by Ryan McGinnis
Thesis: "Naughty Meanie! Naughty!"
It has been contended rather recently that Scar, the villain in "The Lion King", was not a meanie; that is, he simply acted out in a sudden lash of repressed hurt and angst.
Wrong!
He's a naughty meanie, and here is why.
Point one: Disney intended Scar to be a meanie
Yes, they did. Disney made every effort possible to convey to the vast audience of 5 year olds that Scar was a Naughty meanie who deserved to be ripped to shreds and eaten by hyenas. In _no_ scene, in not a _single_ solitary scene, not _one_ little tiny part of the movie, never, ever, ever, never, not once in the _whole_ film, not at all, never did Scar ever do anything to redeem himself as a good character. Every moment that the camera on him, he was being a meanie. He was a meanie to the mouse at the beginning of the film. Then he was a meanie to Zazu. Following, he was a super meanie and tried to kill Simba... and a super-duper meanie (with a touch of naughty) when he tried to kill Simba again. Oh, how the meanie flowethed from him when he whacked his bro, Mufasa! He was a meanie to the pride, a meanie to Zazu (again), and a s'nasty meany when he walloped Sarabi into the next millennium.
Yes, Disney wanted us to think he was a meanie. Therefore he was.
Point two: Scar was _super naughty_
Yep. Why, Scar didn't just stop at killing his brother and trying to paint the gorge with Simba. Dear me, no. He had to rub it in on the lil cub, and _then_ try to kill him again. That's not just being a meanie, that's downright naughty. Naughty Scar, naughty! No biscuit!
Point three: Scar was a scaredy cat
I know that doesn't make him bad. But in combination with his meanieness and naughtiness, it magnifies him into some sort of twisted freakshow. Or so was Disney intention, that you really dislike this guy and cheer when he is digested.
Scar never did anything himself, save at the end of the film. Even then, what he did was super-nasty; flinging hot coals into Simba's eyes!
Yep, scar was a bad cat when there was no danger to himself. But as soon as anyone challenged him, he became a scaredy cat. Scaredy cat, scaredy cat!
Point Four: Scar has a long tail
Hey, you know what they say about long tails.
Point Five: If someone were that much of a meanie to you, you'd probably kill them
Think about it. If your Uncle killed your dad and drove you out of the house for 15 years, wouldn't you be a little angry if you got back and saw him in your house, with your friends chained up in the basement, and slapping your mom around like a nickel whore? Would you say "Hey, meanie! Are you just an inwardly sensitive emotionally crippled outcast who needs someone to love you?" Somehow I doubt that.
Summary: Scar is a meanie, and I am hungry
Scar is a meanie, a super meanie at that. If you think he isn't that's okay. But Disney thinks he is, so your wrong. Ha ha!
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