The Delicacy

Treadwell was a strange creature. After watching the movie Grizzly Man I was convinced that he truly loved bears more than himself and would do anything for them, like being devoured. Then I started to wonder why. Why did he really care about bears so much? What would cause a person to act like he did? The only answer I found that didn't solely revolve around him being crazy, was a very simple human trait. Treadwell wanted to contribute and fit in to society.

As a drug addict this would be impossible. People wouldn't care about things he did or said because even the brightest, most brilliant ideas would be tainted by drug use and an underlying dependence for drugs. People would scoff at him and his drugs. So he created a Bear-Savior persona. And sure, many people scoffed at him and his bears, but he fit in with some crowds (whether or not those crowds consisted of crazy, bear-loving, hippy ladies is not truly important). He needed to continue being a grizzly man to even be a man at all. 

He called the bears his saviors and whatnot in his videos because they saved him from his drug addiction and also because they allowed him to have a special place in the world, to have a role that he could fit into. It’s tragic, that the world of the bears was as difficult for Treadwell to fit into as society was for him. This is why he was eaten, as a rare bear treat: a delicacy. Treadwell would have been consumed by drugs, crime, and shame if he had not left to live with the bears, but this path has been taken by millions before him. His death would be unimportant, a common morsel of junk food to the bear that is society (perhaps a cheeto). Treadwell’s death was tragic, but made him more human than he ever was before living with the bears.

I don’t think Treadwell was addicted to danger or taking high risks, I think he was taking those risks so that way some people, somewhere, would pay attention to him and care about him. As a drug addict he wouldn’t have been able to affect the lives of all of the children he visited. As a drug addict he wouldn’t be popular in certain circles of crazy, bear-loving, hippy ladies. Treadwell found a way to fit into society by being this person who didn’t fit in, and for that, I value his work.