4d ago

To think about...

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Was it ever explained what Scar did to ruin everything? Like, was it overhunting, or mismanagement of resources? Like when Simba came back, everything was a wasteland. Then after overthrowing Scar it rained like once and everything was fine again.
- I think the implication was that without the top predators controlling the hyena population, the ecosystem was out of balance. This is sort of a real ecological phenomenon called meso-predator release, and explains why predation on some herbivores actually declined when wolves were brought back to the western US, though it does not necessarily cause all the plants to die as depicted in the film—the harms are more complicated and nuanced.
  However, I do want to say that the implications of this movie that the relationships between species are comparable to those between people is very incorrect and harmful. In fact if you ever rewatch this movie as an adult, some of the embedded ideology is very disturbing. Some authors have argued that the movie implicitly supports fascism, which I am forced to agree with.
  
  some of the embedded ideology is very disturbing. Some authors have argued that the movie implicitly supports fascism
  The 1994 version, or the 2019 remake? The original had the "Be Prepared" musical sequence where the hyenas are goose-stepping for Scar, clearing framing them as akin to Nazis parading for Hitler. I have not seen the 2019 version to know what may have changed.
  
  I am talking about the original. I haven’t seen the remake.
  Goose-stepping is not only associated with the Nazis and fascism is a broader movement beyond just them—it’s also highly associated with the USSR, which would have been a recent memory for writers of the time. But I’m talking about the deeper ideas of the film, not just the imagery. The idea of rule by birthright, that there is a class of people meant to sit at the top of society, and that allowing subjugated people to run rampant will cause ruin are all ideas strongly connected to fascism. The hyenas are also coded as “ghetto” or low class with their accents. You could also use a different word if you prefer, since many of these themes predate fascism, but it’s an idea that most people here understand.
  I don’t personally think the writers were intentionally aiming to support fascism but rather that they unintentionally included fascist themes and ideas from other similar stories in our society. Many of these ideas have deep roots that tie back to authoritarian elements of society under feudalism or church authority, and they can be found in many of the fairy tales and other stories Disney drew inspiration from.
  
  I always took the story as monarchist rather than fascist. Simba's family is the ruling blood line, hence why the throne passes from Simba's father to Scar to Simba. Kings and queens are standard fare in Disney's animated movies. But I suppose fascist versus monarchist is a distinction without a difference here.
  
  You could also describe it as monarchist I suppose, though as I mentioned that doesn’t quite fit the more racialized elements of the film. But fascism is a much more popular ideology today, and as you mention the overlap between the two is substantial.
  
  It's pretty clear they were writing as if the Savannah were a monarchy. It's no mystery why that might resemble fascism.
  
  The plot is basically a loose adaptation of Hamlet anyways, which is about a prince seeking to take revenge on his usurper uncle for the murder of his father, the former king. A monarchist story through and through, because that is the type of society Shakespeare lived in. It was only ever about good kings and bad kings, liberty vs fascism didn't really factor in at the time.

16 comments