Review of Brother Bear (2003) by Shalanda M — 03 Sep 2009

Brother Bear is the story of a young boy trying to become a man. The main character in this movie is Kenai, a young Inuit hunter. Kenai?s has two brothers who are Sitka (the oldest), Denahi, and Kenai is the youngest. As the movie begins Kenai can?t wait to get his totem from Tanana, a spiritual leader. The totem tells you what sort of man you will become. His totem is love, but Kenai doesn?t understand how this will help him be a man. The story takes a turn for the worst when Sitka sacrifices his life to save his brothers from an angry bear. Kenai then in turn kills the bear in revenge, but he did not know he would be turned into a bear by the spirit of Sitka. Now Kenai is being hunted by his brother Denahi. While being hunted Kenai meets another bear named Koda. Koda attempts to show Kenai the meaning of brotherhood, but Kenai soon realizes that he killed Koda?s mother. That?s when Kenai realizes the true meaning of his totem, which is love.

Kenai, a character in the movie Brother Bear, is part of an indigenous tribe called the Inuit. The word ?Inuit? means ?the people? in the Inuktitut language. The Inuit way of life was influenced by the harsh climates and stark landscapes. Inuit communities lived in igloos in the winter and in the summer they lived in huts made of animal skin. Before the 1940?s the Inuit community had minimal contact with Europeans. However during World War II planes made the arctic area more accessible. In many areas Inuit children were made to go to school. Due to population growth, hunting for food could not sustain the community. As a result Inuit tribes moved into permanent settlements and gained access to jobs by the 1960?s.