Is the Lion King Fascist?
Despite all the public identifications or accusations of all the Nazis and fascists so commonplace in social media, it’s a term largely so vague it’s almost meaningless. Get 10 historical scholars in a room and by the end of the day, you’ll have 10 different definitions of fascism. I’ve counted over 10 different definitions by reputable sources of fascism.
But are the young vulnerable minds watching and singing to the Lion King being indoctrinated into fascism? I do think there are some problematic issues with the Lion King, but these problematic issues are present in all prey / predatory systems. I listened to coyotes run down something in the woods behind my house last night, something died and was eaten, could have been Bambi. Did the coyotes march around the fallen prey and sing fascists songs, like the hyenas in the Lion King did? Most likely not. Whereas the Lion King’s hyenas clearly do a song and marching number that invokes Nazi Germany, the hyenas are the bad guys doing the usurpers bidding. Lions and hyenas are clearly different “races” and even rivals so that doesn’t fit with the fascist superior race/nationality thing.
I’ve always been very uncomfortable with the Lion King, a hereditary ruling class that literally feeds on their subjects, whom the subjects (the food) adore because the ruling class maintains the balance of nature (circle of life) because the…
