Grizzly Man

Last night we watched the documentary *Grizzly Man,* detailing the life of Timothy Treadwell. For those that don't know the story, Treadwell had been spending the past 13 summers living among grizzly bears in the Alaskan wilderness. In October of 2003 he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were mauled to death the day before he was set to head back to CA. The majority of the documentary consists of video shot by Treadwell during his summer "expeditions", revealing some unbelieveable footage of grizzly bear activity/behavior. What made Treadwell such an interesting subject was his persistent belief that he could live, survive, and eventually become a part of the grizzly bear habitat/community. Some of the footage shows him touching grizzlies on the nose, swimming with grizzlies, camping next to fox dens, etc. Of course, his behavior drew the ire of many for what they considered his naivete, and the "dengerous" message he was sending about humans attempting to live among wild animals. All of these concerns are valid and interesting, but what I want to focus this entry on is Werner Herzog's (director) treatment of Treadwell's material.

All documentaries, at some level, reveal the filmmaker's desire to convey a certain message. Although this film has garnered much critical acclaim, I think Herzog's manipulation of Treadwell's story ultimately detracts from the compelling story of his life. Thus, while viewers might ponder the ethical questions concerning the attempts of "man" to conquer nature, I became distracted by Herzog's attempt to conquer Treadwell. For example, on several different occasions, Herzog inserts himself in the film via narration to take issues with some of Treadwell's positions about grizzlies and nature, or to simply censor Treadwell's anger against the Park service. In one revealing scene, Treadwell is seen ranting at his camera over the park service (they were threatening to ban him from the park because he wouldn't follow their rules about keeping safe distances from the bears), poachers, and others who wish to kill or harm animals. Herzog allows viewers to see this footage, but turns the volume down because he (Herzog) doesn't think Treadwell is being "fair" to the National Park service. This certainly raises interesting research and methodlogical questions, and I'm thinking this would be a good film for a research methods course. All that said, Herzog does have sympathy for Treadwell, and I am definitely glad such a film was made. It's a must see if you ever get a chance.

Happy 2006.