[January 29, 2023] My son was about 11 years old when The Lion King (1994) movie came out in theaters near us. I drove him and several of his friends to see it. Nearly everyone I know has seen it and came away thinking the movie was right about life. It struck a chord in us somehow.
Dr. Jordan Peterson has discussed some of the movie’s attributes, and his thoughts are here.
The Disney movie The Lion King has a very solid narrative structure. It’s a very smart movie. Like many of the Disney movies, there is a great interest in what many, many people watch for a long time because what’s going on there? Why is that movie so attractive? A movie is often attractive because it gets the story and characters right.
The Lion King is a very, very successful animated movie, one of the most successful movies of all time.
“Everything the light touches is our kingdom.” – the Mustafa character as narrated by James Earl Jones; see YouTube video of scene here
Dr. Peterson says that he can tell us precisely what that means. It’s a brilliant line. Notice the word Peterson uses, brilliant. Brilliant is associated with the idea of the light. When the light touches something, and you see it, you establish a relationship with the thing you see because now you start to understand it. The more lit up something is, the more you can understand it and explain it.
When you shine a light into dark crevices, then you start to see what’s in the dark. Light is equivalent to consciousness, a good way of thinking about it. Why? Well, we’re very visual creatures, human beings. Our brains are organized on vision. Most animals are organized on smell, by the way.
We tend to think of sight as enlightenment. Light. We think of it as illumination. When we bring something into the light, we can improve it. Therefore, we associate the day with consciousness, illumination, and enlightenment.
So, if you attend to something by shining a light on it, then it becomes yours. And so your kingdom is actually everything that the light of your consciousness is shown on. Everything is encapsulated in that statement by Mustafa.
Remember that Mustafa is up with his son, Simba, on a mountain, on a cliff. Think about that. It means he can see a long way. He sees the circle of the world, and the light is shining on it, and he says, “Everything the light shines on is our kingdom.”
That also implies that outside the light, there’s another kingdom, and that’s the kingdom of darkness. That place hasn’t yet been explored. In the movie, the darkness is where the fascists are. And the hyenas that are predatory and they live there. When Simba goes out past the domain of the light, he enters the unknown and enters the demonic underworld.
Simba has Mustafa as his father. Mustafa is the positive aspect of the patriarchy, he’s wise and he’s tough. He is no pushover, but he has an evil brother. Scar is his evil brother and has been damaged, which is why he is so resentful. He’s a victim. And he feels he’s a victim because his brother gets all the attention like Cain in his relationship with Abel. And he’s a victim for some reason we don’t quite understand. He is small but strong; he has Luciferian pride and intellect.
The question is, why does the king have an evil brother? The mythological answer is the king always has an evil brother, always. The reason is if the king is the emblem of the state (or stability of the community), he always has a counterpart, and the counterpart is the tendency of the state to be overtaken by willful blindness, a failure to shine a light on all things. To turn your head away when you know you shouldn’t and by the corrupt will to resentful power.
Every institution and every person indeed has a touch of the evil uncle as part of their structure.
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General Satterfield certainly gives us a unique, new perspective on this wonderful Disney movie “The Lion King.” Old Disney movies are excellent yet the new ones are Woke and is just a way to lecture us unwashed heathens. Go figure.
Gen. Satterfield kicks some real butt with this article.
old warrior, you make me smile every time I read your responses.
Not just my favorite Disney movie, but also my kids favorite.
The Lion King is one of my absolutely favorite movies of all time. It has all the elements of a great story. And, what I like best is the challenges put up against evil Scar and his gang. Too bad our policitians lack the will and the heart to confront the many evils of today. They are cowards and we all suffer for their cowardice.
So true, Julia. And why no one stands against the tryants of the world and in fact we charge into tyranny with our eyes open.
— and tyrants are nearly always men and I wonder why.
Yes, exactly Mother P and Julia. The price is heavy.
I really enjoyed the movie too. I’m glad that Gen. Satterfield was able to take his son to it and enjoy.
“When you shine a light into dark crevices, then you start to see what’s in the dark. Light is equivalent to consciousness, a good way of thinking about it.” I had to read that line five times.
Me too, Lady Hawk. This is the core idea. Be brave. Stand up for the truth. Adopt responsibility. That is how you life can be meaningful. Not by protesting for rights.
Disney is now woke and is anti-American. They will never get another penny out of my family.
Purse, you nailed it but the idea of Dr. Peterson describing this older Disney movie is okay, of course. Disney will never get a penny from me either. They are just too WOKE and absolutely stupid. See some of their movie reviews to see how bad they really are. ✔
Gen. Satterfield, it is appreciated by me and others here that you are opening our eyes to folks like Dr. Jordan Peterson. He is certainly one of the real thinkers in the West. We need more men like him. His description of ‘The Lion King’ Disney movie is superb. Altho Disney has gone full woke, the older films are still great.
Another one of the best posts by Gen. Satterfield ever. If you read his blog on a regular basis, you will be much better off for it.
Yep!
Oh, get a copy of his book “55 Rules for a Good Life” from 2022 and “Our Longest Year in Iraq” from 2021. Read these books and learn more about leadership and what it takes.
Best blog on leadership ever!
https://www.amazon.com/Our-Longest-Year-Iraq-Construction/dp/1737915510/
Of course, get Gen. Satterfield’s book, actually both books, and READ them and read them properly and think while you read. You will be much better off in the end and you will appreciate your life and the lives of your family and others much much better. That is how to live and live well.
As usual, Max, you nailed it. ❤❤❤❤❤