Margaret Lazarus The Lion King

“All’s Not Well In Land of ‘The Lion King,’” is an article written by Margaret Lazarus. Lazarus graduated with honors from Vassar College and has made many films. In her article she tells of her experience at a showing of The Lion King. She brought both of her kids to this movie hoping to, “enjoy an original, well-animated story about animals on the African Plain.” By the end of the movie; however, her kids are, “scared and frightened by The Lion King,” and “deeply affected.” The kids felt this way because, somehow, these children somehow perceived scary, mean British speaking and lions as a stereotypical gay person and dark, laughing hyenas as stereotypical African Americans. Lazarus is saying that this movie is harmful to everyone because

Lazarus has taken this scene and turned it into a shot at society and how it would be if blacks and or gays were to be a large part of it. I have perceived from what she has to say that she is not a fan of gays and blacks. This is just part of the story where it sets up the protagonist to come in and save the day. But Lazarus perceives this part as destruction of society instead of a part in a movie. She backs up what she has to say with, “This is not a story about animals - we know animals don’t behave like this.” Everyone knows animals don’t act like this but cups don’t actually talk like in Beauty and the Beast or in Aladdin, we know that carpets can’t actually fly. Kids like stuff that is made up, it gives them something to dream about, and it gives them something to look forward to. Imagination is one the most important things for kids.

It’s hard to believe that this African folk tale had black animals and white animals fighting. It was not to be perceived as a race war or to be discriminate against a race. The movie was made to entertain kids. In the movie, Scar and the hyenas kill the king and exile the prince so they can run the show. The killing is a switch of power between the good and bad guys which happens in most if not all movies. It is hard to believe that Disney creators were trying to show black and whites fighting through animals and even harder to believe that a kid’s movie would depict