The story of The Lion King shows the effect that believing a lie can have on a person’s life. Of course, when young Simba escapes from the hyenas and is adopted by Timon and Pumbaa, his life does not seem so bad. He does, however, continue to carry a load of guilt, which affects his freedom. How many lies do we believe throughout our lives, and understand them within the destructive mindset? We blame ourselves, we blame others, and remain locked in the blindness of understanding emotions destructively. The Lion King presents examples of finding truth and the freedom that goes along with forming the constructive mindset.
I will comment on three scenes in the movie that involve emotions and the mindset we form. Since we are relational creatures, we understand our emotions and thoughts in the context of relationship. It is the primary relationship we focus on that affects whether we form the destructive or the constructive mindset.
There is a scene in which the respected father and king Mufasa talks with his son Simba after Simba is disobedient, finding himself in danger of losing his life. Simba, who knows he will someday be king, believes a king ought to be fearless. Mufasa, however, informs Simba that kings indeed have fear, and explains his fear of losing him to the hyenas. Simba in turn states: “I guess even kings get scared, huh?” Mufasa answers in the affirmative. The message is that being strong is not a lack fear but is rather a constructive understanding of fear. This is courage.
In a later scene, Simba shows he is trapped in understanding his reality within the destructive mindset. When he is found by Rafiki and they talk about Mufasa’s death, Simba refers to himself as if he is the problem. He states: “It’s because of me. It’s my fault.” In this scene, Simba does not separate the problem of his father’s death from himself as an individual. His primary relationship is with himself rather than with the problem of his father’s death. The resulting blindness prevents him from assessing the amount of responsibility he has in the death of his father. Simba’s understanding is the view of a child manipulated by a so-called trusted uncle, and he continues to believe Scar’s accusation that his father’s death is his fault.
The Lion King is rich in exploring how we handle problems and the emotions that go along with them. What of the third scene to comment on? I will take that challenge on in the next installment of Dr. Sinn’s Bin.