Dear Posterity,
When I began seminary, I eagerly prepared for my first classes in anticipation of lofty thoughts and even higher theology, deep discussions on the nature of God and humanity, and great debate on doctrine and disciplines. So it was a great surprise to receive my first assignment to go home and watch…The Lion King. The Lion King?
Little did I know how powerful the explicit Christological imagery used in the film was, especially considering it is a postmodern film. The Lion King recognizes the Christian metanarrative but intermingles it with a holistic view of the world via the concept known as the “Circle of Life.” That means Disney relied on the gospel as their metanarrative but built another ideology upon it because the Bible is so embedded in our culture’s history and ethos. Pretty ironic move for a postmodern film.
Why was this film so important that it was one of my first assignments? Because the postmodern elements are so deeply enmeshed in the culture today. In this case, the Great Circle of Life closely resembles the perspective, “All roads lead to God,” which is distinctly postmodern. It represents faith seeking understandingS, as in, more than one. We also see the focus on community: Mufasa explicitly states that they are all connected by this Great Circle of Life (think of the many diverse animal groups all coming together to celebrate Simba’s birth). This underscores very clearly the holistic view of the world that defines postmodernism. The statement that Mufasa makes to Simba—that they must all respect one another—subtly indicates a pluralistic worldview: there are multiple perspectives that are all true and thus they are all intertwined…which is postmodernism in a nutshell.
As you watch the film, consider the following Christological allusions and images:
1. Beyoncé’s song “Spirit” (2019 version): the lyrics include “The Great I Am,” which is the name of God (Ex. 3:13-15), “Watch the Heavens open,” “Spirit, can you hear it…”
2. The entire world responds to the birth of Simba, as it does to the birth of Christ (Psalm 72:11). When Simba is finally presented, the animals all bow and worship out of reverence, which alludes to the scene in Revelation 7:9 where Christ is exalted and members of all nations, tongues, and tribes worship and acknowledge His Lordship.
3. Simba (as a cub) is raised high: Jesus said, “When I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).
4. Simba means “lion” in Swahili, (and he also is a lion): Jesus is the lion of Judah (Genesis 49:9-10).
5. The ants brought leaves (palm fronds) to the celebration of Simba’s birth (cf. John 12:13).
6. Simba was Mufasa’s only son: Jesus was God’s only son.
7. Rafiki represents a priest/prophet who anoints the next king, just like Samuel’s role (1 Samuel 15:1).
8. Sunlight from the clouds shines on Simba, symbolizing the Father in Heaven affirming that Jesus is His son. John baptized Jesus in water, then the Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove and God spoke, introducing His Son to the world (Matthew 3:16).
9. All of nature bows to the king (Philippians 2:10).
10. Mufasa’s kingdom includes everything the light touches; Jesus’ dominion is over the whole Earth (Psalm 2:6-8). His references to the light marking the territory of Mufasa/Simba’s kingdom is similar to the idea that Jesus refers to Himself and His followers as the light of the world, and that His kingdom is a kingdom of light.
11. Mufasa teaches Simba that leadership means servanthood, not “getting your way all the time.” Jesus came to serve, not to be served.
12. Simba, like Jesus, is the savior of his kingdom.
13. “He Lives in You” (2019 version) song: the lyrics include “There’s no mountain too great; hear these words and have faith; He lives in you; He lives in me; He watches over everything we see,” expressing that Jesus Christ lives inside His believers (2 Corinthians 13:5; Romans 8:10; Galatians 2:20 etc.).
14. The “Circle of Life” song: there is a time for everything on this earth; a time to be born and a time to die, etc. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).
15. The animals traveled to see the coming king: the wise men and shepherds traveled to see Jesus (Luke 2 & Matthew 2).
16. Mufasa the king’s wrath toward Scar for his rejection of his son: the king is sovereign in his choice of Simba, as is God in His choice of Jesus.
17. Mufasa sacrifices his life for his son and the kingdom. This is an allusion to how God, through Jesus, gave His life for His children. Scar the antagonist represents Satan, who is envious of the kingdom and the throne, and constantly provokes Mufasa (e.g. kills him). Scar hides the truth from Simba about his father’s death, falsely accusing Simba of the tragedy and then telling Simba to leave the kingdom and never return. This is analogous to what Satan does in hiding the truth about ourselves and our sinful nature, hiding the truth of God’s love for us. He makes us “leave” the kingdom/truth in hopes he can reign instead. As Christians today, Satan deceives us and obscures our true identities in Christ (as His children and co-heirs with Christ).
Simba’s previous care-free life and the non-realization (forgotten truth) of his identity struck me as he faced a watershed moment: when his father, Mufasa, presents Simba with the truth and reminds Simba of his true identity, Simba finally acknowledges and embraces his identity as his father’s son. Upon that recognition, Simba bounds into action on behalf of the kingdom. Likewise, we are blinded to our original identity and image by Satan (Scar), which causes us to live for lesser ends (ourselves). Once we hear God’s voice through the Bible, we learn of our true identities instead of the lie Satan has fed us, and we leap into action to wage an epic war for truth against Satan, and as a result, we love and serve those around us in committed passion.
The Lion King is replete with Christological images/allusions, which is a startling discovery, but also a pleasant one. The fact that a multinational mass media conglomerate like The Walt Disney Company turned to the Gospel of Christ to tell The Lion King’s story, which continues to resonate in our hearts almost 30 years later, indicates how crucial it is to train our children to recognize postmodernism today and effectively engage the current culture to bridge the gap between truth and falsehood.
With every esteem and respect,
