Grizzly Man: A Documentary

[PeacefulWarrior]

Many of you may have heard of Timothy Treadwell, a self-described advocate for bears who was mauled to death last year along with his girl friend.  I just finished watching the documentary about his life, much of it compoased of the footage he shot during the 13 summers he spent in the Alaskan wilderness.

If you saw it, what did you think?  Just curious.

[Covelo]

Many of you may have heard of Timothy Treadwell, a self-described advocate for bears who was mauled to death last year along with his girl friend.  I just finished watching the documentary about his life, much of it compoased of the footage he shot during the 13 summers he spent in the Alaskan wilderness.

If you saw it, what did you think?  Just curious.

Hi Peaceful,

I have the dvd right now and will soon watch it, but I wonder what you have to say about it since you're asking others and have just seen it yourself.

This documentary appears to be a very powerful one.  I have heard quite a bit about it and saw a few clips of it and would say that it seems like the main guy is really passionate about helping these bears and trying to get a better understanding of their lives and to connect with them on a deeper level.  

It also sounds like the footage would be quite beautiful.

Maybe I'll have more to say after I've seen it.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Although it may seem strange that I am asking people about a film that I have seen, I was very aware of the omission of my own opinion.  I did not want to color the perceptions of others by giving my own views on the film.  As an educator, I have found that when one asks a question with the desire to receive a sincere, unbiased answer, one cannot simultaneously give his or her opinion.  

But what the heck, here I go anyway (briefly, since it's my bed time):

First of all, the film is a spectacle, in the sense that it is both visually stunning as well as shocking.  Some of the footage of the bears, and the country side, is breathtaking.

Treadwell, in my opinion, is the primary focus of the film, not the bears nor what he was able to stir up back home.  This is not a film about bears, nor is it really a film about the fight to protect bears; it is not even a film about a man trying to get closer to animals or nature, in my opinion, although many will no doubt see it that way.  It is more a film about one man's anguished soul, and the refuge from the "civilized" world and his own alcoholism that he finds in Alaska.

The film treats the subject matter fairly objectively, showing both sides of the issue.  In the end, poor Timothy's heart was really into what he was doing, but his head wasn't.