Comparing The Five Sources Of Power In The Lion King

According to French and Raven, individuals have five sources of power by which they can induce others to behave in accordance with their wishes. These five sources of power are coercive powers, reward powers, legitimate powers, expert powers, and referent powers. In the movie, Lion King, an alpha male, the king of the jungle, which is a Lion name Mufasa, is killed by his jealous older brother Scar. The planned death only worked due to the manipulation of Mufasa’s son, Simba, by Scar. After Mufasa dies, Simba runs away and Scar takes control of the Pride Land. Years later Simba returns to the Pride Land to tell everyone the truth, take back the control of his late father’s, once, great land, and to return it to its former nourishing state. So exactly what do these powers have to do with a Disney Movie? Let’s find out.
Coercive power is the power to force someone to do something that they do not want to do. This force could be either physical or mental torture. In the movie the The Lion King, when Scar takes over the Pride lands he uses coercive powers to make the lionesses hunt for the food and to hold other dictatorial powers. In the movie, Scar even goes as far as hitting Simba’s mother, because she compares him to Simba. He thrives on instilling fear.
Reward power is the power in which you are able to
Therefore this person is willing to do whatever the person they aspire to be like wants them to do. This power can be either positive or negative. Mustafa and Scar both possessed referent power when it came to the young impressionable cub, Simba. In a positive aspect, Simba aspired to be as great as his father, hence the song “Oh I Just can’t wait to be King.” He also, in a more negative note wanted to be accepted by his uncle Scar. This is how Scar was able to manipulate Simba into tricking his father to follow him to the canyon, where Mustafa fell to his