Grizzly Man, a documentary by Warner Herzog, which documents the life and the untimely death of the Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell was a man who decided to leave human society four months each year and live among grizzly bears and foxes in the Alaskan Wilderness. Herzog uses Treadwell's footage to depict Treadwell's perspective of nature, while using interviews and his own narration to state his own ideas on nature. The two perspectives of nature are completely opposite of each other.
Treadwell saw nature as something that is pure and good. He felt that he was in tune with nature, he thought that he had a connection with the bears that he interacted with, feeling like they actually understood what Treadwell was saying. He even went as far as naming each of the bears. Treadwell also felt that it was his duty to protect the bears from the rest of humanity, in which he often felt at odds with.
Herzog, in contrast with Treadwell, sees nature as dangerous and wild, something not to be messed with. There is a fine line which humans should not cross, and Herzog felt like Treadwell completely crossed that line, and he even disrespected the bears by living so close to them. In the documentary, Herzog interviews an Alaskan aborigine, who shares the same view has Herzog; nature is beautiful, but it is also very harsh, but it also has to be respected by everyone.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteYour post is very direct, succinct, and well done. Treadle's view of nature was beautiful, but it was also, to me, a bit heart breaking, as it was definitely an extremely romanticized view and the fact of seeing him interact with nature much more than his own kind. There are many people out there who do mind and protect the bears and for him to go to such an extreme measure, in our eyes, to do so, exemplifies his mindset and possible case of a psychosis. I really like that you don't make Herzog seem like a complete jerk in mentioning that he does enjoy nature, because that's how I felt towards him as he narrated the documentary, which he was very harsh on Treadwell and I wish he would've advocated more for Treadwell, because he did have good intents. I do wish you would have implemented a conclusion incorporating your own opinion about the whole Treadwell and Herzog deal, but otherwise I really loved your post and definitely agree with you on the aspects you presented!
I really enjoyed your post; it seemed to cover pretty much the same main points as mine. I must admit, I tend to agree a bit more with Herzog's view of nature, but there is certainly something intriguing about Treadwell's. Timothy put his entire life into his opinion of the wild, while Herzog merely highlighted the flaws in Treadwell's ideas, then proceeded to voice the exact opposite ones. It begs an interesting question: Did Treadwell's apparent mental instability really make up for his vast advantage experience wise when it came to analyzing the world around us? Who knows what really went on in his incredible mind? Perhaps the only reason most rational thinkers lean towards Herzog's take is because he is easier to understand and relate to. We do have a tendency as humans to make the easy choice. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on how Herzog thought Treadwell crossed a line and disrespected the bears by living so closely with them, even though Treadwell thought he was protecting the bears and developing a deep connection with the bears. We also both have similar points in our posts on how Herzog and Treadwell's perspectives are completely opposite of each other, how Treadwell believes nature is innocent and kind, while Herzog believes nature is hostile and corrupt.
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