Timothy Treadwell

Last night I watched Grizzly Man for my fourth or fifth time. I have always been intrigued by this movie. This time I wanted to watch with a somewhat different perspective. I wanted to look closer at how he is connecting with animals and set aside my preconceived notions about him.

My initial thoughts of viewing Grizzly Man in the past - I thought Timothy was a little crazy, although a beautiful person. This documentary shows that he truly loves animals. Initially I struggled with whether or not his love of wildlife was entirely selfish, as a way to treat his alcoholism or if it was sincere and unselfish. In my past viewings of this film I thought it was amazing to see bears this close, to see their movement for prolonged periods of time. This was not a still frame and it was not hiking in Alaska and thinking, "Shit a bear - run!" It was amazing. I wondered if I was getting tricked into believing that this portrayal was completely natural.

This time around I had a new perspective. Below is a bulleted list of notes I took during the film:

• Timothy intended to show bears in their natural habitat


• "He wanted to leave the confinements of humaness." -Herzog


• Treadwell connected immediatley with school children and never charged a fee for numerous visits to schools


• "I think they've been misunderstood." Treadwell's response to an interviewer referring to bears as the most dangerous animals


• "I would not go into a bear's home and kill a bear." -Treadwell


• "Bears kill for survival. They are big and ferocious and come equipped to eat you." -Police chief


• "He wanted to become the bear." - Treadwell's friend


• Treadwell wanted to mutually mutate into a wild animal - to connect so deeply that you're no longer human. -Treadwell's friend


• Insight from Larry Van Dacle, bear biologist, "humans desire to get into the bear's world - they see it as a simpler way of life, but it is very different from the human world and you cannot be a part of the bear world."


• Interview at Native American museum in Alaska - Treadwell tried to be a bear and this is the most ultimate form of disrespect. We've always avoided bears and they avoid us.


• Grizzly People Organization - founded by Timothy Treadwell and his friend - "To protect and preserve habitat."


• Timothy makes a plea for people to stop fox hunting and trapping. He states that if people only knew how sweet and kind these foxes were they would let them keep their beautiful fur.


• "Be a spirit in the wilderness." - Treadwell


• "Thank you to these animals for giving me a life, I had no life." -Treadwell


• Treadwell wanted to care for and protect the bears and other wildlife, he states, "They needed a caretaker and not a drunk."

I watched this movie with my partner and he was sarcastically agreeing with statements that Timothy made and that other people were making. I was taking everything in, sincerely trying to understand what drew Timothy to this lifestyle. I believe that many people viewed Treadwell's life as a joke and that he deserved what happened to him. I completely disagree. I am struggling with the impact that Treadwell had on bears ideas about humans by presenting them with a human who is kind, who loves them, and does not want to harm them. Although, I was able to see the beauty and sincerity that Timothy portrayed. At risk of sounding cheesy, he might sound like a nut telling animals "I love you" repeatedly, but I connected with Treadwell, because I want to tell every animal that I love them! But what is love and why does he love them?

Treadwell tells of his journey through alcoholism and how the bears saved him and gave him a reason not to drink and gave him a life. When people are judging Treadwell and calling him nuts or crazy or an idiot, I wonder where his life would have gone without his relationship with wildlife. If he had continued drinking and made a documentary about his relationship with alcohol would people have preferred that Timothy Treadwell?

Timothy was connecting with wildlife by living in their environment, by giving the animals names, by talking to them, by telling them stories. He was thankful for their existence every day. While Timothy had a deep connection to these animals, it seemed as though his presence was not significant to them. It appeared that sometimes they physically came close to him because they were curious, not necessarily because they were welcoming him into their home. He was always "the gentle warrior" as he called it, and knew when to be on guard.

This leaves me wondering can you truly connect with a person or animal who has you on the defense at all times? In the documentary, many times, Treadwell would tell a story with his back turned to a bear, he would have to keep turning around to make sure the bear wasn't coming too close with a certain look in its eyes. A bear would appear to be ready to strike and Timothy would be the warrior that he needed to be in that instant. Afterwards he would repeatedly tell the bear he loved him. As I did with my previous posts, I am pondering this relationship in the form of human to human. Consider one person trying to make friends with another, who, for whatever reason, might attack at any time. They almost attack you, you fight back verbally, they walk away. You tell them you love them over and over again. And you continue to persist in trying to be their friend.

I tried to find similarities in my grandmother's story and Timothy Treadwell's story. Grandma and Timothy both named their wildlife friends, Grandma allowed photographers to be very close to them to take photographs to share with the world and Timothy shared his videos with the world. Grandma and Timothy spoke to children, inspiring them to write numerous letters. Grandma responded to every letter, I imagine Timothy might have as well. Grandma did not ask for anything in return from photographers, tourists, or schools. Treadwell didn't ask for a cent for his numerous visits to schools.

The differences I found were that Grandma was inviting these birds to her front yard, she wasn't going to their home. These birds did not frighten Grandma in any way. She was physically able to help them when they were injured. She fed them. Certain eagles would hang out at Grandma's house all day, appearing to be perfectly content. In a spiritual sense, appearing to be watching over Gram.

Treadwell was trying so hard to connect with these bears and it seemed that they weren't open to that connection. Treadwell was able to make a connection with the foxes, as they wandered onto the top of his tent and let him pet them. He did not have to be on guard when he was connecting with them.

The images that Treadwell showed in his numerous hours of video are amazing and the closest many people will ever get to a bear. Although, the documentary told much more about Treadwell's emotional unstability than about wildlife. It gave a visual representation of bears, foxes, their surrounding environment, and Treadwell's observations about their relationships with each other.

Bears, foxes, and wildlife impacted Treadwell's life tremendously, without them, Treadwell's life would have gone down a different path and this documentary would not have been made and shared with the world. Although possibly viewed as one-sided, Treadwell's relationship with bears was still a significant one. Many are unsure about the overall impact Treadwell had on the bears, but I believe that the impact the bears had on Treadwell's life deserves them tremendous respect.