For many people being alone in the wilderness surrounded by bears would be a nightmare, but for Timothy Treadwell it was where he found himself. Treadwell believed that he could live peacefully among the bears. Being in the wild is scary for most people. We like the safety of our homes, with our electricity, running water, and families. We crave the attention we get from other humans. The feelings of love, compassion, and friendship that go along with the human experience give us a place in the world. The people around us make us feel important and needed. However for Treadwell he found these among the bears.
Timothy Treadwell believed that the bears need his protection. In the wilderness he thought he was doing a service to the bear that they needed and respected him for. Frequently he talks of the fact that he was the only one willing to live out in the wild and protect the bears from the terrible human beings that would harm them. However it seems that Treadwell probably needed the bears more than they needed him. He connected better with the bears than with humans. In his eyes the bears were his friends and companions.
Through close human contact Treadwell believed he could relate to the bears. He had an idealistic view of nature and the relationships between animals. In his close encounters with the bears, he exhibits a belief that the bears were his friends. This concept goes against many people's ideas about nature. He believed he could teach the bears to treat him as a friend not an enemy. However just because he believed the bears were his friends doesn't mean they felt the same way. He was trying to change the very nature of the bears. On the nature vs. nurture discussion, Treadwell believed in the power of nurture, to tame the bears.
Throughout the film Herzog exhibits a distaste for Treadwell's thoughts, actions, and idealistic representation of nature. Herzog viewed nature as a wild thing to be left to its own devices. The contradicting concept of nature and the role humans should play in it divided Herzog and Treadwell and the film. Treadwell found himself in the wilderness but at the expense of the bears. He, as the Alaskan people say, did not respect the bear's home. By camping out deep within their habitat, Treadwell forced himself upon the bears.
Timothy Treadwell was a troubled man with an idealistic view of nature. He connected with the bears in a way that he never seemed to be able to do with people. In many ways his actions display a disrespect for the bears which he cared for so deeply. No matter where he was Treadwell seemed unable to fit in comfortably. He felt more connected to the bears but in a very idealistic manner. The bears cannot reciprocate the feelings Timothy had for them, That didn't stop him from trying to connect with them, something he continued to do up until his death.
Lilia,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you presented Treadwell's view in your post. I have to agree with you on how Treadwell viewed nature as an idealistic force instead of what it really is. Treadwell romanticized nature to a drastic extent, especially with the wildlife, which in the end was a fatal mistake. Whereas Herzog was very much an extreme realist, to the point he makes nature look like something to avoid. The two definitely contrast one another, but at the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel as if they were to come together as a person with their personalities mixed, balancing one another out, you'd have your ideal environmental scientist and enthusiast. A good point you make is that he tried the method of nature vs. nurture, a point which I had missed that had been presented. I have to say, you definitely thought through with your response to the blog prompt and you assuredly did a good job presenting your ideas.