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The subject of willful ignorance in the movie Philadelphia is obvious as the partners in Andy's law firm pretend to not notice that he is sick with the deadly syndrome AIDS. This is a form of power on their point because they use it to justify firing Andy for fear of contamination. Willful ignorance is also a major part of The Lion King. The main difference in the two movies though is that in Philadelphia, willful ignorance is shown through the characters of the law firm partners.
In The Lion King we as an audience are the ones who are invited to be ignorant to the subject matter held within. The main points of the forced ignorance in the movie are the fact that Scars sexuality is masked through the movie and that his true identity of being a homosexual is never discussed, only hinted at. The fact that the hyenas represent inner city black youth, is never discussed or pointed out is another example. The last example is how in The Lion King the circle of life is a paradox to the food chain. This shows how the lions symbolizing white suburban America is always on The fact that Scar is gay in this movie is a curious one. The movies villain turns out to be gay.
So what does that say about the communities outlook on homosexuals. Scars quote to Simba when he is younger You have no idea in response to Simba's statement Youre really weird uncle Scar, hints at Scars true self. The audiences ignorance is invited by the movie through dialogue like this. The audiences hatred for Scar comes into play when Scars sexuality comes into question.
They are forced to hate Scar for being the villain but why not make Scar gay so the audience has not choice to hate gay people. The comment by Mufasa's messenger Theres always one in every family. , is another example of how the movie hints at Scars sexuality. Also the example of Scar being gay is used in the movies reason why he is so wicked. Being the villain, he wants everything to be his way. This relays the message that a straight world is not an option in the minds of homosexuals.
This gives audiences another hidden hatred for homosexuals and tarnishes the way they should be seen as fellow human beings. The second way The Lion King invites the audience to be ignorant of its message is the guise placed on the fact that the hyenas in the movie represent inner city black youth. The movies outlook on these creatures is that they live in the slum of the kingdom otherwise identified as the elephant grave yard. This continues as a biased view as the hyenas are shown to be the end of civilization as the lions know it to be at the end of the movie when the kingdom is show to be in ruins as a cause of the hyenas. These images give the audience the subconscious view that inner city black youth is the evil and if they are allowed to rise from where they came from the upper white middle class, the lions, will lose everything. It is also not a coincidence that the hyenas are placed, much like inner city youth, in a slum.
The hyenas also have a attitude and overall evilness about them which is seen as a stereotypical view that most white middle class and upper class people have for inner city black youth. The last way that the audience is invited to look over the movies agenda to stereotype inner city black youth is everyone in the kingdoms hatred for the lowly hyenas and all they stand for. The final point where The Lion King is shown to be a forceful suit of and reveals its hidden ideological agenda is through the so called circle of life in the movie. An example of this is where Mufasa is taking Simba through a tour of his majestic kingdom. Mufasa says Simba all the light touches is ours, this shows the superiority of the white upper-middle class, symbolized by the lions. Mufasa goes on to say that, we are all a part of the great circle of life.
From the grazing antelope to the tiny ant and that every animal is connected to each other. After this Simba soon questions the circle, and asks dont we eat the antelope? . This is where we are invited to be ignorant of the subject at hand. Mufasa gives Simba a cheesy explanation that they turn into grass when they die and the antelope eat the grass. etc.
But what Mufasa is really explaining to Simba is that they live at the top of the food chain. Instead of a circle where they are only a part, they are members of a chain where they rule. This is where the audience is forced to believe that the lions have good intentions and arent the supreme rulers of the kingdom even though they really are. The hidden ideological view of this is that the lions or the upper-middle class whites rule over all and can take what they want when they want. The overall view of the paradox between willful ignorance and The Lion King is also show through the circle of lifes hesitation to include the hyenas in its ranks. This goes back to the hidden connotation of the hyenas representing inner city black youth.
Overall in the movie The Lion King willful ignorance is very much a part of the movie, in that the creators have hidden their own outlook and bias on the work. Just as Andy's partners in the law firm decide to pretend not to know he is sick, the creators of this movie may pretend not to know all the hidden stereotypes and overall ideological view they have included in it. The subject of the viewing audience is a different subject though. They are being shown a this subject matter, but its being masked behind a Disney film is where the argument begins. Some say that they are forced not to see that Scar is gay or the hyenas represent inner city black youth or that the lions, symbolizing white upper-middle class America, control the system represented by the circle of life or the food chain. I believe that they are invited to not see this though.
The audience is tempted not to look that far into the movie for fear of feeling guilty. The fact that they themselves could possibly be the lions or anyone else in the movie could cast a shadow of guilt on themselves. Because no one wants to be called a stereotypical racist or a bigot. For these reasons I believe that the audience is only invited as far as they want to go. The comfortable mask of a Disney movie makes it even easier to stomach. All in all willful ignorance is a great form of power, in the matter that it is the most useful tool to keep people where you think they may belong in a certain class structure.
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