Additional Work - Applying Theories To The Lion King

I have decided to analyses the movie "The Lion King" and try to apply different theories to it.

Uses And Gratification Theory 

I believe only one of the four reasons why people watch media is applicable to this movie which is entertainment. It is a funny family movie with a lot of great songs causing it to be pleasurable to watch both for adults and children.

Todrov's Narrative Theory 

I believe the story does follow Todrov's theory. Stage 1 - Equilibrium - all the animals live in peace and baby Simba is born. Stage 2 - Distrubtion - Mufasa dies and Simba runes away. Stage 3 - Problem - Scar takes over the throne and Simba is missing (With Timon and Pumba). Stage 4 - Action - Nala meets Simba and tells him all about the kingdom. This causes Simba, Timon and Pumba to go back and take back the throne from Scar (Simba's evil uncle). Stage 5 - Equilibrium - As a team they defeat Scar, resulting in Simba taking over his fathers throne. The animal kingdom is back to peace.

Propp's Character Theory

Propp's also believed in a set order of events which is quite similar to Todrov's. He also believed that there are always certain character types in every narrative;

1. The hero/ seeker hero - Simba
2. The villain - Scar
3. The ‘princess’ or prize - The throne / Nala
4. The donor - /
5. The dispatcher - Nala / Rafiki
6. The (magical) helper - Timon & Pumba
7. The prize protector / King - /

Levi-Strauss Narrative Theory

The binary oppositions that occur in this narrative are; Good vs Evil (Simba vs Scar), Weak vs Strong (Timon & Pumba vs the lions) and Lion vs Lion (Simba vs Scar or Mufasa vs Scar).

Roland Barthes Narrative Theory

In the movie some action codes are used. For example when Scar plans to kill Mufasa, and causes a herd of hyenas to run after him and Simba. When we see the herd we know something bad is about to happen.