A weird example of Marxism.

I had a lot of trouble coming up with an example of Marxism in popular culture. I see stories when I watch movies and television, not symbols. For instance, when I watched the Lion King (on VHS, of course! Like there's any other way.) the a couple weeks ago with my friend, we just had a brainless night of nostalgia and fun. But then I said to my ambitionless sister, "You are Simba, Danielle. Look inside yourself Simba. You are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life!" Le gasp! I made a comparison of pop culture to the real world and the economy!

My sister, who hasn't gone to college, who hasn't done anything in her life, has not taken her place in the real world of work and money, which is like the Circle of Life. In the Circle of Life, there are the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) who are the top of the food chain, and that reminds me of those with money in our society. Of course, those people rely on those below them in the food chain to work for them, and those people make money and rely on those of lower class to work for them... Then, those lions often utilize the needs of those at the bottom in order to make their money. It becomes circular.

In the story of the Lion King, Simba left Pride Rock and went chasing after bugs for years. He left responsibility behind to live a life of, well, pretty much nothing. There is no meaning or substance, but he liked it because it was easy. But the real world eventually called, because society dictates that we participate in the economy and be good workers. Those who take advantage of the system and don't make any effort to work are typically frowned upon. My sister is currently in a phase of chasing bugs since she's working part time and that's sort of it. She's not in school to attempt to have more security or success in life or looking for a better job; she has no place in the Circle of Life!

After thinking about this, I pondered what the rest of the movie meant from a Marxist point of view. If the Circle of Life is a capitalist society (and a clearly thriving society too), then what happened when Scar screwed with the system? Maybe Scar's reign was like a socialist government, since he tried to share the wealth not only with the lions but the hyenas too. During the years Simba was gone, Scar's government really screwed up Pride Rock. Many of those who had lived there left or died off. In this view, what wasn't capitalistic was not successful.

Maybe this is crazy, but the Lion King is awesome.