Werner Herzog’s, Grizzly Man, is a documentary about Timothy Treadwell, an eccentric individual who became famous and controversial for his annual trips to Alaska where he interacted with the wildlife; Grizzly Bears in particular. The film analyzes Treadwell’s character along with his struggle to understand life. A very apparent part of his struggle relates with one of our topics, religion.
Treadwell’s biggest struggle dealt with his misunderstanding of why the world is the way it is. He had problems with human civilization and felt there was an unfair balance in the circle of life. His comfort in the wild was a result of his discomfort with society. “I'm in love with my animal friends! In love with my animal friends. I'm very, very troubled. It's very emotional. It's probably not cool even looking like this. I'm so in love with them, and they're so f-ed over, which so sucks.” This quote shows how he couldn’t understand why humans were this way, or even why the world was this way, “f-ing over” the animals. In one part, there is a draught that is affecting the wildlife, and Treadwell looks to a higher power for help. “I want rain. I want, if there's a God, to kick some ass down here. Let's have some water! Jesus boy! Let's have some water! Christ man or Allah or Hindu floaty thing! Let's have some fucking water for these animals!” In this quote he reveals his struggle to find answers. He doesn’t appear to actually believe in any god. This is most likely the result from his belief that no god would allow the world to be this way. Eventually, it does rain and Treadwell reacts. “I am the Lord's humble servant. I am Allah's disciple. I am the Floaty Thing's go-for boy. There has been a miracle here. There has been an absolute miracle. It has rained 1.65 inches of rain today!” Treadwell’s sarcastic tone again hints that he is unsure of what to believe. His feelings about the human world influence his thoughts about a higher power. His struggle to live in this world makes him skeptical that there is a god “looking over” the world. I think this shows the way a person’s religious beliefs are greatly influenced by the life that they live.
-Jordan
I agree with you Jordan. I feel that Treadwell isn't sure what to believe in, because he doesn't agree with his own species and doesn't know who to ask for help. I have seen shows on T.V about people who live in the mountains away from civilization but most of them dont struggle with which religion they follow, the general consensus is most of them follow christianity. But I think this movie is not just about Treadwell's struggle with nature, but also his struggle with himself. My question is does anyone think they could live the same way Treadwell does?
ReplyDeleteJordan, this was a really great post! Treadwell was definitely struggling with the idea of religion. I think that he felt a tremendous amount of inner turmoil (and possibly suffered from some type of mental illness) which made him feel very conflicted in his religious beliefs. There is no doubt he was very spiritual, but he seemed to follow his own set of beliefs. He seemed unable to find his place in religion, similar to how he was unable to really find his place in society. And to answer your question Shane, I could NEVER live like Treadwell! I was in disbelief while watching the film...
ReplyDelete-Amanda
I agree that the "Grizzly Man", Timothy Treadwell has a very deep and struggling belief system involving religion. I agree with what Shane wrote, that Grizzly Man is about his own struggles finding out his own beliefs, while turning towards the wild Alaskan wilderness as his medium to find out what his beliefs and perspectives are.
ReplyDeleteNick