While watching the movie, I couldn't help but
draw parallels between Grizzly Man and Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild. The public
views both Timothy Treadwell and Chris McCandless in one of two ways: likeable,
misguided men who died tragically trying to find direction in life, or a couple
of complete idiots. Both make well-documented treks into the deep wilderness
under life-threatening conditions, and as such, controversy surrounds their
deaths.
But what is more important than these surface similarities is the
positive frame that Herzog and Krakauer put on their protagonists. Despite
public controversy, Herzog dives deep into Treadwell’s personal footage, which
documents his struggles with women and his history of alcoholism. I still find
him to be extremely strange and a little bit dumb, but it is difficult not to
sympathize him because grizzlies appear to be his entire life, and the passion
he feels for them is respectable. Similarly, Krakauer portrays McCandless’s
inner struggle as the cause of his ultimate trek into the deep wilderness.
Again, his motives are shaky, but his commitment to his ideals and his apparent
willingness to die for them are admirable, at least in the context of the book.
However, the documentation of both stories, both on the part of
the documentarians and the men themselves, is calculated. Treadwell had countless
takes of each shot he did, which guarantees, at least to me, that he knew
exactly how he wanted his own story to be seen by the public. I also believe
that McCandless wrote his journal in a way that would make him seem like a sort
of modern day Thoreau if he were to go public with it after his journey. It is
important to keep in mind within the context of both stories that there is a
clear point of view. Whether either man is a tragic hero is for the individual
to decide.
I just read Into the Wild for another class, so I kept thinking of it while we were watching Grizzly Man, too. I think it's interesting how both Treadwell and McCandless are presented in a positive light, but I can't help but think that leads viewers/readers to think on the negative side. I made up my mind from the beginning that I didn't like McCandless, and no matter how many times Krakauer tried to justify his actions, I argued against it in my head. I'm interested to see how this works in the case of Grizzly Man. I've already decided that Treadwell is strange and I don't find him sympathetic, but I wonder if Herzog will change my mind or if I'll end up disagreeing with his positive portrayal even more vehemently. It brings up an interesting question: if we're aware that we're being manipulated, are we more likely to play into the manipulation (by sympathizing with Treadwell) or to go against it (by hating him)?
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