THE PATH TO WHOLENESS: LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DISCOVERY THROUGH JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES IN THE LION KING MOVIE (2019)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35473/pho.v8i1.3616Keywords:
Individuation, Jungian Archetype, Leadership, Transformation, The Lion KingAbstract
This article explores leadership transformation through the lens of Jungian archetype in the narrative of The Lion King (2019). The movie depicts the individuation journey of its main characters, especially Simba, as a representation of the Hero archetype. The objective of this paper is to analyze Simba's individuation journey in The Lion King (2019) through the lens of Jungian archetypes. Through an in-depth analysis of Simba's relationships with supporting characters such as Mufasa (Mentor), Scar (Shadow), and Nala (Anima), the findings of this research reveal how Simba's emotional and psychological journey reflects Jung's stages of individuation, namely the integration of aspects of the self to achieve psychological wholeness by applying qualitative descriptive method in extracting movie’s scene lines. The film's narrative also shows the dynamics of leadership transformation, where Simba moves from a figure who runs away from responsibility to a wise, responsible, and balance-oriented leader. By utilizing powerful symbolism, such as the confrontation with Scar and the return of balance in the Pride Lands, this article shows that individuation is not only important in self-development but also in establishing true leadership. The article conclude that this article mainly provides new insights into how Jungian theory can be applied in modern narrative analysis, particularly in the context of personal transformation and leadership.
References
Andika, A., Nurdin, E. S., Citrawati, Firharmawan, H., & Pratiwi, B. I. (2023). Psychological analysis of the characters in The Lion King movie. Proceedings of International Joint Seminar, 93–101. Retrieved from https://proceeding.lsmsharing.com/index.php/event/article/view/8
Chang, H. M., Ivonin, L., Diaz, M., Catala, A., Chen, W., & Rauterberg, M. (2015). Enacting archetypes in movies: grounding the unconscious mind in emotion-driven media. Digital Creativity, 26(2), 154-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626268.2014.939985
Diana, P. N., Harits, I. W., & Chudy, S. (2022). The Archetypal Types based on Jungian’s Psychology in Madura Tales. The Proceedings of English Language Teaching, Literature, and Translation (ELTLT), 11, 228-239. Retrieved from https://proceeding.unnes.ac.id/eltlt/article/view/1818
Faiziyah, R., Zikri, M., Rhamadanty, T., & Lessy, Z. (2023). Analysis of Character Educational Values in the Main Characters of The Lion King’s Movie. In Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education (Vol. 2, pp. 239-247). Retrieved from https://sunankalijaga.org/prosiding/index.php/icrse/article/view/917
Favreau, J. (2019). The Lion King. Walt Disney Pictures.
Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2015). The Power of Servant-Leadership: Essays. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Henderson, J. (2004). Thresholds of initiation. Chiron Publications.
Hikmah, L. (2022). Character Education Reflected in The Lion King Movie (1994) (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Islam Sultan Agung Semarang). Retrieved from http://repository.unissula.ac.id/id/eprint/27824
Jung, C. G. (1968). Collected works, Volume 9, Part 2: Aion: Researches into the phenomenology of the self (2nd ed.). Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Kalsched, D. (2014). Trauma and the Soul: A Psycho-Spiritual Approach to Human Development and Its Interruption. Oxfordshire : routledge.
Liu, D. (2016). The Characteristics of the Hollywood Musical Cinema during the Golden Age in The Lion King. In 2016 3rd International Conference on Education, Language, Art and Inter-cultural Communication (ICELAIC 2016) (pp. 509-512). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/icelaic-16.2017.121
Luna, M. I. D., & Marcos, R. G. (2024). Disney Reloaded: Pixar’s Influence on the Evolution of Disney Animation Feature Films (1994–2018). Journalism and Media, 5(4), 1452-1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5040091
Mandela, N. (1995). Long walk to freedom. Macdonald Purnell (PTY) Ltd.
Mills, J. (2018). The essence of archetypes. International Journal of Jungian Studies, 10(3), 199–220.
Monaco, J. (2000). How to read a film: Movies, media, and beyond. Oxford University Press.
Neill, C. (2018). Understanding personality: The 12 Jungian archetypes. Retrieved from https://conorneill.com.
Nilawijaya, R., & Awalludin, A. (2021). Perspektif gender dalam novel Bekisar Merah karya Ahmad Tohari: Kajian sastra feminis dan implementasinya dalam pembelajaran sastra di SMA. Silampari Bisa: Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan Bahasa Indonesia, Daerah, dan Asing, 4(2), 291–305. https://doi.org/10.31540/silamparibisa.v4i2
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th ed.). California: SAGE Publications.
Pearson, C. (1991). Awakening the heroes within: Twelve archetypes to help us find ourselves and transform our world.
Pebrimireni, D., Lestari, D. A., & Salsabila, S. D. (2022). Kajian psikologi sastra pada cerpen Nasihat-Nasihat karya A. A. Navis. Jurnal Riset Rumpun Ilmu Pendidikan, 1(1), 125–138. https://doi.org/10.55606/jurripen.v1i1.142
Piscayanti, K. S., Suprianti, G., & Premana, M. (2020). Positive character education values found in Simba, The Lion King (1994) movie. Journal of Education Research and Evaluation, 4(3), 279–287. https://doi.org/10.23887/jere.v4i3.27218
Putrayuda, A. (2024). The Development of Psychosocial Characteristics in John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl”. Philosophica: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, dan Budaya, 7(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.35473/pho.v7i1.3166
Pope, M. (Ed.). (2014). New literary hybrids in the age of multimedia expression: Crossing borders, crossing genres. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Purba, A. P. S. B. (2022). Main characters’ personality in a movie The Lion King (Doctoral dissertation, UNIMED). https://doi.org/10.24114/tj.v12i2.47265
Sharp, D. (1991). Jung lexicon. The Jung Page: Reflections on Psychology, Culture and Life.
Spears, L. C. (2015). Insights on Leadership: Service, Stewardship, Spirit, and Servant-Leadership. New Jersey: wiley.
Stein, M. (2018). Outside, Inside and All Around: And Other Essays in Jungian Psychology. Carolina: Chiron Publications.
Syahrin, C. A. (2022). Revenge in Jeff Nathanson’s Movie Script The Lion King (Doctoral dissertation, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Islam Sumatera Utara). Retrieved from http://repository.uisu.ac.id/handle/123456789/935
Wong, V. (1999). Deconstructing Walt Disney's The Lion King. Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media.https://doi.org/10.15353/kinema.vi.895
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Althaaf Muhammad, PRAYUDIAS MARGAWATI

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright notice:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC-BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access)
