If you have followed the controversy that's been swirling around "The Lion King," you know that Disney's smash-hit movie is the latest target of the political-correctness potshot squad.
The movie, which is setting records at the box office, is being blasted by the PC crowd as sexist, racist, homophobic and overly violent.Sexist? Racist? Homophobic? Overly violent?
Well, gosh. No wonder moviegoers are lining up around the block to see this picture. It's hard to find a good sexist-racist-homophobic-overly-violent movie these days.
But seriously, folks. Are these people kidding, or what?
For the few who haven't seen "The Lion King" - those fortunate souls who have spared themselves the agony of being shocked and offended by the movie's themes of sexism, racism, etc. - here is a synopsis of the plot, as described in the press kit distributed by Walt Disney Pictures:
" `The Lion King' follows the epic adventures of a young lion cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role as king of the jungle."
Sounds dangerous, don't you think?
Disney calls the movie a "uniquely entertaining coming-of-age allegory."
That last blurb might be what set off the alarm bells at political-correctness police headquarters. Anybody who decides to market a perfectly insignificant cartoon as an allegory is probably asking for trouble.
Of course, moviemakers often overreach in attempting to make their efforts seem socially meaningful; they are, after all, trying to drum up business.
The problem here isn't that the Disney folks exaggerated a bit when they hyped their slight-but-delightful animated film as an allegory. The problem is with the political-correctness crowd that can find Social Significance darn near anywhere, even in the harmless paw prints of cartoon lions.
Carolyn Newberger, a Harvard psychologist, accused "The Lion King" of symbolizing and glorifying a racist, unjust society in which a favored few prosper while the poor and powerless are subjected to unspeakable degradation.
Newberger also complained that the movie "is full of stereotypes."
Can you imagine? A cartoon that is full of stereotypes?
Eh, what's up, Doc?
One of the so-called stereotypes cited by Newberger is the movie's villain, a detestable and manipulative lion named Scar. Newberger says that Scar speaks in "gay cliches" and hints that Scar's presence in the movie smacks of gay-bashing.
And yet the movie contains no reference whatsoever to Scar's sexual orientation. If anybody is stereotyping, it's Newberger.
Then there was the syndicated columnist who grumbled that "The Lion King" "strongly reinforces the stereotypes of men as power-driven competitors and women as helpless, hapless victims."
And the editorial page editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who opined that the movie endorses a culture of powerlessness and dependence because it depicts a kingdom that turns to its exiled leader for deliverance from adversity.
Talk about your allegories.
If all this analysis seems awfully heavy-handed, that's because it is. We're talking about an animated Disney musical here, not some Oliver Stone epic that aspires to identify the cosmic bond linking Vietnam war protesters and JFK conspiracy buffs.
But nothing is off-limits to the political-correctness fanatics. Nothing is so innocent, so trivial or, for that matter, so important that it can be exempted from their scrutiny. The most offhand remark can touch off a torrent of criticism. The most nonpolitical event can provoke a political firestorm.
Oddly enough, there may actually be a message in the "The Lion King," but it's not a message about sexism, racism or anything of the sort. It is a simple, timeless message about an individual who accepts responsibility, who honors his heritage, who stands up for right in the face of overwhelming wrong.
Talk about your stereotypes.