Before watching The Lion King with a critical eye, I did not believe it would have too many stereotypes. The film was made in 1994, which made me feel as though it wouldn’t show too many racial or sexual stereotypes. I have seen the movie many times throughout my life and never noticed any before. However, after watching the film and looking for stereotypes this weekend, I was surprised by what I saw. For one, I really noticed the portrayal of the hyenas in the film. The voices of the hyenas were from black actors. The hyenas did not speak propor English like Simba did; they spoke more “street” English. This was interesting to watch since the main character and “hero” of the film was played by a white actor. I never paid much attention to this growing up and I am not sure how much of an influence it had on me growing up. My parents never talked to me about how the hyenas were protrayed in the film and that it wasn’t right. I don’t think that this particular stereotype had an influence on me but since it was a very subliminal message I don’t think I will ever know for sure. Another stereotype I really noticed for the first time while watching this film more critically was the idea that women are weak and need to be protected. This can be seen by how the lioness’ let Scar take over the pride land after Mufasa’s death and Simba runs away. They completely give into Scar. Apparently one male lion is more powerful than numerous female lions. This stereotype is important as well because it could give girls the impression that if a man stronger than any number of women. Even though this film was made in 1994, I think the idea that men were stronger than women and that women needed to be saved was still in people’s minds. After looking at The Lion King through a critical eye, I think I will be more apt to explain the film to my children. I think it is important for children to see that this film does have stereotypes that are not true and they should understand what they are seeing. I think it is the parents job to teach their children about these stereotypes and to show them that they are untrue. Hopefully this film could be a tool for parents to teach their children about stereotypes.
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