Running Head: THE UNCOVERED TRUTH

The Uncovered Truth

University of South Florida
Alissa Gibb, Nina LaPorta, Kieran Pettus
25 March 2015

Abstract

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This paper explores the movie the Lion King through different theoretical lenses and how
it relates to modern day. Through these lenses we analyze the movie and discuss how they are
portrayed throughout the showing. After we conduct a discussion that gives examples in which
reality forces these types of theories, in movies and media. The research will unfold further
evidence to our argument of the different theories that are used throughout the movie. Through
various illustrations I hope to successfully analyze the Lion King from a different perspective.

On opening day the Lion King made $1,825,849 million dollars in the United States
alone. According to International Movie Data Base in the 20 plus years that Lion King has been
out, it has made approximately $422,783,777 million dollars. Imagine of all the people that have

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subjectively seen the movie and have not seen the secret message Disney is sending. Looking
through a theoretical lens, research has shown stereotyping, cognitive appraisal theory of
emotion, and just world phenomena play as central foci in the movie Lion King. In this essay it
will explicate the movie synopsis and background, theories that are applied to the movie, as well
as the analysis of the movie, a discussion, future research and a wrap up of the paper.
Literature Review
Synopsis. The Lion King was written in 1994 and was released by Walt Disney pictures
on June 15 that year. The story takes place in Africa in what is known as Pride Rock in the
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movie. King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi are the kingdoms majesty. They are being cheered for
the birth of their newborn son, Simba. Rafiki, who is a Mandrill monkey blesses Simba with
fruit juices before the animals of the kingdom see him. Simba is being recognized at this
ceremony as the future king. Later on, Zazu, who is a hornbill bird, as well as Mufasas Patron,
pays Scar a visit. Scar is Mufasas envious younger brother. Zazu confronts Scar as to why he
was absent for the ceremony of his newborn nephew. Scar blows the conversation completely
off, because he doesnt really care for the fact that there is another lion in front of his position in
becoming king. Scar realizes that because of Simbas birth, he will never be king now. He then
contemplates a plan to get rid of both Simba and his brother Mufasa.
Next, Simba convinces his father to his feet to shows him the kingdom. Mufasa explains
that the entire land that is touched by the sun will be his own. He also explicates that anything
beyond that point he shall never go. Simba is persuaded by his uncle Scar that this place his
father speaks of is only for the bravest lions. He does say it is dangerous, but gives Simba
enough detail to make his curiosity take over, disobeying his father. Endangering Simba
accentually gives Scar the opportunity at becoming one step closer to becoming king again.

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When this does not work, Scar comes up with another plan to vanish Simba and his brother
Mufasa out of the picture completely. Then one day, Scar takes Simba to a stampede area where
he says his father will meet him there. Scar, then goes to Mufasa and tells him that Simba was
stuck in a stampede. Mufasa saves Simba, but when he goes to climb up the rock, Scar comes
and grabs him and throws him into the stampede, and he dies. This is a big turning point in the
movie. Scar makes it seem as if it was all Simbas fault for his fathers death. Simba is
vulnerable after witnessing this, so his uncle persuades him to run away and never come back.
As Simba runs away he meets a warthog named Pumba and a mere cat named Timone
who find him abandoned. They raise him as their own until he is no longer a cub, but a giant lion.
As Simba grows older away from his home, Scar is taking over the kingdom in pride rock,
which has led to everyone to starve. Nala, Simbas friend finds him. She begs him to come
home and take back the kingdom, but he just cant bring himself to because of the guilt he feels.
Simba returns after being influenced by Rafiki to look harder for the presences of his father.
Simba then decides that he needs to go back and take down his uncle and bring peace back to the
kingdom. Simba does fight Scar and when he has the opportunity to kill him, he remembers
what Scar told him when his father died; Run away and never come back! This gives Simba
the power of the throne and he becomes king of Pride Rock.
Background/History. In the creation of the movie there was a lot of debate on whether
or not the movie was seen as racist, sexist, and/ or classist. According to (Gutierrez, 2000), most
of the Lion King film regards race and ethnicity. For an example, all the lions in the sun lit part
of the pride land were all light colored lions and were seen as good except for Scar. On the other
hand, all of the hyenas were darker colored and their characters were played by an African
American actor or of Spanish descent. One other important part in the movie, is when the

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hyenas march during a rally to show their loyalty to Scar, which resembled Nazi propaganda
films in Germany, (Kramer, 2000). Timone and Pumbaa are seen as the first couple in a Disney
movie that are not only homosocial, but gay, (Buhler, 2003). Although this film had many
controversial aspects it still was one of the highest grossing films ever in history at 312.8 million
as of March 28 , 1995, (Honeycutt, 1995). Also, The Lion King captured two Oscars and two
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Grammys for its music, (Jolson-Colburn, 1995).

The storyline of the Lion King story comes from a play written by William Shakespeare,
called Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is about a young prince, whose father dies and his uncle
takes over. Right at first you can clearly see the resemblance between the movies. Both of the
protagonist, Simba and Hamlet, try to avenge their fathers death. Besides the story line being
the same, they both have other similarities such as they both come from royal families and all the
characters seem to be comparable: Simba to hamlet, Claudius to Scar, Hamlet (father) to Mufasa,
the list goes on. In both Hamlet and Lion King they have companions that help make them feel
better and for the protagonist to lean on. Lion King has Timone and Pumba who help Simba
grow up and teach him their way of living. In Hamlet, Horatio helps Hamlet and supports the
decisions he made (Hamlet). Another similarity between the two movies is that they both see
ghost. In Hamlet he sees his father in a ghost figure, who helps him figure out who killed him
(Similarities). As for in the Lion King, Simba sees his father in the sky and in the water, this
helps Simba by realizing he can do anything (The Lion King).
One major difference in Hamlet, is that there is a love interest that is expressed
with Ophelia. He expresses it by going over to her place and being with her a good amount of
time. In Lion King, Simbas love interest is Nala. Nala goes looking for food and happens to
find Simba. As to her great surprise, she refuses to leave without him and requests he come back

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to pride rock and be king! Another major difference I noticed between the two movies, was that
in Hamlet there are a lot of deaths, usually the most important characters in the story. In Lion
King, the only characters that die are Mufasa and Scar. The reason for that is probably because
Disney realized that mostly kids were going to be watching this movie, therefore they made the
decision not to make majority of the characters die.
Another story Lion King is based off of is that of Adam and Eve. For example, Simba is
seen as a rebellious cub when he seeks out his adventure to the forbidden land with Nala. They
both know they are not supposed to go there, but they go anyway. This is similar to the biblical
myth, when Adam and Eve are told to never to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree, but they do
any way, (Ingoglia, 1994). There is debate on Disney films and what they want their audience to
know about morals, what is right from wrong and the difference between good and evil.
Furthermore, good and evil is a main focus in the movie Lion King which has created more
curiosity on different theories that could be seen as the most prominent in the entire formulation
of this famous Disney Picture.
Theoretical Framework
The two theories that have much debate when analyzing the movie Lion King, are
stereotyping and a just- world phenomena. Stereotypes are about groups of people whereby we
attribute a defined set of characteristics to a specific group of people according to (Hamilton &
Sherman, 1996). Research indicates that there is specific information regarding how an
individual interprets certain social groups and how they conceptualize judgment based on a
variety of behaviors in a social context, (Hamilton & Sherman, 1996). In the movie The Lion
King, there are two distinct social groups between the lions of pride rock and Mufasas brother
Scar and his group of acquaintances which are the hyenas. The movie specifically divides these

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two social groups as a way of showing good versus bad. This is where the theory just-world
phenomena comes into play. The just-world phenomena theory believes good people are
rewarded and bad people are punished. According to (Heider, 1958) he states that, when an
individual is unable to help someone, or relate to another person who is an innocent victim.
Therefore, we justify their misfortune as blameworthy and are threatened by something we do
not understand. In the movie, there is an obvious rivalry between Mufasa and his brother Scar.
Mufasa is king of Pride Rock and Scar cannot stand the fact his brother has control of the entire
kingdom. Now that Mufasa has had a son, his wishes of becoming king will never come true.
Throughout the movie it forms each social group against one another and the stereotypes of
good and bad are well known. All the lions except for Scar are stereotyped as being welloff, living a perfect lifestyle in the light of the pride land. On the other hand, the movie shows
Scar as a dark mysterious lion with malnourished hyenas under his demand. Their culture is
seen as impoverished and virtually bad because of where they live. This stereotype also
proves that where they come from fits how they treat others who are around them. This could be
true in many aspects of the American culture. A few examples of lower economic citizens are
considered most of the time, less educated, disobedient, ill-mannered, and ruthless; the list goes
on. Unfortunately this is not always the case, society has stereotyped social groups to fit these
characteristics, which is why when people watch the movie The Lion King, they are able to
identify with such biases among the Disney characters.
Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion explains that we decided how to interpret and
react to events that occur. In order to fully grasp the theory, one must understand two important
aspects of the it: whether we interpret the event as good or bad for ourselves, and what we
believe is the cause of the event (Changing Mind). Richard Lazarus (1966) is the main

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contributor to the Appraisal Theory. He argued that a two-stage process elicits both stress and
emotion: primary appraisal and secondary appraisal (Scherer, 1999). Primary appraisal explains
how we interpret events as either positive or negative and the significance of that interpretation
as it pertains to our personal well-being. Secondary appraisal is the reaction we have in light of
our interpretation.
Analysis
The movie Lion King brought many different point of views to a central focus when a
discussion about its messages came to surface while digging deeper. The first obvious
observation were the characters in the movie. The characters showed two different dynamics of
race and of equality. Disney purposefully made Scar a black haired lion to give him that edge
compared to the other Lions. This actually said a lot by Disney doing this because there are no
real lions withs black hair. Therefore, this gave more emphasis to this character to establish him
as the villain in the movie. It also seemed very peculiar that even the hyenas were dark in color
and their voices were from Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin. These types of stereotypes are
displayed throughout the movie. The characters were being divided by their race and by the parts
in which the characters played. Sometimes this isnt all bad, but when inequality in the movie is
exposed and both sides are portrayed as extremely two different populations, it becomes a matter
of characters playing out roles of what it is like in real life for many people. The most
identifiable connection that can be made, is that of Americas inner city. For example, in the
movie they have displayed what looks like an over populated building development in Americas
lower economic communities where the hyenas live. It shows them in a dark setting with very
little connection with the rest of civilization, chanting from their building. Another example is
when Mufasa treats the hyenas differently than the rest of the other animals of the kingdom. In

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the end of the movie, Simba does go back to pride rock, to destroy his uncle. It supports the just
world phenomena theory because Simba is the hero, he has done good for pride rock, whereas
Scar has caused famine in the land, and played favorite to the hyenas. Further supports good
things happen to good lions, and bad things happen to bad lions. Another example from the
movie is Scar has never really lived with Mufasa, at pride rock, he always lived in the elephant
graveyard with the hyenas. Already symbolizing that he is not good, therefore he cannot live at
pride rock. Showing that if you are favorable, you will have the better living. If you are crummy
then you do not get the best living and get punished for it. If Mufasa is King of the entire
kingdom, then his regards for all animals should be similar and welcoming, but in the movie
there is a different reaction he has towards them, as if they are scavengers and sees them as
dangerous. This in comparison to real life situations and how white power is viewed in todays
society of white heterosexual males. White middle class men tend to categorize themselves
towards their black male counterparts as more dominant and well-off because of their white
privileges they naturally received at birth.
There are many times throughout the movie of Lion King that the Cognitive Appraisal
Theory of Emotion is on display. The first moment being when Mufasa told Simba as a young
pup to not go into the Wastelands. Simba interpreted this message to be negative. However,
Simba believed that because he is next to be King the rule does not apply to him. This thought is
then reinforced by Scar, Simbas evil uncle whose sole purpose is to claim the throne of the
Prideland by killing his brother, Mufasa. This event leads to another exhibition of the Cognitive
Appraisal Theory of Emotion. Scar lures Simba to a valley and leaves him all alone. Then with
coordination with the hyenas, Scar stirs up a riot of Antelope that rageously rush at Simba.
Mufasa comes from receiving word from his side kick and rescues Simba from the stampede.

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Mufasa then loses his life by being trampled to death. Simba then blames himself for the death of
his father and runs away from his pride lands. This exemplifies the Cognitive Appraisal Theory
of Emotion in that the primary appraisal is achieved by Simba blaming himself and interpreting
the events as negative and as a results flees from the pride, which is representative of secondary
appraisal. Thirdly, another showing of the Cognitive Appraisal Theory of Emotion is later on in
the movie when Nala, Simbas childhood friend, reconnects with him after he has been away for
so many years. She explains to him that the pridelands are in ruins after Scar claimed the throne
and that he has to come back to save everyone, including his mom. Simba interpreted this
message as a positive one (which is primary appraisal) and after a couple of other positive
reinforcements, he returned and battled Scar (secondary appraisal).
Discussion
Stereotypes
The media is a great example of how inequality is still so prominent in our culture and
even the most prestigious actors/ actresses are subjected to this classism without a way of
representing themselves in a different light and aside from biases. Many black performers have
teamed together producing their own movies and television shows because its so competitive
getting lead roles in Hollywood. Hit shows like blackish, the Game, Being Maryjane are mostly
black actors. Then you have Scandal, a hot series played by Kerry Washington who is an
(African American female). She has a lead role on the show but without the white president, the
show would not be a hit. Producers like Tyler Perry make exceptional movies for predominantly
black actors. This is so they can be recognized just as much in Hollywood because honestly,
there are so many stereotypical parts producers give their characters; any person wouldnt want
to keep playing the same obvious roles.

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Just World Phenomena

Media uses this representation of the just world phenomena theory throughout differnt
types of media. There is always a bad guy who loses in the end or a conflict. The just world
phenomena is played in almost every movie. The Avengers, Transformers, Cinderella, Lion King,
someone always ends up with the short end of the stick. An example of just world phenomena
theory would be in the show Once Up A Time how the heros in the show always win the war and
find true love. The villains on the other hand aren't always so fortunate; losing the battles, not
finding love. This season is about how the villains want their happy ending and want their love
story. Just like that just world phenomena theory is used in one of ABCs top rated show. In our
everyday lives these theories are being used, but they are never brought to our attention. In fact,
they are some of the most common themes throughout life that we do not even think about.
Because this is so prominent in our life we look at everything in that sense. If someone robs a
bank they automatically get consequences. If a person saves someone life, they get rewarded. It
is a part of sense of morality.
Future Research
If more research were to be conducted on the topic of The Lion King, it would be
interesting to find if Disney had intentions to relay these subliminal messages. More research
could be investigated and interviews could support our findings from people who wrote,
directed, produced and acted in the movie. Also, it would be important to find what was being
said behind the scenes of the movie. One question that could be thought more about, are the
implications that were found purposely put in the movie to see if the audience would catch on?
Furthermore, additional research that included more academic articles and blogs could help

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support these findings as well as other opinions from viewers to compare their similar
implications.
Conclusion
The Lion King is a movie that is loved by all, but the underlying message, is not one that
is proudful. Disney represents in the movie what most people in todays society can already
identify with in our culture, racism, classism, stereotyping and more. After analyzing the movie
through a theoretical lens, the Lion King is not just a cartoon about a son who lost his father who
was king and his evil uncle tries to take over. It actually demeans part of our culture and clearly
shows specific dynamics of a dominant race compared to under privileged characters, just like
our American culture. After explaining the different theories in which are believed to accurately
represent the movie, I ask you, the reader; to watch the Lion King and open your mind to the real
message that is being sent.

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References

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Gutierrez, G., (2000). Deconstructing Disney: Chicano/ Children and Critical Race Theory.
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