Thread by @cvaldary

I have just one thing to say about this piece: How dare you.
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/0…

Okay two things: this is by far one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read in my entire life. Don’t go after story, art and culture, and don’t do so by demonstrating you know absolutely nothing about said things. Pick up a book by Joseph Campbell, goodness gracious.

Okay fine more than two things.

We teach The Lion King at @enchanttheory. Here’s what it’s actually about (get ready I feel a thread coming along)

The Lion King is about the development of Simba in three acts. He begins as a juvenile (in the literal and figurative sense of the word) and matures into an actual lion worthy of the title “King.”

Simba starts out shallow, reckless, and dismissive of authority figures who would steer him in the right direction. Consider the song ‘I just can’t wait to be king.’ He thinks kingship is about brushing his mane and roaring at people. It ain’t and he’s in for a rude awakening.

In other words, Simba starts out thinking kingship is just a platform self-adulation. It’s not. His father tries to teach him it’s not and tries to teach him big picture concepts like, oh I don’t know HIS OWN MORTALITY. This is what the song ‘Circle of Life’ is actually about.

But Simba the Juvenile hasn’t grasped the weight of these facts of life yet. He does not wrestle with his own imperfection nor does he realize his existence is temporary. So he starts out trivial and frivolous and lacks self-control.

I’m the second act, Simba is forced into exile (*all heroes must go into exile cough cough Joseph Campbell*) after his father’s death. All hero’s must experience loss in order to be transformed. Simba must experience the unraveling of the delicate balance of the circle of life.

His exile is in part a product of disillusionment because now Simba has no identity. He doesn’t “remember” who he is because his entire sense of self has been ripped out from under him in the wake of his father’s death.

The oasis Simba retires to is ostensibly perfect. (He still doesn’t understand that imperfection is part of life; Rafiki teaches him this later.) Timon and Pumba give him silly advice to “turn his back on the world.” (Note this is the same trap Kilmonger falls into in BP.)

It’s easy to fall into this real because it offers an easy solution to dealing with harsh realities: ignoring them instead of facing the head on. In exile, Simba is crippled by the last and so he cannot face the future. He expresses this to Nala when she confronts him.

Disney gives us a song to teach us a lesson about this trap: Hakuna Matata.

It’s a catchy song but it’s also a warning song. Be weary of the attitude that promotes ״no responsibilities” and masks cowardice as a “laissez-faire” state of being. Life is full of problems. Face them

Yet Simba hasn’t totally swallowed the mantra. His father’s expectations still weighs heavily on him. His father’s spirit is still within him. And it is in the very act of seearchinf for his father that Simba is found. With the help of Rafiki, he finds him again.

Simba learns some basic Stoic teachings in the third act. He confronts the spirit of his father and thus his own mortality. He learns to focus on what he can control not what he can’t (the past). He learns the concept of “sympatheia” which is what Circle of Life is about.

One must move through “despair and hope, faith and love” and all that life has to offer, with duty and responsibly to one’s family and friends, with temperance and self-control. If you can do that you are worthy of the title “King” ie you are worthy of governing.

This is what The Lion King is actually about:

We are all mortal beings who must find and take our rightful place in the Circle of Life. We must weather the tragedy and triumph of the human condition and be brave enough not to shirk our duties to each other along the way.

To do this requires that we get to know and understand ourselves intimately as layered complex imperfect beings who have the power to decide how we respond to tragedy and insult and malice. With bitterness and cowardice or with mercy and strength. The choice is yours.

Now this sample is part of a full curriculum we teach to develop mental health and resilience training for 14-21 year olds. If you’re a teacher or admin interested in the full curriculum for your school, DM me and lemme know. (You can still inquire if you teach middle school.) ✨