When we lie to ourselves, we only need to lie to ourselves. But when we make our world into a lie, we need to convince others we live in the lie we make. In the movie, we see Timothy with his camera, providing footage of himself and bears, giving commentary that he is there to help them, and that he is their protector. A very interesting detail is that there are multiple takes in these short clips. He fully intends to use this footage to educate others, but is there a purpose for himself as well? Timothy had no idea he would not make it back to civilization. Was he planning to use these "scripted" moments to convince the rest of the world he was at home, sure of himself, and utterly content? Perhaps those moments helped convince himself of that very fact.
When projecting a "delusion" onto a world, you need passive actors whose actions you can construe in a way fitting to your version of the world. In a way I am reminded of Shutter Island, where the main character's delusions were enough to completely overcome the reality that he lived in. The rest of the psych ward was "playing in" to Teddy's concept that he was a detective being trapped, in order to bring him out of it in the end. In Grizzly Man, the bears aren't conscious of Timothy's view of his life on the reservation. Thus, the bears cannot actively rebuke his view that he protects them and they love him, although we do see a bear swat him out of the way at one point in the documentary. Because of this, Timothy can keep living in the world he has constructed for himself as he tries to convince others he is sure of it.
I think it's great how you pointed out that Treadwell is "scripting" himself. Even if Treadwell survived and we were seeing the footage the way he intended it, that would still be a manipulation. It would just be Treadwell manipulating us instead of Herzog.
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ReplyDeleteIsn’t lying to ourselves in a way making our world into a lie? Thinking back to earlier class discussions, we talked about how we all have our own individual realities. So, by lying to ourselves (which we all do in some form or another), we are incorporating lies into our reality. Which then calls the “realness” of “reality” into question—but that’s another discussion. You say “we need to convince others we live in the lie we make.” I like this idea that to some extent we require validation of our lies. It adds a layer of complication about how we are capable of validating a lie, and how by doing so, our realities are all interconnected.
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