Chapter 9 The Lion King

"The Lion King" is an American cartoon, which was produced with high-tech computer technology and was very successful when it was released in many countries, including China.This is of course related to the splendor of its production technology, but more importantly because of the story itself. "The Lion King" is a modern version of a fairy tale, and in this story also hides a profound complex that touches human emotions. The story goes like this: There is a kingdom of lions on the African grasslands. The lion king Mufasa and his queen Sarabi gave birth to the little prince Xin.

bar.The birth of Simba aroused the jealousy of Mufasa's brother Scar. He said to the Lion King: If it weren't for the birth of Simba, the heir to the throne should be me! Simba grows up gradually, and the lion king Mufasa and queen Sarabi take care of his growth and keep teaching him the way of life.Scar regarded Simba as a thorn in his side, and started a deliberate murder.He colluded with the hyenas many times to carry out the murder of Simba.He said to the hyenas: Mufasa and his son must die, then I will be the king, and you can enter the lion kingdom logically. Finally one day, Scar lured Simba to the valley, and then ordered three hyenas to chase the wildebeest.In an instant, the ground trembled, and hundreds of wildebeests rushed towards Simba like a flood.Fortunately, the Lion King arrived in time and rescued Simba, but he was trapped in the valley by the wildebeest.He jumped up with all his strength, struggled to cling to a rock wall tightly, and asked for help to his younger brother Scar who suddenly appeared on the rock wall, but Scar said coldly: Long live the king.King Mufasa was pushed down the valley.

The flood-like herd of wildebeest rushed over, and Simba found his dead father motionless in the deserted valley.He thought he had killed his father, and felt extremely guilty.Scar with ulterior motives remained expressionless, strengthening his sense of guilt for killing his father, and encouraged him: Run away and never come back.When Simba escapes, Scar orders the hyenas to follow him closely.Under the cover of thorn bushes, Simba fled to a place far away from the Lion Kingdom.Scar boarded the King's Cliff, announced the death of Mufasa and Simba to the Lion Kingdom, and at the same time announced that he had become the new king, and welcomed the hyenas who helped him ascend the throne to the Lion Kingdom.

Little Simba fled to a place far away from the lion kingdom, and quickly regained his strength with the help of animal friends such as mongoose and wild boar.But he never forgot that terrible last day in the Lion Kingdom.The mongoose and the boar taught him not to think about the past, not thinking about the future, and having no responsibilities, just live for today without worry.Simba gradually believes that it is right to forget the past, and day after day, he grows into a handsome lion without any worries. One day, he suddenly meets his childhood friend Nana, the lioness.Nana told Simba that since Scar became king, life in the Lion Kingdom has been like a nightmare, and even Simba's mother Shalabi is suffering.Nana said to Simba: If you don't go back, everyone will die.But Simba replied painfully: Although he is the legal heir to the throne of the Lion King, his father's death made him feel guilty, and he didn't want to return to the Lion Kingdom.

One night, the image of his father Mufasa appeared in the starry sky.The father said to him in a deep voice in the high sky: Son, you are extremely talented and the only legitimate heir to the throne, you must return to your land.Simba called for his father, looked at his father's image that was gradually disappearing, and decided to follow his father's teaching and return to the Lion Kingdom to save his people. When Simba came to King's Cliff, it was dusk.Looking around, the land is desolate and dry, thunder is rolling in the dark sky, and a storm is about to come.And Scar was furious because the animals fled the land one after another, the lionesses couldn't catch their prey, and even Shalabi, who was in charge of hunting, was beaten by Scar.Seeing his mother being beaten, Simba rushed up angrily.He shouted to Scar: I'm back, you choose, either abdicate or accept the challenge!The insidious Scar refused to surrender, and he kept hitting Simba psychologically with the accusation that Simba had killed his father.

Because of the deep guilt and anger in his heart, Simba accidentally slipped down from the rock.When he tried his best to cling to the rock wall and struggled desperately, Scar thought he had won, and he could repeat the scene of pushing Mufasa off the rock wall in the past, and pushing Simba off the cliff in the same way.He said fiercely and triumphantly to Simba: Before you die, there is something to tell you that I killed your father.Hearing this, Simba roared and jumped up the cliff with all his might, knocking Scar to the ground.In the end, the despicable uncle Scar was driven off King's Cliff, and Scar became a delicious meal for the hyenas.

Amidst the cheers of his mother and all the lions, Simba officially declared his power, and peace and tranquility were restored to the Lion Kingdom.Soon, Simba and Nana had a little prince again.On the day of the celebration, they stood on the cliff of the king and lifted the little prince high.All the animals cheered and bowed their heads to the future ruler of the lion kingdom. We first make the most superficial sociological analysis of the story of "The Lion King".The entire story basis of this fairy tale stems from Scar's brother-killing and usurping the throne. The king's brother killed his brother and usurped the throne. This is a frequent phenomenon in the history of many countries, and it has also become the material of many literary creations.As for whether the rivalry between brothers itself contains as profound content as the Oedipus complex, it can be discussed separately.In "The Lion King", the complex of killing brothers and usurping the throne not only reminds us of history, but also allows us to experience the depths of the human heart

There may be hidden sibling rivalry complexes in childhood.Although the slight touch of this complex does not occupy a very important position in the story, it always vaguely adds to the connection between the story and the audience's deep psychology. The moral distinction of this modern fairy tale, which is truly established on the basis of the plot of "brother killing and usurping the throne", has four aspects: First, Mufasa's king power is established, legal, and orthodox, and it is orthodox and legal to pass this power down to Simba; while Scar's act of usurping power is unorthodox and illegal.The former is just and the latter is unjust.This is the first content of the moral distinction in The Lion King, which is a reprint of the moral judgments of the orthodox and unorthodox oppositions in traditional culture.

Second, Mufasa's actions are open, a conspiracy; while Scar's actions are covert, a conspiracy.One above board; one intrigue.This distinction of means is the second content of judging right and wrong in this story, and it undoubtedly conforms to the general moral concept of human beings. Third, Mufasa naturally represents the kingdom of lions, and represents "nobles" like lions; in order to overthrow Mufasa's rule, Scar has to unite with "untouchables" like hyenas.When "The Lion King" puts the former in a bright position of morality and the latter in a dark position of immorality, it reveals the class views of the ruling class that may have existed throughout the ages, or the class views of the aristocratic class .

Fourth, the collusion between Scar and the hyenas is more or less in the nature of colluding with foreign enemies.When he fought against Mufasa in such a "communication with foreign countries" and consolidated his usurped power, it was more or less in the nature of betraying his own nation. In this way, the relationship between Mufasa, Simba and Scar The struggle of the Communist Party of China has the pattern of ethnic contradictions.Selling the interests of the country to foreign countries, Scar is undoubtedly in a moral position that has been denied. These, perhaps, are the basis of the sense of morality shown in The Lion King.Simba represents legitimacy, uprightness, noble blood, and the interests of his country. Therefore, his struggle with Scar seems to have sounded the clarion call of justice.

Of course, the touching artistic power of "The Lion King" is not only here.If we put "The Lion King" after the deciphering of the myth of Oedipus, we can see clearly the true complex and meaning hidden in this fairy tale through a more in-depth analysis process. "The Lion King" is the story of Simba. Simba is the protagonist, the Monkey King, the representative of the son, and the representative of the child.Simba's story is a child's dream.Only from the analysis of Simba's growth process, can we really discover the true nature of "Lion". The root of the artistic power of "Zi Wang". It is here that the theory of the Oedipus complex first makes us discover. "The Lion King" also very mainly runs through the relationship between Mufasa and Simba, a pair of father and son.After thousands of years of human civilization development, children's Oedipus complex is far from being as explicit as the Oedipus myth, and it is revealed in a much more hidden form.Modern artists understand Freud's concept of the Oedipus complex, and it is entirely possible for their conscious awareness to veto any primitive manifestation of the Oedipus complex. However, this is a conscious and mature concept of human culture, the concept of adults. For young male children, no matter how mature he is under the influence of ethical and moral culture, the Oedipus complex always exists.Children's childish and wishful thinking desire to kill their father and marry their mother will also exist in one way or another.It is still possible to have hidden manifestations through various brilliant ethical and moral cultures. In this way, we saw in "The Lion King", although Simba did not kill his father unintentionally like Oedipus, however, he killed his father in a more unconscious way. This may be a more subtle and disguised realization of the patricide complex. Maybe the author of "The Lion King" didn't realize this. When he wanted to stay away from the Oedipus myth and express the relationship between father and son in a completely eulogizing way, the subconscious used more hidden ways to express the relationship between father and son. The Oedipus complex hidden in the author or the whole modern human society is revealed.Although the father's death was due to the son's youth and ignorance, the fault of youth and ignorance ended the father's life like a sharp sword. In this way, we see the Oedipus complex manifested from the very beginning of the story.As long as you see through this point, you can start from this point and see clearly the true power of "The Lion King".We will see the dynamics of the whole life story of Simba, the youngest son, and the source of his strength to move the audience. One, because of childish mistakes, the father sacrificed his life for himself. This unconscious act of patricide naturally caused a strong sense of guilt and guilt in Simba's heart, and Scar's accusation further strengthened his sense of guilt.This sense of guilt envelops Simba's heart heavily, and it will equally envelop the hearts of the audience.It resonates with the Oedipus complex that people develop and dormant in childhood. This is a huge emotional force, which pulls people's deep subconscious energy. When little Simba saw his father lying there motionless, when he fled the lion kingdom and went away, his ignorant and helpless crying greatly infected the audience.They may not have realized the reason here, but they must have felt the impact of a huge sense of guilt and guilt deep in their emotions. Second, this sense of guilt has the nature of grievance. In the story, the father was injured while rescuing Simba, and then died of the persecution of Scar, who cruelly pushed Mufasa off the cliff.It is this arrangement that, on the one hand, caused Simba to bear the great guilt of his father for his death, and on the other hand, caused Simba to suffer a certain degree of injustice. In this way, the expectation that this kind of grievance will one day be washed away has become another important aspect of the story's great pulling power. Simba's actions kept a suspense in the audience's mind. He was silently and powerfully shouting a word from beginning to end: The son is not guilty.In this way, the combination of cleansing one's guilt and cleansing grievances will make Simba's fate even more powerful to affect people's hearts. Oedipus, who unintentionally killed his father and married his mother, is sympathetic; and Simba, who unintentionally let his father sacrifice for himself, and to a certain extent suffered injustice, is even more sympathetic. Third, Simba's unfortunate experience makes people look forward to the development of the story. He should wash away his guilt and guilt, and he should also wash away the injustice he suffered, and the two are combined with revenge for his father. In this modern fairy tale, the most direct cause of his father's death was the injury of Scar, which provided Simba with the conditions to recover his blood debt and avenge his father.In this way, not only the guilt and sense of guilt that cannot be shaken off after the patricide complex, but also the positive performance of washing away the guilt and redeeming one's sins. This is a kind of sublimation. It is in "The Lion King" that we discover the truth hidden in many stories throughout the ages, that is, the hatred of killing the father is often the greatest hatred in the heart of the son, which obviously cannot be done roughly with the Oedipus complex of children. The explanation here is the entire casting of human society and culture. The Oedipus complex of Oedipus and father-hating is a complex formed at a young age. It is not only gradually suppressed and overcome under a series of human cultural norms, but also undergoes various grand and harmonious transformations.As revealed in our analysis of "Monkey King Complex", a boy who was obsessed with his mother and hated his father in his childhood, the main motivation in his growth process is to prove himself in front of his father.This is not only the recognition of the father, but also the recognition of the whole social culture. The father is the true representative of the social order. To put it more comprehensively, there are many psychological mechanisms that make the son's primary pursuit is to obtain his father's affirmation. In "The Lion King", we see the great psychological energy of avenging our father.We can also imagine that if Simba's mother was killed, he might not have such great psychological energy.Here, the son has another form of sublimation of his father's unique deep guilt. Because I feel guilty towards my father, I have to repay my father even more.Because of the guilt towards his father, he is even more motivated to avenge his father.Because of the guilt towards his father, he even more believes that he has the lofty duty to defend his father.In particular, fathers have shown all the kindness and love for their sons in the norms of human culture. Those sons who harbored father-hating complexes and resisted and hurt their fathers in childhood will compensate themselves with all their loyalty to defend their fathers. psychological guilt. When Simba embarked on the road of avenging his father, he also embarked on the journey of washing away all his guilt and sins.There are several strong impetus to Simba's actions. Fourth, Simba's actions also have a very clear meaning, which is to seize his own right to inherit the throne.This is a fight for myself, but also for my father. Competing for his own father's inheritance, this is the most important contention. It's not just a throne, it's a son's right. Fighting over the succession to the throne has often historically led to brutal strife, and even among ordinary commoner families, fighting over a title with few benefits has drawn strong behavioral responses.When the memorial service for the death of a father fails to inform a son who was adopted and thus forgotten, the son reacts with something like shouting and screaming. There may not be any legacy here worth contending for, but only a sonship. Fifth, the impetus for Simba's actions is strong because of the very clear comprehensive goal. He wants to overthrow the scar who wronged himself, tortured himself with the guilt of killing his father, and plundered his inheritance. The struggle with this character brings together several powerful action energies in Simba's heart. Sixth, in addition to this, there is another power that should not be ignored, and that is to save mothers who are enslaved. Although this seems to be of little importance in the story of "The Lion King", it should of course be one of Simba's behavioral motivations. "The Lion King" is undoubtedly a story written by a man. It is basically a story of a son and a father, somewhat ignoring the role of the mother, but it should also be Simba's strong desire to save the mother. Seventh, when Simba defeats Scar and takes over the power of the kingdom, we read from this story the children's desire to grow up and replace their parents to take over the power.When Simba triumphantly accepts the cheering pilgrimage of his subjects, we really feel the impulse. Simba's story is a story that replaces his parents on the stage of history.This impulse is especially seen in the psychological reactions of those child viewers. Eighth, the story of Simba ascending to the throne is also a story of gaining his right to fall in love and marry a wife. When his childhood girlfriend Nana finally became a queen and appeared beside him, it showed the whole process of avenging his father and regaining the throne, and also the process of possessing the opposite sex as a mature man, which is the dream of all boys. Ninth, Simba's fighting process of avenging his father and clearing up his grievances also combines the power of morality. It is just social responsibility, national responsibility, national responsibility, etc. in modern society, and even noble blood, which is fair and aboveboard character.This makes the story of the little boy Simba more combined with the so-called moral force of human beings. If you pay more attention, you will find that the historical concepts of production progress and backwardness have even been added here.Scar made the Lion Kingdom miserable; Simba's defeat of him was another liberation of productivity. In this way, Simba's fighting process is perfect. Through the various plots set in "The Lion King", we can see that Simba's story is actually a clever boy's dream, the dream of a son. This is a son's way of overthrowing his father in a tortuous, concealed, high-sounding, moral way and in line with the norms of human culture. dream. His father was killed by his son's ignorance and uncle's conspiracy. Simba regarded his uncle as an enemy, and finally defeated his uncle after he became an adult.In fact, the uncle who seized the throne has become a substitute for his father, or a symbol of the entire father generation.It is through this tortuous and very moral process that Simba finally takes the place of his father. This is a modern version of a Western fairy tale, which secretly reveals the deep psychological complex of Western society. Simba's complex is the son's desire to live in a world where his own independent will is fully realized, without the rule of his father. This is different from the "Monkey King Complex". The Lion King is yet another fairy tale that adults will love.It is in line with my experience of being a son in the past and the psychology of being a father now. The story of Mufasa is the story of all modern fathers, which contains the complex of being a father, and also has the profound power to affect people's hearts. We see first that the father's sacrifice for his son touches particularly adult sensibilities.That is the strong grievance and tragic psychology of being a father, and it is the psychology of a father facing his son and the whole world. The harsh education he had given to his son was not understood by his son.When he clashed with his young son again and again, he had to endure his son's ignorant confrontation.All his son's incomprehension and oppositional behavior towards him aroused strong reactions in his heart.In the end, he sacrificed himself because of his son's naive and ignorant fault. At this time, the grievance and tragedy of being a father can be vented to the fullest.Any father may feel guilty for his latent rejection and harsh attitude towards his son, and this guilt has been washed away in this tragic story of sacrifice for his son. The father may have had conflicts with his son in one way or another during his son's growth. Most of these conflicts are manifested in the father's education and the son's incomprehension and disobedience.The irritation to the father by the son's antagonism, and the father's latent discomfort with his own excesses, are dissipated in the great sacrifice for the son. This is the realization of the complex deep in the father's heart. It was this realization that made the story of "The Lion King" touch thousands of men. Mufasa died quietly lying in the valley, and the little Simba, who knew nothing about the world, wandered mournfully beside his father, and this scene made the fathers intoxicated with noble personalities.If we really understood this father complex, we might call it the Mufasa complex. We can see a lot of manifestations of this complex in real life. Fathers often show a special sense of responsibility to their sons. Deep in their hearts, they have an urge to do their best for their sons, an urge to sacrifice something for their sons, and to do better than their mothers. At the same time, they long for their sons' understanding.When any father makes a sacrifice for his son, the son's guilt is often the father's greatest psychological satisfaction when this sacrifice finally makes the son understand the father's strict requirements that he has never fully understood since childhood. Even in the most general situation, when the dying father faces his son kneeling beside the bed in grief, the son's grief may have hidden guilt towards his father in his life, and the father's psychology is also At this time, extra balance and tranquility are obtained. The grief of the son shows that all the dissatisfaction with the father in childhood has been eliminated, and the son has understood all the discipline of the father, and the father has washed away all the grievances of being a father, and entered the kingdom of heaven with a peaceful mind. In addition, and equally important, when the Lion King Mufasa rushed to save Simba when he was in danger, we also saw a more pure complex, that is, the responsibility and impulse to protect the young son.Here, there is no need for any uneasiness about the son to be the seed, and there is no need to have the motivation to cleanse oneself. This is a manifestation closer to the life instinct, which we can see in many advanced animals protecting their cubs. For a young baby, whether it is a son or a daughter, the father often has an absolute sense of responsibility.When the son is in danger, in most cases the father will rush forward to protect his son.This is a much more pure father complex, he is protecting his flesh and blood, protecting the continuation of his life. Of course, in the various senses endowed by society and culture, this may also mean protecting the inheritance of the entire family, protecting the heirs of the inheritance, protecting one's own glory, and so on. No matter how many aspects of social culture have molded the behavior of fathers to protect their sons, we can still say that the psychological motivation of this kind of fatherly love is much purer, and this is a more straightforward fatherly love. In fact, in the confrontation between father and son, the father is always slower than the son.In the psychology of three to five-year-old children, a typical Oedipus complex may have been formed.At this time, most fathers still regard their sons as young lives that need their own protection.The father's awareness of confrontation with his son and his unease with being too harsh on him often comes after the son is older. In "The Lion King", the combination of the above two complexes of being a father must have deeply touched modern adult men.These two complexes have been fully vented and released in the story. The father Mufasa withdraws from history and ends his life, which particularly shows the melancholy of life.This melancholy is a religious mood.The father who had vented his two complexes was finally fully qualified to appear in heaven and take care of his son. In this way we may see a more complete interpretation of religion. When Simba looks up at the image of his father in the kingdom of heaven and listens to his teachings from the kingdom of heaven, what we see is that the son’s guilt and awe of his father have forged gods and religions; When the kingdom of heaven looks down on Simba, the youngest son, he can fully understand the sacred and noble attitude of a father who has fulfilled his responsibilities and washed away all his grievances towards his son. At this time, he has turned himself into a god and religion. When the story of "The Lion King" reaches this scene, not only the hearts of the sons resonate with Simba, but the hearts of the fathers also resonate with Mufasa.What the fathers have gained at this time is enough peace and perfection, and once again realized the authority of the father in a higher and more absolute way. The father's authority in heaven is supreme. The analysis of any fairy tale should start with the reason why it touches the reader's heart.Only in this way can we finally trace its hidden connection with the reader's deep psychology, thereby revealing its symbolic meaning. In "The Lion King", if we examine our viewing psychology, we will find that we not only desire him to avenge his father from the perspective of Simba, but also desire his son to avenge himself from the perspective of Mufasa. The complex of father and son shows another kind of correspondence here. In Monkey King, we see the son's complex to prove himself to his father; while in Mufasa, we see the father's complex to prove himself to his son.Furthermore, in "The Lion King", we see that the son has the complex of revering his father as a god and religion; and the father also has the complex of turning himself into a god and religion. This correspondence of complexes should be a precious discovery in our analysis of fairy tales and personality. Father and son are an important relationship.It creates a strong complex in the son, and it must produce an equally strong complex in the father. In history throughout the ages, we have seen that many sons regard revenge for killing their fathers as a lifelong event, persevering and unswerving.We have also seen that many persecuted fathers leave the promise of revenge to their sons as the primary legacy.In these stories, the father's last wish is not only because the son can best avenge him, but also because his heart most desires his son to avenge him. The Lion King Mufasa was murdered. At this time, the audience as the father had the same wish as Mufasa, that is, they wanted Simba to avenge his father. This is a strong complex of being a father. The reason why the story of the son avenging the murder of his father has become a very powerful story for thousands of years is that there are two strong complexes between the son and the father.We have already analyzed the son's strong desire to avenge his father, and the father's strong desire for his son to avenge himself is also worth revealing. Because from the birth of the son, the father regards him as the continuation of his own life; because the father has paid a lot to protect this life; because the father has always regarded the son as his successor; because the father once felt uneasy about the son; Because the father needs the son's guilt to wash away his grievances; because the end of the father's life means that he has made a sacrifice for the son; All the dissatisfaction with the father will dissipate, and the confession, guilt, and gratitude to the father will surge; therefore, the father has enough reasons to ask the son to fulfill his last wish to avenge his father.When he handed over the inheritance to his son, the son also had the responsibility to accept the last wish together. The death of the father gave the supreme expression of the father's authority. The father desires his son to avenge himself, that is, he desires his son to repay all his efforts. At the same time, the father will entrust his last wish of revenge to his kneeling son, which is still a handover of life. The father was once far stronger than the young son, protecting him, disciplining him, and ruling him.The son grew up gradually, and the father and son began to fight against each other.The father was getting old and weak day by day, and the strong son showed his superiority over his father, and even became his protector.The dying father is as weak as a baby, and in his feeble state he wishes to be protected by his son. The son set out with this great responsibility.In this way, Simba embarked on the road of revenge for his father. "The Lion King" is a story of father and son, and its neglect of mother only shows that machismo exists in the modern West as well. "The Lion King" is also a machismo fairy tale, and women, whether they are mothers or girlfriends, just play a foil role.All its profound psychological connotations are developed in the relationship between father and son. This may be very simplistically described as a modern Western Oedipus story.However, as analyzed above, there is undoubtedly a richer psychological content than Freud's Oedipus complex.Modern culture has completely molded the relationship between father and son, and both the son's complex and the father's complex are expressed in a more grandiose way.Human moral and ethical culture not only regulates modern social life, but also regulates modern fairy tales. When the young Lion King Simba embodies the moral glory of national interests, social responsibilities, and historical progress, and embarks on the road of avenging his father and cleansing himself, what we see is a story of a son in the modern Western world .This is obviously another story written by the father, so we also see the will of the father. The father realizes that he is bound to withdraw from the stage of history, and he wants to let his sons write the future, but at the same time, he hopes that his voice can cover the future world for a long time; The process of taking over the father's position and becoming the master of the world. What they need is a world without fathers.