I want to talk about The Lion King
I want to talk about Disney’s The Lion King and one of it’s themes.
One of the big song numbers is baby Simba’s “I Just Can’t Wait to be King.” Simba is still a child, so when he thinks about his future rulership, he’s mostly thinking about power and attention. Everyone’s going to have to do what he says, and he’ll be able to do whatever he wants. Zazu, who’s more of a politician character, freaks out because this is Very Bad Leadership. (Zazu belongs to that special character archetype that doesn’t understand children.) Mufasa, on the other hand, is pretty chill about Simba’s immaturity, probably because he went through that phase himself. So Mufasa patiently starts teaching Simba little lessons about the cycle of consumption and how their kingdom works.
When Mufasa is killed, Simba panics and runs off because he feels scared and guilty. He’d rather never see the other lions again than face the consequences of what (he thinks) he’s done. It takes Nala and Rafiki to remind him that he has responsibilities beyond himself. He’s the rightful ruler, so he needs to place the needs of his people over his own needs and desires.
This is contrasted starkly by Scar’s actions once he takes the throne. “I’m King,” he says, “I can do whatever I want.” He upsets the cycle of consumption in order to bribe his allies/minions, the hyenas, regardless of the impact that has on the land and the rest of the inhabitants. (That the hyenas are unfairly treated in the first place is it’s own issue that requires a whole different page of analysis.) Scar’s childish rulership is underlined by silly decrees such as not ever mentioning Mufasa’s name in order to prevent anyone from comparing his reign to his brother’s.
Though the political system in The Lion King is a hereditary monarchy, it does a fairly solid job of outlining one of the major differences between a good leader and a bad leader. And, ironically, a lot of this can be applied to President Trump.
Trump is, fairly literally, the embodiment of a bad leader by the standards of the Lion King. He upsets the system in order to benefit himself and his supporters, giving them benefits or positions of power that they’re not suited for or haven’t earned. He refuses to listen or outright lies in order to make his time in office seem, comparatively, better than his predecessors. He makes decisions that place himself and his personal needs over his responsibilities to the country: he never really cut himself off from his businesses, he spends considerable resources keeping his family in expensive non-White House residences, he takes frequent trips to conduct business in luxury surroundings, and he continues to campaign for himself and his personal image.
I’m not saying that Trump is the first president to abuse the office. Certainly not. But it’s remarkable just how MUCH he’s abusing the office in such a literally cartoonish fashion.
