Sunday, February 05, 2006
Human, Nature
Last night I watched Werner Herzog’s Grizzly Man on the Discovery Channel. I’d been waiting in keen anticipation for this, having missed it at the cinema. My initial, visceral reaction to meeting Timothy Treadwell through his own videos was instant dislike. Beyond self-absorbed, his “kind warrior” self-aggrandizement and what I take to be an exceedingly unrealistic attitude to nature made for a portrait of man that I held in deep contempt.
And yet…
Over the course of the program, I came to admire Mr. Treadwell’s passion and physical courage in the pursuit of his work. I was instantly won over by the fact he never charged a fee to bring what he had learned into classrooms and lives of children. Minus the bizarre rants, wet commentary and posturing, his videography of the bears, foxes and the environment were stunning. I can’t believe that more conventional, academic biologist could have amassed the same quantity and quality of documentary evidence on bear behavior, and I earnestly hope chair-and-book researchers are making good use of his data.
Mr. Herzog’s treatment of the subject, and those who knew him, was a stunning bit of documentary filmmaking. Mr. Herzog’s documentary style seems a little detached and sterile to me at times, but his artistry and philosophy cannot be denied. He is particularly to be commended for not including the now-infamous audio recording of the death of Mr. Treadwell and his companion. Lesser, more sensationalist and greedy producers would have made it the central feature of the movie, just to sell tickets and controversy. Not only was Mr. Herzog’s decision the best one artistically, it was supremely moral. I’m also impressed by the way in which Mr. Herzog revisited his own film with those who were in it (and in some cases, were producers of it). Allowing them to comment to the contrary after the fact was also an act of ethical filmmaking, and made for a more satisfying conclusion to the whole. The Discovery Channel execs and whoevers are to be thanked as well, for broadcasting this “DVD extras” material.
One individual interviewed in the film, the owner of the helicopter/air haulage company, used the expression Mr. Treadwell “got what he deserved” at the jaws and claws of the bear. At first I agreed, but upon mature reflection, that is both an indecent and inaccurate analysis. I’m not sure I would wish such a savage and terrible death on anyone, even those whom I might hate the most, or deem guilty of the most heinous crimes. Yet, fire burns; play with it irresponsibly and you will be hurt. Bears kill; they rend and bite, tearing flesh and crushing bone. Like all non-human animals, they do so without enthusiasm, remorse, planning or reflection, because they have no humanity. Bears are bears, without any sort of human intellect or emotion or motivations. To imbue them with such is an insanely stupid thing to do, whilst interacting with them. I am awestruck that one who lived in such close proximity to these animals in their own environment should not have recognized this. One individual interviewed for the film spoke from the intersection of anthropology and the indigenous culture, saying that native peoples of the region avoided bears for this very reason. Again, I am dumbfounded someone who claimed to be so deeply in touch with nature could be so profoundly ignorant of its mechanisms.
Mr. Treadwell and those who knew him are quoted in the film as saying he wanted to become a bear. Those who knew him give contrary evidence as to whether he feared or welcomed death from a bear. It is very clear from his video and diary accounts that towards the very end of his life, he had all but rejected “the people world.” So I think in the end, Timothy Treadwell did get what he wanted. He wanted to be transformed, to become a bear, and that is exactly what happened. In being consumed by the bear, he became part of that bear for a short time, in the natural way; the unemotional, irrational and deterministic way that is the way of nature. I’m sure we are all at peril if we forget---or reject---the place of humanity in that way.
And yet…
Over the course of the program, I came to admire Mr. Treadwell’s passion and physical courage in the pursuit of his work. I was instantly won over by the fact he never charged a fee to bring what he had learned into classrooms and lives of children. Minus the bizarre rants, wet commentary and posturing, his videography of the bears, foxes and the environment were stunning. I can’t believe that more conventional, academic biologist could have amassed the same quantity and quality of documentary evidence on bear behavior, and I earnestly hope chair-and-book researchers are making good use of his data.
Mr. Herzog’s treatment of the subject, and those who knew him, was a stunning bit of documentary filmmaking. Mr. Herzog’s documentary style seems a little detached and sterile to me at times, but his artistry and philosophy cannot be denied. He is particularly to be commended for not including the now-infamous audio recording of the death of Mr. Treadwell and his companion. Lesser, more sensationalist and greedy producers would have made it the central feature of the movie, just to sell tickets and controversy. Not only was Mr. Herzog’s decision the best one artistically, it was supremely moral. I’m also impressed by the way in which Mr. Herzog revisited his own film with those who were in it (and in some cases, were producers of it). Allowing them to comment to the contrary after the fact was also an act of ethical filmmaking, and made for a more satisfying conclusion to the whole. The Discovery Channel execs and whoevers are to be thanked as well, for broadcasting this “DVD extras” material.
One individual interviewed in the film, the owner of the helicopter/air haulage company, used the expression Mr. Treadwell “got what he deserved” at the jaws and claws of the bear. At first I agreed, but upon mature reflection, that is both an indecent and inaccurate analysis. I’m not sure I would wish such a savage and terrible death on anyone, even those whom I might hate the most, or deem guilty of the most heinous crimes. Yet, fire burns; play with it irresponsibly and you will be hurt. Bears kill; they rend and bite, tearing flesh and crushing bone. Like all non-human animals, they do so without enthusiasm, remorse, planning or reflection, because they have no humanity. Bears are bears, without any sort of human intellect or emotion or motivations. To imbue them with such is an insanely stupid thing to do, whilst interacting with them. I am awestruck that one who lived in such close proximity to these animals in their own environment should not have recognized this. One individual interviewed for the film spoke from the intersection of anthropology and the indigenous culture, saying that native peoples of the region avoided bears for this very reason. Again, I am dumbfounded someone who claimed to be so deeply in touch with nature could be so profoundly ignorant of its mechanisms.
Mr. Treadwell and those who knew him are quoted in the film as saying he wanted to become a bear. Those who knew him give contrary evidence as to whether he feared or welcomed death from a bear. It is very clear from his video and diary accounts that towards the very end of his life, he had all but rejected “the people world.” So I think in the end, Timothy Treadwell did get what he wanted. He wanted to be transformed, to become a bear, and that is exactly what happened. In being consumed by the bear, he became part of that bear for a short time, in the natural way; the unemotional, irrational and deterministic way that is the way of nature. I’m sure we are all at peril if we forget---or reject---the place of humanity in that way.
