Bear or Human?

The movie “Grizzly Man” raised some very thought-provoking questions about the life of Timothy Treadwell. The director, Werner Herzog does a great job of staying neutral in a movie that I felt would be hard to stay neutral in. Instead of taking the obvious “Timothy was a nutcase and menace to society” route, he spent much time focusing on the positives, and had people seriously consider the validity of Timothy’s mission. In an attempt to fully understand the motives of an individual such as Timothy, it is important to take into account both sides of the argument. He even goes as far as praising Treadwell as a good filmmaker. Some of the questions that I felt were brought up were: Is there a line between man and nature? Did Treadwell relate better with bears than with humans?
I feel that we are essentially a part of nature, at least to a certain extent. We ultimately are the product of nature and therefore I believe that although humans aren’t exactly able to adapt to nature now, we are a part of it. Through the efforts of becoming modern and such, we have broken away from nature. And I think for the most part, Treadwell felt a deeper connection with nature than humans. From his childhood, it was obvious that he didn’t exactly fit in. As a result, he probably turned to bears and wildlife as an alternative. In this way, I feel that Treadwell did relate better with bears and felt as if he understood them. Through his interactions with the bears, it was apparent that he felt a certain closeness to them that he really didn’t possess with humans. Herzog did a good job of portraying this in a way that did not alienate the audience against him, but often sympathized with his cause.