I had very mixed feelings coming
away from Grizzly Man. On the one
hand, I felt like I just watched 100 minutes of a movie devoted to one man’s
passion. But on the other hand, I felt like I just watched 100 minutes of a
movie displaying one man’s undeniable mental illness. I don’t think it’s right
to look at Timothy Treadwell’s story without acknowledging that there were
psychological problems. After we viewed the film, I looked Treadwell up online
and read a few more articles. Treadwell himself noted that his recovery from
his drug and alcohol addictions manifested itself in the grizzly bears. To
Treadwell, the bears truly were his saviors. His passion is admirable if not
over-bearing at times. While I
believe it’s noble to devote your life to what you love, Treadwell’s sickness
takes over and pushes him to go too far. There was no reason for him to be
living among the bears for summers, just as there was no reason for him to
actually tamper with nature to benefit the bears. Furthermore, when nature does
not display what the bears need, Treadwell goes into a terrifying state.
As Werner Herzog points out,
Treadwell crosses a boundary between humans and nature. His passion—rooted in
illness—puts not only his own life in danger, but his girlfriend Amie’s, and it
also jeopardizes the innate relation humans and bears have (especially the bears’
perception of humans and humankind). At times, I felt Herzog was poking fun at
Treadwell. He felt like an out-of-place narrator in the sense that he neither
respected nor tried to find deeper meaning in what Treadwell was doing. Herzog’s
failure to highlight the positive aspects and results of Treadwell’s career
made it seem like he was almost making a mockery of him, especially at times
where his mental illness was bolder. Matched with his view of nature, Herzog’s
commentary, especially about the ultimate fate of the two grizzly people, was
not surprising. It was almost nice to have the stark contrast of Herzog and
Treadwell, a living man who views nature cynically and a deceased man who found
bliss. Herzog’s unwillingness or inability to see from Treadwell’s point of
view is either unsettling or just a factor pointing toward Treadwell’s
instability—not to say that Herzog himself is necessarily sane.
Ultimately, I enjoyed many aspects
of the movie. I thought it was a good representation of several views of nature
according to humans, and it shows how the relationship between nature and
humans has developed to a point where the latter almost do not belong anymore.
This was such an insightful post to read! I like how you viewed the film from a mental health standpoint, because in Treadwell's case his sanity cannot be overlooked. Although he was doing what he loved, I wish someone had stopped him. Somebody might love to do heroin, but we try to stop them because it's harmful. It's shocking to me that people in Timothy's life just let him go back year after year, and from the interviews in the film they seemed to accept his choice. I also liked how you compared Herzog and Treadwell through their opinions of nature and how they express them. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of great thoughts on the film and many that I agree with! It definitely did seem that Herzog was mocking Treadwell, and that he didn't try to find a deeper meaning the Treadwell's work. The movie shared two completely different views of nature which was interesting but also slightly uncomfortable. As you mentioned there really was not a reason for him to be out there with the bears, and just because he loved it did not make it read. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job combineing both opinions of the class: that the movie was about one man's stuggle to save nature and yet a analysis of his psycological illness. By doing this, you have made both sides of Treadwell's story visible to others who havent considered the other side and I congradulate you on that. Reading your post reminded me that, as helpful and peaceful Treadwell made himself sound, one still cant hide from the fact that Treadwell is indeed mentally ill. I especially agree with the role of Herzog. It is almost ironic that he is narorating a nature film when he finds no deeper meaning in it. Again, you pointed out something that I havent thought of before: what if someone else narrorated. I do think having Herzog was a critical piece in the film so that we can see how their can be two sides in looking at nature and to remind us that Treadwell is in fact insane. All in all, fantastic work.
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