Nature From Two Perspectives

Grizzly Man, a documentary by Werner Herzog, focuses on Timothy Treadwell's experience with bears in southern Alaska. It is evident that Treadwell sees himself as a man of the bears. Not only does he feel the need to protect them, but he feels as though he is a bear and classifies them as family, naming every bear he encounters. Throughout the course of the documentary, Herzog makes it known that his views differ from Treadwell's, "[believing] the common denominator of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder". He sees the bears as violent creatures, and perceives Treadwell's summers in Alaska as dangerous and harmful to wildlife.

These two varying views provoke a serious topic humanity has to ponder. It has been said that Treadwell's relationship with the bears was disrespectful to them and their territory, but Treadwell believed the complete opposite. Although Treadwell saw them as aggressive animals, he believed they would do no harm to humans as long as they did not show weakness toward the bears. He wanted to provide awareness for the bears and protect them from poachers and other harmful acts, so he took it upon himself to live with them and give them the protection they need. 

Many spectators of Treadwell's behavior saw this a sign of disrespect to the animals. As Noys states in "Antiphusis: Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man", "[Herzog] accounts for Treadwell’s fate as the result of a transgression of an ‘invisible’ boundary between humans and nature". Herzog's point was supported in the documentary by an Alaskan Native, who stated "[Timothy] tried to be a bear. He tried to act like a bear, and for us on the island, you don't do that. You don't invade on their territory". Herzog believes that nature is dangerous, violent, and should be left untouched by humans, therefore he sees Treadwell's behavior as a disruption to nature. 

Both views portray a different set of ideals regarding nature. Treadwell believes humans are nature and they need to exist in nature in order to protect it and keep it at it's full value. Herzog believes the opposite, stating "[he] discovers no kinship, no understanding, no mercy [with nature]. [He sees] only the overwhelming indifference of nature". Both Treadwell and Herzog have different beliefs when it comes to nature, but neither one is considered truthfully accurate; it's up to humanity to decide where humans belong in nature.