Animalistic Passion

            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. 

Bears.

              The movie Grizzly Man was goofy with a dark edge. Watching Timothy interact with the animals and frolic through Alaskan meadows was fun but there was always the knowledge that he was dead because of it. They would show a clip of him getting really excited and portraying his passion for his work and then switch to the doctor that received the bags containing pieces of Timothy and Amie. Horrible. Timothy had no business being there and I think something like that was bound to happen. Maybe not being eaten alive but at least a hardy bear paw to the face. It was said that the bears were getting no benefit from Timothy being there and were actually being endangered by becoming familiar with humans. Tim probably recognized this deep down being the bear expert that he is, but could not leave. The bears had helped him much more than he ever did for them. He was struggling with alcoholism and other issues and went to nature as a solution. Nature ate him. And his girlfriend. It wasn't that he was unprepared or being reckless, nature is much stronger and bigger than people as shown in Naturalistic writing. Timothy thought he had some connection to nature that was unique and maybe he did on a personal level but the bear that ate him did not feel it. Overall though, it was a sweet, yet chilling, movie that I am glad we were able to watch.

Tread Lightly

     Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog was most definitely a unique and engaging documentary. One thing that the movie definitely underscored, in a potentially unintentional way, was that humans are constantly imposing their beliefs/personal agendas onto nature. I gained a deeper understanding of this from the "First Nature" packet, which reviewed how ancient Greeks only painted manicured nature with an aesthetic meant to pacify and how "sacral idyllic" art incorporated religion into landscape. Both Treadwell and Herzog do not transcend this premise whatsoever. Treadwell represents a romantic view of nature similar to Neruda's "Oh Earth, Wait For Me", in which he portrays nature as cleansing and purer than man. In contrast, Herzog shares a view closer to Douris's "Ephesos", where the poet notes the murderous ways of nature.

     Treadwell's view of nature is more relatable to me, personally. (Note: I do not think petting Grizzlies is a particular well-thought-out idea or that the Grizzlies truly benefitted from his presence.) When I look at the way Treadwell related to Ghost (the fox),  I understand his deep connection to nature, because I share a similar connection to animals.  I can, also, relate to Treadwell's need to protect animals; last year, I was unloading mums for Interact when I discovered two or three baby moles. Doug wanted to kill them with a garden tool, but I told him not to. I brought them and fed them for about a week using baby cat formula and a glass eye dropper about four times a day. Also, I think that, because of his manic behavior, people did not take him as seriously as Herzog, even though they both presented polarized arguments. This, to me, shows how people tend to take people with more dark or grave perspectives more seriously, and, in this case, I find Herzog's view of nature to be abrasive and over stated. All in all, I think this movie helped me better understand why I have a moderate view of nature, influenced by both naturalism and romanticism.

Giving Yourself a Purpose

I believe that everyone needs something that makes them feel worth it.  Without an outlet or something to make you feel like you matter, life gets hard.  For Timothy Treadwell, this outlet was looking after and sharing a life with bears. He described the time that was spent with theses bears as him taking care of them and keeping them safe from any harm. I think that they were keeping Timothy safe. He talked about his previous life of drug and alcohol abuse and I think that this was his way of coping. Creating a false sense of nurture and care giving gave him the feeling of meaning that he needed in his life. Sometimes, taking control of a situation (even if it doesn’t need to be) can make you feel like there is a purpose for your being. Timothy didn’t want to be a drunk, he wanted to be a caretaker; and I don’t think we can judge someone for wanting to matter.

            People often bring up the possibility of mental illness in Timothy. I don’t doubt for a second that Timothy wasn’t completely sane but then again who is? I think that he had many problems including bipolar disorder and maybe some addiction problems but regardless, what he was doing was important in his eyes. There are so many people that we look up to today, people who have done great things that are not sane at all. This doesn’t change the fact that they were living there life’s doing the things that they felt they needed to do. Timothy Treadwell needed to help those bears, regardless of if the one benefitting was the bears or him.

            In my opinion, the best way to die is to die doing what you love. Timothy is a perfect example of this because he got exactly what he wanted. He mentioned several times “I will die for these bears” and that is exactly what he did. I think that Timothy wouldn’t judge the bear for doing that; the bear was being a bear. I think that he knew exactly what he was doing and the thing that people don’t see is that he accepted the full reality of it. He knew that they could and most likely, eventually would, kill him and he didn’t care. He was there do to what he loved, he was there to be with the bears, and he was there because it was right for him.

Dillusional Grizzly Man

Timothy Treadwell--The poor guy thinks he can rise over the basic rules of nature and live with dangerous wild animals. I believe towards the end of his spiritual journey to become one with the bears, he developed a false reality thinking that he was invincible and a super human--the only one who truly understood the bears and could handle their dangerous habits. This false reality is what got him killed. Another factor that probably caused Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend's Amy death, was Amy's fear for bears. Bears probably could sense her fear and therefore feel threatened. If Timothy was alone, would he have stayed alive? It is a great question that no one will ever know the answer to. Most people probably would say yes, he would still die at the hands (or paws rather) of that bear.

I agree with the indigenous people of Alaska that leaving wild animals alone is the best way to protect them sometimes. Humans should leave them alone and then they will leave us alone. Treadwell invaded their home, getting in the way when they were eating, sleeping, fighting and everything else. How annoying would that get! Someone following you around trying to touch you and talk to you and weird voices; I would want to eat the guy too! For the bears who got used to Treadwell, they received a false understanding that all humans are non-threatening, so when a hunter or poacher comes around, they will no longer have their natural instincts to avoid the attacker of fight back. So Treadwell's attempts backfired and did the opposite of saving the bears. Treadwell was dillusional thinking that he was saving the bears. He was on a reserve and there was no issues of poaching. He didn't even need to be there.

However, it is amazing that Treadwell lasted as long as he did. He managed to capture amazing footage of wild life that filmers could only dream of. He was successful in showing the beauty and the true reality of nature. Treadwell did leave behind something that was beautiful even though his death was ugly, which was the nature scenes he captured in his video footage. He wasn't a complete failure, just a bit dillusional. 

Grizzly Man

The documentary Grizzly Man was definitely a unique viewing experience. I found Timothy Treadwell to be the most unintentionally hilarious person I've ever heard, making it enjoyable. The part where the fox runs off with his hat to the den still makes me crack up if I think about it too intently. But also, there was something disturbing about it. Why was he there? Was he sane? These are the questions no one really knows the answers to, but Werner Herzog (the director) likes to think he does.
I don't think Herzog did a very good job of portraying Treadwell in a fair light. He puts in his own two cents whenever given the chance, generally an opposing view to that of Treadwell's. It seemed disrespectful to basically mock a man who died doing what he loved. It's not fair to judge someone else's life based on how you live yours. I have no right to say that what Timothy Treadwell was doing was wrong, because it may have been the most right thing for him to do. I think there was something a little off about him, but who doesn't have something they'd rather keep to themselves?
Another thing I wonder about is if he wanted anyone to see his video footage. Some of it seemed private-- it was like a diary. I wouldn't want someone to look my diary if I had one and make fun of me when I am not there to defend myself. The best parts of the film were not Herzog's contributions; they were the words of Timothy Treadwell and his actions.

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SockRed SpaySis

                       What does it mean to be sacred? I feel some people impose a bar in which experiences of life wait in line and must be tall enough to get on the ride of sacred. Periodically they show up in life, one right after the other but if they don't measure up we disregard them. This is a pattern I have seen in myself. However, it is but mental conditioning and can thus be broken. I just don't see a point in not enjoying something to its fullest spiritual potential when I can.
             
                    I hold the breaking of barriers, or the crossing of a thresh hold to be very sacred. Not because I am a vampire and require permission to enter a house, but because of the transcendent symbolism.    
So I figure that if I'm just letting life come to me and I'm judging it by the bar I described earlier, than I should destroy the bar and become the life that hoped so ever patiently to be included by myself.

                  I'm no expert, and nor do I claim to be, however, that being said I have done my fair share of reading on the philosophies of indigenous native american tribes, such as the Yaqui. The teachings of many tribes, both in South America and North, are of the integrity of one's words and thoughts. Integrity, if you think about it for as long as I have and break it down into it's roots, seems like the point of integration, where reality meets spiritual intention. When I say spiritual intention I mean something more innate than simple emotional desires which can be dispersed and understood through reason, or logic.More Yaqui teachings led me to a book entitled No Ordinary Moments, showing me that to disregard any event in life is to disregard myself.  Just as integrity connects one's thoughts to words, attitude connects one's integrity to the undeniable truth of life, completing the circle started with one's spiritual intention. But since each person is on and of the earth, the spirit, or energetic life- force, of every human is intrinsically is composed the same perpetual and mystical qualities that provide continuum to universes which could contain and sustain life on planets just like earth. The human mind is a universe within a greater universe, and there is something sort of sacred and beautiful about the way it all fits together and I sure am glad to be apart of it.