What's in a name?

I sat around watching Lion King the other day. It was before I discovered they were coming out with a 3D version, otherwise I would’ve waited. Dang that, by the way. Now it will be all fresh in my memory – although I feel the added dimension will only help to tug at my heart strings even further. Admit it guys, The Lion King made you cry. It’s okay, we’ve all been there. In fact, TLK represents one of only a few selection of movies where I wasn’t rooting for the bad guy. I mean, okay, I was actually, until the stampede left Mufasa lying on the ground and Simba walked in timidly saying “Dad” and lifting Mufasa’s lifeless paw… okay, I can’t go on, it’s too hard. And it’s off topic anyway.

So, there I was watching TLK and Scar comes on… you remember Scar, Mufasa’s evil younger brother, the Claudius to Simba’s Hamlet, Jr. I was watching TLK, and Scar comes into the scene, and something struck me – how the fuck did he get his name? I mean, his name is Scar, and he HAS a scar! My mind started to go crazy with the possibilities of the origins of that name, and it dawned upon me that with a name like that, there was no other way for him but to be evil.

Let’s break it down and really analyze this, from the very beginning, considering all possible scenarios.

1. Scar was born with a scar: If this was the case, then there’s some cruelty on the part of his (and Mufasa’s) parents. I mean, how can you give one son a name that everyone fears (remember “Mufasa!” – shiver) and the other son a name that emphasizes his disfigurement? How do you think he’s going to grow up to be? Do you think he’s ever going to get over being teased by other cubs at lion playschool, or overcoming the shame of never finding a mate? I don’t think so. What if he had something else, a more severe physical shortcoming? Would he be named Three-Paw? Or Albino? Or, and I dread to even think of this, One-Ball? So, it’s safe to say that it was his name that pretty much decided his fate – and it’s not his fault but his parents’. There’s no two ways about it; you name a kid after his physical flaw, he’s not going to grow up to be a great lion.

2. Scar was born without a scar: It gets even more interesting here. Because if Scar was not born with a scar, we have two further scenarios forming:

a. The name Scar was given at birth

Let’s imagine a new born baby cub here. Visual examples can be taken from the birth of Simba. The king, ie Mufasa’s father, has already found an heir to the throne. Both parents are happy with their cub growing up when they give birth to another innocent life – a baby brother for little Mufasa; a companion, an ally. Together, both brothers would rule over the pridelands, with big bro Mufasa being the final decision-maker and younger brother (name undecided) being the obedient and loyal associate to his leader of the pride. What shall we name him now? Hmm. I know, let’s do away with African sounding names for this one – the rest of the pride can have them, but not him, not our second born. He’ll never get to be king anyway, so let’s really rub it in and isolate him even further by giving him a name that’s not only in English, but also means a permanent mark left by a wound. I know – Scar! Let’s call him Scar.

Naming him Scar when he doesn’t have a scar is even more cruel, isn’t it? He would grow up wondering how he got the name? Maybe his mother, the queen, had some sort of feline C-section at birth, leaving her with a permanent scar that marred her otherwise pretty belly, and she thought, hey, why not name this little asshole after that scar, to remind me of what I have to live with for the rest of my life?

But wait, he does have a Scar when we are introduced to the story. You know what they say, right? Words have immense power – by naming their child Scar, his parents almost willed him to eventually bear a scar on his face, forever. Maybe he got into a fight, maybe some other injury; whatever it was, it was so severe that it left a permanent mark on his face – a reminder that a name such as his would need justification. Either that, or he got so sick of being called Scar that he decided to go on and scar his face deliberately, you know, just to keep with the flow. And there’s more…

b. The name Scar was given after suffering said scar

So Scar is sort of like a nickname, but something that he accepts being called graciously. Which means he had a birth name that we’re never told of. What was it? For all we know, he could’ve been called George, and one day young George is minding his own business and walking on the savannah, just lost in thought when a group of cubs start picking on him because he’ll never be king – second place is first loser, they’re saying. So he gets pissed and retaliates, push comes to shove, they beat the crap out of him and leave him wounded, and he walks home alone, eye-lid torn, blood gushing out and he shows it to his mum and dad and they’re like “This’ll leave a mark, George. May as well change your name to Scar.” And it catches on. Even Simba calls him Uncle Scar! No wonder he hates him.

Now, you tell me, a grown up lion that will always be second best to everyone’s favorite lion, Mufasa, has a scar on his face, is called Scar by friends and family alike, gets no respect from that little runt of a nephew he has, isn’t exactly a chick magnet and his closest friends are a bunch of sickly hyenas – to me, that looks like there are enough factors to lead him to a life of evil. Actually, whatever scenario you look at above, Scar had no choice in his fall towards the dark side, so to speak. Whether he was christened Scar, or it was something that caught on later, that name brought him nothing but trouble. And it wasn’t even his fault! Scar was destined to be what he became. How else could it be for him? He was evil, jealous, greedy, selfish and lonely – but then, we would be the same if we were called Scar and actually had a scar, wouldn’t we?

There I go again, sympathizing with the bad guy. Strong case, though.