Racial Bias In The Lion King

Many movie critics suggest that the movie, The Lion King, was a racially biased movie in the way it portrays certain characters or the voices of the actors or actresses behind the characters. Other critics many stand up for Disney in saying that the movie is not racially biased and the voices of the characters were picked solely based off of their voice. Characters such as, Nala, Mufasa, and Shenzi, show both sides of racial and non-racial bias.

Simba’s best friend, Nala is one of the first distinct voices you will notice when watching the movie. She is a playful, energetic, and feisty young lion cub, who is voiced by an African American woman. This choice of voice could be seen as racially biased because African American women are known as being feistier and outspoken then white women are depicted. The movie then jumps ahead a couple years to when Nala is older and more mature. Her voice changes to a more standard American accent. Also, this change in voice could be seen as racially biased because Nala is now older, more mature, and more proper. This could give off the impression that white American women are more proper and have better morals than African American women. The voice change

Shenzi can be seen as racially biased because her voice is depicted as African American and she is a servant of a British white male. Scar’s pack can be seen as being racially biased because it can portray the same characteristics of a gang or a cult, which are usually made up of African Americans or other minority groups. A non-racial side of Shenzi can come from her character voice, who is voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, a very respected African American actress. Because Shenzi is such a comical and sarcastic character, Whoopi Goldberg could have been picked for the reason that she also shares those same characteristics and not necessarily because she is African