Stereotypes of Aboriginals in Disney's Brother Bear

Walt Disney's film Brother Bear showed an appropriate custom of representing the culture of Native Americans by demonstrating the primitive way of how the Aboriginal characters lived in the past. Their cultural identity was demonstrated by the clothes they wore and the weapons they used for hunting. A ritual greeting was also used by the members of their tribe to represent their appreciation of each other. Throughout this movie, I agreed that the portrayals of the Aboriginal characters are accurate and properly demonstrated .The purpose of this essay is to show how the culture of Native Americans was represented appropriately in Walt Disney's film, Brother Bear.

The physical appearance of Native Americans and the materials they used for living was the first reason why I agreed having their culture demonstrated sufficiently in the film. They were dressed in native clothes with furs and feathers, used long spears for hunting and boats for traveling. At the beginning of the movie, Kenai, along with his brothers, was dressed with furs and feathers as they travelled with boats to hunt fish. An image of a bear attacking a man with a long spear was also shown in the movie. These particular presentations of their images accurately showed how the culture of Native Americans was nurtured and cultivated in the film. In the early 20th century, the traditional clothing of the Inuit people was called "parkas". Spears were also used as weapons to hunt animals for their food in the past. Representing their aspects of living throughout the movie showed a great respect to the culture of Native Americans.

The second reason why I agreed in representing the culture of Native Americans in the film was the demonstration of rubbing each other's nose as a ritual greeting for all the members of their tribe. Mothers and children in their tribe rubbed each other's noses to show their love and appreciation with each other. This kind of greeting is a stereotype that was accurate in the former years. It was known as "Kunik" in their tribe. It was a traditional Inuit greeting that involved pressing the nose and upper lip against the skin. The way Brother Bear showed this kind of communication of Native Americans in the past expanded the mind of the viewers about their traditional gestures and greetings in their culture.

In conclusion,