Review of The Lion King (1994) by Shannon R — 01 Dec 2018

This film takes a turn from looking at a traditional view of family and instead displays a hierarchical relationship between members in society. For instance, the movie centers around lions who are the leaders of the land and are in charge of protecting it and everything within in.

Both males and females carry traditional roles as can be seen with how a young Simba wants to be exactly like his father and how brave he is with protecting everyone. The females, on the other hand, can be seen having cubs and taking care of them on top of hunting for food for the others which is traditionally what women's jobs were as they took on the domestic role of tending the house and children.

The role of family and how it is supposed to function is challenged as Scar murders Mufasa, his brother, and takes over as leader once Simba is out of the picture. This shows that biologically relating to someone does not matter when it comes to power and being able to rule over something as vast as their land.

Class is definitely represented within this film and how the food chain fits into this model of class. Leaders are generally those that are at the top of the food chain and have physical strength while those like Timone and Pumba tend to not be taken seriously as much due to their lower rank.

Overall, this film shows how the biological relationship between individuals loses its meaning when it comes to rulership and power.