..... Maybe it is, many
books and movies have some type of allusion. One of the most frequently used is
the mythological allusion. One thing I remember would be from The Lion
King it’s movie that borrows greatly from Oedipus. Although simba himself does
not kill his father it’s still a murder within the family that kills Mufasa.
When Simba runs away, Scar takes control and runs Pride Rock straight into the
ground. This resembles in exactly the same way as the curse of Oedipus family's
curse. Scar is very arrogant he does not care and will not accept that it's his
fault that everything is falling apart. Simba returns to find his land is
ruined by his uncle, and like a young Oedipus solving the puzzle, he reclaims
his territory and rebuilds it. Simba thought about killing his uncle Scar but instead
it is the Hyenas who get the pleasure to do so. By doing so it gave Simba a
chance to have a fresh start. The story features many of the elements of a trip
to Hades, especially as it really had a land of the dead. I realized it was an allusion
after reading about it and watching it again to understand what could be
interpreted by it. It became very easy to understand after I realized its
alikeness. The values that allusions have are being able to understand the text
and to easily relate it to something else. Something that looks familiar might
spark your interest a bit more and you remember it more than something you had
no knowledge of it before hand. The text adapted the meaning of the myth to
which it alluded by the way the story was plotted. From the beginning where
Simba was born and was crowned king to Mufasa’s death there was a reason for
all of it and you began to understand after really thinking about it.
I’ve explained how
The Lion King closely resembles allusions of mythology but it also can be
related from biblical allusions. One of the Biblical allusions in The Lion King
is that the entire movie is an allusion to the story of Moses. Simba and Moses were
both princes and were exiled when “accused” of murder. While they were exiled
they grew to maturity until told by higher forces to return to their homeland.
Finally, they free their people from harshness by Scar/Pharaoh. Since Mufasa
represents the God figure in the film, Mufasa lives in the heart of Simba while
God lives in the hearts of Christians. Rafiki anoints baby Simba at the
beginning of the film like a pastor anoints a baby after being born. As you can
see many books can take on multiple allusions depending on what the reader is
familiar with. Like I said earlier when you read something such as the Bible
perhaps you find that reading other things may have similar plots and ideas. The Lion King just so happens to take on multiple meanings and it helps readers understand.
Also speaking of which I'm going to see the play next weekend, hope it's just as amazing as last time.
