For someone to spend that much time alone in nature, it makes sense that Treadwell’s view of the world was skewed compared to ours. However, that doesn’t mean that his view was wrong. Sure, we’ve discussed how we believe he has some mental illnesses, but he based his thoughts and feelings off of what he saw and witnessed. That is something we in the “real” world have generally lost. We are so commonly told how to feel, act, and respond that we might lose contact with our surroundings. I think that this is why nature is so abused today. We no longer have the spiritual connection to the forests and lakes and wild animals that our ancestors once had. Treadwell saw through the veil that civil life leaves upon us. He was able to spiritually bond with nature, but this altered his personality, which is why his behavior is so strange to us.
I think he wanted to be a bear and to belong in nature so badly that eventually he really did become a part of the wild. He saw the natural world as something beautiful and dangerous and in need of protection. His desire to belong made him crave understanding of his surroundings, which led him to return year after year. And as he saw more destruction, be it natural or caused humans, his rage slowly built. Eventually, he just started blaming human society and government for everything. This rage in conjunction with his altered personality traits led to his explosive behavior we saw in the film.
Treadwell saw humans as the enemy. I think this started long before he began spending his summers alone. When he was an alcoholic and constantly in trouble his frustration with life really emerged. His mission in Alaska gave him an outlet for that frustration. Although he was camped illegally in the reserve, he did have good reasons to be angry at the humans who would go there. People hunted the bears and harmed his precious environment, and the authorities did little to help out. I’m not saying Treadwell was perfect by any means, but I definitely see where he was coming from when he expressed his frustration.
I think that it’s important to remember that Treadwell was a person, not some enigma to laugh at on screen. He died for what he believed in, which to some may seem foolish. However, Treadwell’s combination of isolation, troubled past, and misfitness led him to have a very unique life. As his friends and family described in the documentary- he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI find your point of view interesting and very important. I think the documentary that we watched made Treadwell out to be something he wasn't. I feel as though it focused on the negative aspects of his isolation and personality than his true intent and perspective. Despite the almost definite mental illness that he possessed, I think he was misunderstood, and sometimes we perceive those who are different with being mentally challenged, sick, or "not right". There is something to be said about his dedication to the bears and the love he so obviously had with nature in general. I believe you truly and accurately captured Treadwell and the idea that he was a person in love with the natural world. Thanks for sharing your point of view! It really made me reflect on my own and how I view Treadwell.
Thanks Abs!
DeleteTaylor,
ReplyDeleteYour perspective on Treadwell is very insightful. I appreciated so much how you pointed out that the spiritual connection to nature is something that we do not have or understand in our society. When I look at all the harm humans are doing to the environment it becomes clear how far we've strayed from that connection with nature that Treadwell wanted so badly. For me, each paragraph made a very strong statement that spoke to Treadwell's passion for nature, and in too many cases, our indifference towards it. Thank you so much for sharing, great job!
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI think you hit this spot on. Your part about what we have lost as humans in the "real world" was perfect. Treadwell may have felt things towards nature that we just cannot. He truly felt one with the bears. I love how you incorporated his history into his feelings towards the bears and Alaska. I agree that he died as a martyr of some sort, a martyr for nature.
I definitely agree that we are destroying nature and that we have lost our connection to it. To Treadwell nature was so very vulnerable and a spiritual place to him, but I also think he did not see the realistic side of nature.
ReplyDeleteOn a realistic level Treadwell would have died from the environment itself without clothing, food supplies, and connection to the illusion of the human world. This is reality, nature can and does kill us. But it is also reality that we ourselves are killing nature.
Treadwell had good intentions to bring forth what we do to our environment, but I think he ulitimately showed the opposite. I do agree that it is wrong to laugh at his beliefs, he is the result of his past environment and choices. I do however feel that he was unrealistic, that is why people didn't take his message as seriously as he believed it was. The message he wanted to show is real, but the methods of showing it was comical to the outside world.