The Lion King was one of my favorite movies as a child. I wore out the VHS from excessive viewing. Seeing the Broadway production at 13 was the highlight of my young life. To this day, very few things evoke the same feeling as The Circle of Life's opening notes. The Lion King, although a contemporary tale, draws on well-loved mythic motifs and patterns. Most notable is the Hamlet pattern – or as I like to call it, "The Good King" vs. "The Bad King" mythic motif.

This pattern was one of the first narrative patterns I identified as a kid. I can still remember being floored when I realized that The Lion King was similar to Hamlet and also completely different. Then, I found it in other stories and mythologies, which set me off on the journey to understand the patterns and shapes of our stories.

The Evil Uncle Trope

Another name for this pattern is "The Evil Uncle" trope. This motif is a story about a family in power. Within this family is a member, oftentimes a younger brother to the king, who is unhappy with how things have shaken out. Acting on jealousy, they seek power by killing their brother. They usually either force the rightful heir into exile or assume they are dead. Later, that child, raised by another community, returns and claims the throne, bringing with them new prosperity for the kingdom. 

We can broadly understand this pattern as the "The Good King vs. The Bad King." Paired with this is the secondary narrative or mythic pattern I call, "The Return of the Rightful Ruler." Without this, the story is only a conquest story about a different kind of change. 

The Mythic Hero as the Community's Soul

What might be happening in this mythic motif? We have to look beyond the obvious power struggles and sibling squabbles that come with inheritance-based institutions. Instead, we look at the patterns behind it. 

A community uses stories to define themselves, and heroes represent a community's sense of self, ethics, values, and soul. In the United States' our heroes, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John Henry Dolly Parton, Superman, and Batman, among others, are symbols of American identities. These are traits like being loyal, innovative, hard-working, empathetic, rebellious, moralistic, and protecting freedom. 

All heroes are mythic, even if they started out as real. Heroes carry our aspirations, hopes, beliefs, and ideals. We create our heroes so we can identify with them and their deeds. They reflect our sense of identity and our myths and are the soul of a community.  

And, within all heroes and communities, there are the conscious sides we are aware of, and the unconscious sides, or—the shadow side. For example, in the American psyche, there is a great story of progression, expansion, and innovation, but the shadow of that is the conquest of indigenous lands, exploitation of lower classes, and slavery. These stories exist together, though separately, and until acknowledged and integrated as one, the shadow will continue to plague us. 

 "Good King" vs. "The Bad King" and The Community Soul's Shadow

The "Good King" vs. "The Bad King" is a story about the two sides of a community's soul at war with itself. Within this pattern, the community's soul fractures, and only through the return of the rightful ruler does integration occur. It is the unbalanced kings who split the community's soul and the balanced hero who brings wholeness and prosperity to the community. 

Lion King Examples of Mythic Kings and Shadow Work

So, what does this actually look like? Let's look at The Lion King. The beloved king Mufasa, has a son, Simba, and a jealous brother, Scar. Here is the first pattern of the motif: The "Too Good King" and the "Bad King." They are the Self and the Shadow. Scar plots their demise and successfully kills Mufasa and exiles Simba (falsely thinking his minions killed him). Simba grows up in another world and learns about different kinds of communities. As an adult, he returns to his original community, confronts his uncle, and takes his place as the rightful king.  

Symbols and Mythic Interpretations

This story represents a fractured community finding its sense of self again. The first half of the story deals with the loss of the "Too Good King" and the king's child, which represents the loss of the community's soul. This happens during the murder and violent takeover by the shadow side or the Bad King. The community continues to be unbalanced until the orphaned children, a product of that violent split, return and unite to two sides of themselves and the community.  

The kingship of a community is an important motif when looking at the mythic health of a community. A kingdom's prosperity is directly related to the goodness of the king. The Fisher King in the King Arthur Grail Tradition is an excellent example of how a sick king equals a sick kingdom. There are several defining aspects of the good and bad kings. 

The Good King is humble, kind, strong, and loved by his people. He puts the people and his kingdom first. The kingdom prospers under him. But he is often too good. He is blind to the shadow sides that exist. He cannot see that those closest to him desire his power.    

The Bad King is manipulative, greedy, selfish, power-hungry, will stop at nothing, and is fearful of being overthrown. He ultimately takes advantage of the good king's blindness and kills or exiles him. These two kings are reflections of each other. They are the unbalanced hero, or The Self and the Shadow – the Good King is too good, too idealistic, too loved, and the Bad King is neglected, unresoloved, and resorting to manipulative behavior. 

It is only through the return of the good king, wounded by death and raised in a world away from the original community, that the community can combine the Self and Shadow. Hamlet is an example of this unification failing, as, in the end, even the rightful ruler cannot unite the fractured community. This happens because Hamlet did not first integrate these two sides of himself first. 

 The Hero as the Balanced Community Soul 

Simba's reluctance to leave his found home and return to his original home suggests the hard work that comes from change. This is best represented by Simba's confrontation with the community shaman, Rafiki, who says "Ah, yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it...or learn from it." After this confrontation with his own dark shadow, Simba is ready to bring his own integration back to his community. He brings with him his new community and personal struggles, which are necessary in bridging the two communities and the two sides of the split soul. Simba's journey is one of reclaiming and reunification. 

When the rightful ruler can unite and balance the two sides of his soul, he can return to his community and unite the fractures. He must confront the bad king, the shadow of his "too good" father, and find balance in order to bring his community back into a place of peace and prosperity. The Rightful Leader cannot be like his father before him because he cannot be blind to the darkness of his shadow. He must ensure that the community can have a balanced hero.