mental illnesses are unimportant and therefore are unworthy of access to quality and affordable care. Some media outlets (films and television) serve to perpetuate negative stereotypes and reinforce stigma. Although relatively few people with mental illness act out in

Mental illness is often wrongly portrayed in the United States’ media creating stigmatization and misrepresentation. Mental illness “refers to a wide range of mental disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Examples of disorders include anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Any “negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are called stigma” (Wilson et al., 2016, p. 2) and stigma can contribute to progression of mental illness because of its harmful effects due to misrepresentation in the media. In the recent years, the United States media has began to address the reprehension around the topic of mental illness, as it has began to develop into a rising problem in citizens across the nation. In the past, any portrayal of a figure or character with a mental disorder would be wrongly depicted, therefore, creating a distorted perception for the viewers (Stout et al., 2004, p. 1). Television shows have started to establish characters with mental illness in hopes to lessen the stigma behind ill characters due to the wrongful associations viewers may make. The way media viewers’ stereotype the mentally ill into categories can be harmful to the well being of those with disorders. Stereotypes can be so harmful that even medical professionals “contend that stigma is a major reason why one-fourth of the estimated 50 million Americans experiencing mental illness yearly will not seek

In “The Lion King”, Disney uses animals to tell a coming of age story. In this film, characters are used to symbolize racism. From the beginning of Simba’s life, his father forbids him to go to the Elephant Graveyard. Upon further investigation, the viewer learns that the graveyard is resemblant of the ghetto. Even the inhabitants of the graveyard are voiced by minorities and participate in illegal activities one would imagine happening in the ghetto: i. e. stealing food, kidnapping the king’s son. Gail Robertson’s essay, “Snow Whitey?”, states that the “embedded messages [ in “The Lion King”] can only be described as despicable” (43). This essay also on points out the “ghettoization of Blacks and Hispanics” (43). In the film, the integration

Through the eyes of the general public we see The Lion King as an entertainment asset but in the eyes of Gail Robertson; a diverse ethnicity towards characters is pointed out. After watching Disney's The Lion King under critical analysis, assumptions can be made that many characters grouped together are by race. In Robertson's Snow Whitey? Stereotyping in the Magical Kingdom, he bashes the fact that within Disney movies “a world filled with racism, sexism, ageism and heterosexism” (42) has to be viewed by the parents in order to understand Disney’s views on each stereotype.

Apart from the stereotypes, recent Disney princesses have been counteracting the stereotypical images of a Disney princess. They are no longer waiting around for their prince to come and be with them. Instead, they are using their intelligence to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Also, they can be independent and that they don’t always need a man (Bowser n.p.). The portrayal of love in these films are different from the others. The characters are not focused in waiting for their prince. Rather, they were trying to achieve their dreams. In "The Princess and the Frog", Tiana pursues her dream in becoming a restaurant owner. She didn't need a male counterpart to be able to feel happy but only wanted to fulfill her dream to feel happiness.

How can such an evil entity appear to be so innocent and pure? In Clive Staples Lewis’s novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the characters are deceiving individuals who appear to seem angelic and harmless but in reality are evil. The true colors of the individuals are revealed and good overcomes evil. Lewis portrays the archetype trickster and the archetype, good versus evil, to convey to his readers the betrayal placed in the novel. In the novel Lewis conveys the archetype, trickster, to show how individuals portray themselves as something they are not, to not only deceive, but to also get their way. Lewis wrote, “…in the middle of the sled sat a very different person- a great lady [the White Witch], taller than any woman that Edmund

Throughout history people who have a mental health illness are not accepted in society. The attitudes of people in society, for example the workplace, is an important measure of the success of that society. Segregating people with mental illnesses from society, by putting someone in a institute, contributed to the attitude that an individual with mental illness are not capable of participating or contributing in society. These negative stereotypes are often portrayed in media, and influence the stigma of mental health illness being dangerous. This controversial concept of dangerousness states that individuals with a mental illness are more dangerous than those without a mental illness. Various forms of discrimination and exclusion in society is still present today. If society begins to understand mental illness, then they will judge a lot less. Success in that society will come when society accepts other people who are different

Sydney Rickabaugh Ms. Crider English 10 Honors Period 1 17 October 2014 Wonder for all ages Great stories seem to take people of all ages on a roller coaster ride full of emotion and wonder. An animated movie called The Lion King was produced by Disney and released in 1994.

The Lion King has always been considered a symbolic film teaching children not to dwell in the past. To demonstrate that what happens in the past does not matter, it will prevail how the person grows from it. Simba’s past was not the best, however he grew from it. His uncle Scar made him think that he killed his own father. When he found out Simba still did the kind-hearted deed and spare his uncle's life.

Walt Disney teaches us that in life there will be many obstacles that we need to overcome, to seek greater outcomes. The Lion King uses many archetypes to display this lesson. Through creation, immortality, and the sun, The Lion King shows that life always continues. Creation can act as a very influential way in showing how to move forward. When the rain came to put out the fire.

It is well known that children are very easily influenced by what they see in the world, especially in the media. Disney has undoubtedly monopolized the hearts and brains of children all around tihe world, so they have an extreme amount of power in the way they portray things. Whether it be the way they portray gender, families, or mental illness, these portrayals affect their audience on a deep psychological level. The way that mental illness is portrayed is a lot harder to detect than some other topics like gender and families, but they are just as damaging. Disney needs to strive to portray mental illness as something that is genuinely human rather than something that is evil.

One in every seventeen people in America suffers from a mental disorder. These disorders inhibit the afflicted person from functioning properly and coping normally with daily life. Many afflicted with a psychological disorder do not exhibit obvious symptoms, as medical advancements have made it possible for these disorders to be suppressed or even nonexistent. Today, however, harsh stigmas exist that unfairly categorize those with a mental illness as violent, unfriendly, and abnormal. The media and federal government are culprits in fabricating the unrealistic depictions of mental disability that define the portrayal of those who are mentally or psychologically disadvantaged.

In a study conducted by Otto F. Wahl of George Mason University it was concluded that the portrayal of the mentally ill was extremely inaccurate when compared to what mental illness experts uphold.“ … early studies, for example , compared media depictions with the opinion of mental health experts and concluded that ‘ in general , the causes, symptoms, methods of treatment, prognosis, and social effects portrayed by the media are far removed from what the experts advocate.” This shows without the help of experts in character development the mentally ill are seriously misrepresented. Another study conducted by Donald L. Diefenbach and Mark D. West of the University of North Carolina at Asheville to see how television influenced attitudes towards mental illness concluded much to the same. “The study found that the view of mental illness expressed by the mass media was even further removed from health professionals than that of the lay public. “ Once again we see that the lack of professional guidance in the media leads to the flawed depiction of the mentally

A little girl sits on the floor with her gaze fixed on the television screen in front of her, watching magical images dance before her eyes and catchy songs flow through her ears. Even though she had seen it at least twenty times before, she still loved The Little Mermaid just as much as she did the first time she watched it. As she watched it, she longed to be a beautiful mermaid with a curvy body and wonderful singing voice like Ariel. She longed to be saved by the handsome Prince Eric, and fall in love and live happily ever-after like Ariel did. In today’s society, women strive to achieve equality between the sexes. Despite the tremendous steps that have been taken towards reaching gender equality, mainstream media contradicts these

In most cases, people who are portrayed with mental illnesses are commonly exhibited as being violent and/or aggressive, but are also frequently depicted as eccentrics, seductresses (in the case of women), self-obsessives, objects for scientific observation, simpletons and/or failures. One or more of these such labels can reasonably be applied to the characters examined in both The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Holy City... As such, a skewed, and ultimately rather unsavoury, picture of mental illness is often presented to the public. There is plenty of evidence that these pervasive negative portrayals can have harmful effects, particularly effects they might incur through perpetuating the stigma associated with mental illness as well as potentially reducing the likelihood that those with mental illness will seek out the appropriate help. In April 2005, a psychological review put together by Jane Pirkis, R Warwick Blood, Catherine Francis and Kerry McCallum examined the effect of fictional portrayals of mental illness. They made reference to studies that have employed surveys and focus groups to examine the sources of community attitudes towards mental illness, having found that the media in general are perceived as the root of such