In the short video Timothy Treadwell says that “bears are very misunderstood”. I think that in this
statement he refers not only to the bears but also to himself, as being
misunderstood by society, both as an individual and for his work as the defender
of grizzly bears. In the movie Treadwell gives a testimony of his difficulties in
social interactions, thus he relies on the animals to be his friends. They ease
his loneliness not only for he is “alone” in the woods but also because of real-world
social difficulties. The animals react to him and give him unconditional love,
or so he thinks.
By his proclamation that “bears
are very misunderstood” Treadwell implies that he is one of the few that do hold
that understanding. In the footage he demonstrates his “understanding” in his
ability to push the bears off when they behave aggressively. The question that
arises to these repeated occurrences is not whether he knows how to uphold to
them, but rather why does he even need to – how he inserted himself into the
situation in the first place; he provoked and teased them, drawing them closer
and pushing them away at the same time. In disobeying the laws of camping in “the maze” he
does not only aspire to make a stand or initiate a change, as he states. For Treadwell
this represents the fulfillment of his desire to remain in the spotlight and raise
awareness – make bears understood – as his audience might grow bigger as the
danger increases.
Treadwell exchanged one
addiction, alcoholism, by another, grizzly bears. Both addictions posed a
threat to his life, satisfying his need to live “on the edge”. The bears did
not save his life from death by alcoholism, as he and his acquaintances claimed,
they merely deflected his fixation.
*Thank you Alec and Jake for reviewing my post.
I think that your comparison between Tim and the bears is very accurate. Both definitely seem to be misunderstood by certain groups of people. Tim is clearly misunderstood by society as being a crazy, unrealistic, individual obsessed with bears. The bears on the other hand, are in Tim's mind, misunderstood by society and in our minds misunderstood by Tim. Society believes that bears are vicious and cruel creatures, which Tim argues is a misrepresentation. From our view, Tim views the bears as being compassionate and "his friends." Both perspectives, giving the surrounding circumstances can be valid. Tim tried to represent the bears to the public by giving talks and teaching citizens about their kind nature. This turned around to contradict his teachings when he was attacked and killed by a "kind, friendly" Grizzly. Tim still believed until the day he died that the bears understood him, but I wonder what he was thinking at the time of his death. Did he realize that he was wrong about the bears? Did he finally grasp that bears are not friendly creatures? Did it click that maybe he did misunderstand the bears..
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