A Few Words On Grizzly Man

Werner Herzog’s 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man, raises a lot of important questions about man’s relationship with nature. The film’s subject, Timothy Treadwell, headed into the Alaskan wilderness in search of a new life among the bears. Treadwell saw the world of the bears as a simpler, and more genuine way of life than his own. In many ways he was right. The life of a bear is much simpler than the life of a human, but it is often more violent, unforgiving, and hostile, especially toward outsiders. Treadwell devoted much of his life to living with the bears, and he found his eventual death among them as well.

Treadwell embraced the chaos and danger of the wilderness in his quest to protect bears and their natural habitat, but he was a troubled and misguided man. He immersed himself in the world of the bears, claiming to be their protector, but really only endangering himself. Treadwell was invading a foreign territory, inserting himself into a role that he deemed important and necessary. The bears are indifferent to the intentions of any intruder, and cannot identify with anything other than their own primal urges. Treadwell struggled with addiction and used his work with the bears as a motivation to become sober. However, he became dependent on the thrill of the wilderness lifestyle and was obsessed with the work and he threw himself completely into this pursuit. His obsessive need to view himself as a protector and savior of the bears bordered on megalomania. Treadwell projected his own desires onto the animals he loved so much. He saw the bears as needing him, not realizing that it was he who needed them.

Timothy Treadwell saw a clear distinction between the human world and the animal world, and he placed himself at the crux of the two. He saw humans as an enemy to the animals that he loved, and claimed that he was their sole guardian. What Treadwell couldn’t see was that his presence among the bears was as unnatural as anything could be. Animals deserve respect, especially in their natural habitat. Animals should be allowed to live uninhibited by any human action, and while Treadwell himself seemed to believe this, he still justified his actions in interfering with their lives. There seems to be no doubt that Timothy Treadwell did a lot to further awareness for bear protection and educated many people about nature and conservation. He was driven, ambitious, and daring. However, Treadwell confused his own needs with the needs of the animals he cared so much about. Treadwell turned away from society to escape a world he did not want to be a part of. In turning to nature, he mistook his own selfish desires for the needs of the creatures he could never truly understand.