Stereotypes In The Lion King
In Margaret Lazarus’ All’s Not Well In The Land of “The Lion King” she goes on to explain her general overall reaction to the 1994 film, we have to take into context first that when she saw this film when it had recently been released to roughly sometime around 1994. Her overall impression before viewing the movie was hopeful because she had believed that Disney was finally beginning to break away from their previous movie stereotypes of a subordinate female role in an altogether male dominant movie. She was quickly discouraged as soon as the beginning movie sequence began to play, what she described was a golden maned lion presenting their newborn son and future king to their kingdom which was basically your average African animal species.
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I can see where she is coming from with her points about the hyenas, I believe that it is a very odd coincidence that all the pieces fell into place with casting and portrayal of the hyenas. Though she worded it her response very well on how the Lion King is full of stereotypes, my problem with this is she uses some stereotypes to backup her claims. Some examples that stood out to me the most was some of the stereotypes of the hyenas and the Scar’s stereotypes,you cannot just assume that just because the hyenas live in close proximity to one another and live in somewhat bone addled graveyards that they are representing blacks in ghettos. In reality hyenas are pack animals that behave more or less the way Disney portrays them, hyenas are also scavengers and tend to litter where they live with bones, in all reality Disney portrays hyenas as hyenas act in real life minus the human characteristics. So automatically stereotyping the hyenas as blacks is what I consider to not be good proof on Disney's stereotypes. Another one of her stereotypes that bothered me was assuming that because Scar the lion sounded British and effeminate, and was often speaking laid back and appeared limp pawed when shown in the movie that he is gay. That is a stereotype not portrayed by Disney but by her, not everyone who sounds effeminate and or sounds
I can see where she is coming from with her points about the hyenas, I believe that it is a very odd coincidence that all the pieces fell into place with casting and portrayal of the hyenas. Though she worded it her response very well on how the Lion King is full of stereotypes, my problem with this is she uses some stereotypes to backup her claims. Some examples that stood out to me the most was some of the stereotypes of the hyenas and the Scar’s stereotypes,you cannot just assume that just because the hyenas live in close proximity to one another and live in somewhat bone addled graveyards that they are representing blacks in ghettos. In reality hyenas are pack animals that behave more or less the way Disney portrays them, hyenas are also scavengers and tend to litter where they live with bones, in all reality Disney portrays hyenas as hyenas act in real life minus the human characteristics. So automatically stereotyping the hyenas as blacks is what I consider to not be good proof on Disney's stereotypes. Another one of her stereotypes that bothered me was assuming that because Scar the lion sounded British and effeminate, and was often speaking laid back and appeared limp pawed when shown in the movie that he is gay. That is a stereotype not portrayed by Disney but by her, not everyone who sounds effeminate and or sounds