The Lion King Film Analysis

Disney movies have been the leading outlets for child education and social learning. Due to such power of influence controversies have been raised which include the following, but not limited to, gender roles and stereotypes, issues of independence, and misrepresentation. Many people argue that despite the morals and messages that occur within such films there are still underlying messages that deal with beauty standards and norms. However, others may argue that Disney is evolutionary and evolved the imagery of male/female standards. The controversy then becomes: are Disney films doing more harm than they are good? Due to certain themes brought on by such movies, it has left younger audiences with both positive and

This reminded me of a point made in the article “Representation of Black’s in Children’s Books” when Anthony J. Cortese argued that blacks appear in minor roles in books and occupy subservient positions such as maids, slaves, or servants (2004). This confirms that not only are racial messages uncovered in children’s literature, but they are making an appearance in children’s films as well. The hyenas in The Lion King support this argument because they are slaves to Scar and display behaviors that viewers might connect to African Americans.

What images come to mind as one reflects upon his or her childhood? Playgrounds, blackboards, and soccer balls may be among the fondest of memories. Yet, for many, mermaids swim their thoughts, princesses get swept off their feet, and lions roar to their royal place in the animal kingdom. Disney films have captivated the American culture for years and have become a pivotal part of popular culture as well as a form of education. However, these films have devoured the youth of America and, in the process; have perpetuated an institutionally racist society based on harsh stereotypes. Minorities are often underrepresented, and even completely left out, of many Disney films such as Dumbo (1941), The Lion King (1994), Aladdin (1992), and

Heroes are present in movies, tv shows or games. A “hero's journey” shows a character's journey on gaining the title of a “hero”. A movie or tv show may show a character or multiple characters go through very difficult times but it the end show how they overcame adversity and is now known as a hero. In the Lion King, Simba can be seen as a hero with the challenges he endures and what he overcomes by the end. Simba has many heroic qualities his wisdom, compassion for others, moral reasoning and responsibility makes him stand out above all other characters. Simba as a young lion, was very selfish and naive to many things happening at Pride Rock . His choice to run away at a young age showed he didn't want to face his problems or accept what he thought he did. Simba begins to gain heroic qualities as he is now living his own life in a faraway jungle, he is learning how to be independent, and how to live his own life instead of being in the shadow of his dad, the king of Pride Rock.

For my final paper where we had to pick a topic from current popular culture, I decided to write my paper with the focus on Disney movies. More particularly with the focus on the Disney princess movies. When it comes to the Disney movies they have always been and will always be such a huge part of our society. While growing up most children grow up watching these movies and get the idea that that is what they want to be when they grow up. When you ask a young girl what she wants to be when she is older there is a good chance that she will say that she wants to be a princess when she grows up. I have always been such a huge fan of Disney movies and I have a feeling I always will be. I found it very interesting this semester when we spend the short class period talking about the Disney female and male characters. It is rather interesting and something that I can say that I really never noticed before but the fact that the majority of all the female characters all had the same face shape. Whereas the males there were none two that were the same. However for this paper I will be looking into the relationship to cultural meanings about gender and other identity markers, such as race, sexuality, and cultural norms as seen in some of the more classic well known Disney movies.

The 2016 film Lion, which was first a book called “A Long Way Home”, is a film where a boy named Saroo was separated from his brother in the train station, which leads to Saroo getting on a train taking him thousands of miles away from his family and his home. Saroo, who was only five-years-old when he got lost, had to learn to survive alone in Kolkata, West Bengal. Days after arriving to Kolkata, the city the train left him at, he got admitted into an orphanage, which later turned out to him getting adopted by an Australian couple. But twenty-five years later, he starts to wonder where his first home and family are at the moment. With only his memories, determination, and Google Earth he starts looking and searching where his small

Many characters in The Lion King is introduced by obvious racial traits, such as the protagonists a more friendly fair white voice versus antagonist’s Hispanic/Black deeper voice, are some of the more clear examples. Robertson points out that the hyenas, the less loved characters in the film, are seen in a dark lifeless setting or simply the ghetto. Between the

In the past years, Disney/Pixar has revolutionized the premise of their movies by shifting away from princesses and portraying resilient male characters as the protagonists of their highly successful animated feature films. From 1995 to 2008, Disney/Pixar released eight films, all of which included a male lead, yet these characters are arguably unlike any other protagonist in early Disney animated films. In their essay, “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden call attention to the new manner Disney/Pixar use to depict their heroic male characters in their movies. Gillam and Wooden claim that Pixar is using their movies to promote the acceptance of a new standard of masculinity capable of embracing feminine traits, as conveyed by the male characters within the films. As a viewer, it is easy to recognize the emasculation of the male protagonists within Pixar movies, however, the authors’ claim is faulty; they fail to acknowledge that society now has room for a new sympathetic man because it is straying way from a patriarchal beliefs of the past.

Disney creates gender roles, racial roles, and white supremacy through socialization within their motion pictures. For example, Walt Disney’s “Snow White”, “Fantasia”, and even “The Little Mermaid” all show females as obscenely beautiful, male dependent and flirtatious creatures who couldn’t save themselves from a Chinese finger trap. Males are the perfectly sculpted rescuers who can be easily wooed by a woman’s body; and these exaggerated roles create a false standard for children and can lead to severely underdeveloped sociological skills. Moving onto the racial roles; in the movie “All dogs go to

Dave Chappelle talks about how many different types of people in society today benefit from racism and other social constructs whether or not they know it. While minority groups toil under racism, sexism and classism the majority groups benefit. While blacks were heavily oppressed from times of slavery all the way until the Jim Crow era whites benefited from the system of oppression. Back when women had no rights and sexism was rampant men were benefactors and while life gets harder and harder for the poor it gets easier and easier for the rich. In the books we read race and class are major themes in all of them. Many characters get the short end of the privilege stick while others benefit greatly from different types of privilege whether or not they are aware of it. Most of the characters are either too young or too ignorant to do anything about the privilege gap in these books. Chappelle talks about opportunities given to those with privilege. Whether it’s having the knowledge that getting kicked out of one prestigious prep school just means enrollment in another or simply being able to freely go wherever a person wants knowing they won’t be questioned or beaten unequal opportunities based on privilege are plentiful in our novels this year. While several characters exemplify the benefits of privilege Kevin, Scout and Holden best illustrate what privilege, whether known or unknown, can do for a person.

During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media “are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,” such as racism. (Giroux 32). Racist scenes in Disney movies are often identified as simply being “symbols of the time” when the films were produced. Furthermore, Disney racism is often passed over as simple humor, or as a simple guide to

Macbeth the movie and Lion King are very different, but very similar. One is a cartoon animation movie by Disney and the other is a play written by William Shakespeare that was later produced into a movie by Ian McKellan. Both movies have a tradegy, but also have a small heros journey and I will show the comparsion between them both.

perpetuated over the years throughout Disney’s movies. Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world. According to Forbes, the “net worth and market capitalization of Disney Company has been estimated as $103.96 billion in 2013” ("Walt Disney Company Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth,”). From the premiere of the Steamboat Willie cartoons in 1928 Disney has transformed pop culture as we know it today. This paper is designed to look into four major issues gender identity, gender roles, ethnicity, social class throughout Disney’s Cinderella (1950) and Frozen (2013). I aim to show that in these films can be found a subtle manual for social norms, a supplier of dominant family values. I will assess certain sociological concepts that are represented in these films namely ‘The American Dream’, standardization, pseudo-individualism and the creation of false needs. As a society, the understanding of these issues are instrumental to our being since our identity is often distorted through long term norms, ideals and merits set forth through these animated films.

The movie The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride follows the life of Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara. She falls in love with Kovu, a male lion from an exiled pride known as the Outsiders who was once lead by Simba’s evil uncle named Scar. Separated by Simba’s prejudice against the Outsiders, who are followers of Scar with a vindictive plot planned by Kovu’s mother Zira, Kiara and Kova struggle to overcome the two obstacles that are keeping them apart. Desperate to be together, Kiara and Kovu become the key to join both prides at peace. This paper will be focused on Kiara’s life within the movie and also examine Kiara’s process of development through Freud’s psychosexual and Erikson’s psychosocial stages, and as well as Piaget theories.

Traditionally, animated films have been made for and consumed by children, with the plotlines and themes being relatively basic and forthright. However, recent years have seen the release of animated films that explore significantly more adult themes and thought provoking ideas. Perhaps the most confronting example of adult themes in an animated film is in 2016’s ‘Zootopia’. The film forces viewers to think about concepts such as racial segregation, nature vs. nurture and the debilitating effect of stereotyping. Although Zootopia features anthropomorphic animals, it is easy to draw a connection between the film’s prey vs. predator narrative and racial divide in our own society.