The Lion King Archetypes

God Teacher – In the movie “The Lion King” the archetype of God teacher is used in
the character Rafinki. Rafinki is a monkey who seems to have supernatural powers and
helps lead the main character, Simba, onto his path. He has many tributes of a God teacher
such as being generous with his knowledge. He gives Simba the knowledge he needs to get
the golden age back by showing him that his father is not dead but lives inside of him.

Circle – The Circle plays a very important role in the movie. It is used constantly to
describe the circle of life and to show balance and wholeness. In the time of the movie
when the antagonist named Scar took over pride rock, the circle was out of balance and not
in motion until Simba reclaimed the throne.

Sunrise – Sunrises are used heavily in the movie to show birth and rebirth. In the
beginning a sunrise is used to show the birth of Simba. In the end a sunrise is used to show
the rebirth of pride rock. It is also used to describe how the king’s fall and rise is just like
the sun rising and falling.

Golden Age – The golden age in “The Lion King” is seen at the beginning, a prospering
paradise where animals live free and enjoy life while working to keep the circle of life
going. It is then lost at the death of the king and the rise of the antagonist, Scar. With the
land filled with death and sorrow, Simba looks to revive the land and bring back the good
old days. Once Simba takes the thrown, the Golden age is revived and paradise is back.

Heroic Pattern – The movie follows the Heroic Pattern in many ways. Simba's life is
threatened as a child and is forced to live in seclusion. He has a journey to complete and
has to save his people from an evil. An enemy holds the thrown that belongs to Simba and
his strength and will must be tested if he is to regain his rightful spot. Simba fights Scar
and wins back the throne, completing his quest.

Grey - Throughout the story the color grey is used many times to depict dark and evil
scenes. It is shown on scar and all the hyenas as they all have darker, greyer colors
compared to the lions that have bright and vibrant colors. A good example of this is Scar
having a grey beard while the other lions all have gold.

Dark – Darkness fills its role in this movie as an Archetype, as it is used over and over in
scenes where pride rock is corrupted by the antagonist Scar. The land dies and turns into a
dark waste land. The dark only goes away when Simba takes back his rightful place as
king of pride rock.
Light – Opposed to the dark archetype, the scenes that depict the light archetype are all in
peaceful and happy times. In the light and vibrant scenes there is no conflict or worries.

Flood/ Rebirth – In this movie, the Flood/Rebirth archetype isn’t as direct. The Golden
Age is destroyed from a flood of evil and corruption. Scar’s take over symbolizes the flood
taking over and destroying the land. The rebirth is symbolized by Simba taking back his
rightful place as king and reviving the land.

Desert – In the movie, Simba must make a huge journey over a dessert to escape after
Mufasa’s death. The mood in the dessert scene is hopelessness and the antagonist is in a
low state.