"Grizzly Man"

Madison Ellis

TMA 273

Response Essay

           Despite its fatal topic, Werner Herzog’s “Grizzly Man” takes a leisurely approach to the life and death of Timothy Treadwell. Utilizing interviews, narration, and a hefty chunk of Treadwell’s own footage, Herzog provides a (relatively) nonobjective view into Treadwell’s story. Herzog himself had a very active roll in the film—he voiced his own narration and frequently asserted his presence in interviews. In one particularly emotion interview, Herzog himself gives the subject advice about what she should do with one of Treadwell’s tapes. The constant tie-ins to Herzog’s processes made the film an interesting viewing for film enthusiasts, but it felt alienating. Self-aggrandizing. It created a barrier between the film and me that didn’t need to be there. Treadwell’s story is about identity, obsession, paranoia, and activism. It didn’t need to be about Herzog, too.

            The scenes in this documentary that made me care were the ones where Herzog stepped back and let Treadwell tell his own story. Where Timothy filmed take after take of himself running down the same hill. Where he chased after the foxes. Where he asserted himself among the bears surrounding him. Treadwell’s footage was full of emotional, magical moments that humanized him and his struggle to the audience. Sometimes Herzog’s narration added to the wonder, but it wasn’t needed to create a connection to Treadwell’s character—Treadwell did that all on his own.

            As effectively as Treadwell attracted my interest, however, he also alienated it. The scene where Treadwell is yelling for rain affected me deeply. Up until that point in the film, I related to Treadwell like I would to any other socially awkward, post-alcoholic animal lover. At that moment, though, Treadwell crossed beyond my line of empathy. I couldn’t follow him that deeply into his psyche, and the rest of the film left me grappling for some basic, pieced understanding of Treadwell’s character. Even when he returned to the normal, sweet, charismatic teddy-bear holder, I couldn’t recover my empathy for him. After that point in the film, I watched Treadwell’s inevitable decline with a sort of detached horror. Treadwell let his paranoia and obsession overcome his humanity, and he ultimately paid for his instability.

As many issues as I have with Herzog’s self-characterization in the film, I feel like he treated Treadwell very truthfully. He didn’t manipulate Treadwell’s issues for sensationalism, but he also didn’t shield society from Treadwell’s truth. The film started with a Treadwell-esque treatment of Treadwell’s views on bear conservation and his mission. Slowly, Herzog introduced the other conflicts that muddied up Treadwell’s story and his intentions. Ultimately, I finished the documentary with an understanding of Treadwell’s point of view, Herzog’s interpretation, and my own opinions on what happened. Ultimately, “Grizzly Man” felt like a pure approach to Treadwell’s story.