A
documentary is a nonfiction work that aims to document some aspect of reality,
or so we have been taught to believe. But we must take into account the point
of view of the director. He must be biased toward one particular side of the
story he is telling. Thus far this semester we have been told that we are
puppets being manipulated by the author. The line between reality and illusion
is often blurred. Why should a documentary be any different? By categorizing
his film as a documentary, Herzog is telling his audience that the events he
has recorded are factual. Yet in his interview he shares that there is indeed a
blurred line because he invents. He looks for a deeper truth, which very well
may not be the truth at all. As was the case in the two novels we just read,
this documentary is nothing more than a construct of the author. Are parts
factual? Certainly. But we as an audience are unaware of how much of
this documentary has been distorted because of the author’s bias. Has Herzog carefully
directed and produced this film in such a way so that he gets across a
particular story to his audience? I wouldn’t be surprised. It will certainly
contain parts from actual events, but the line between fact and fiction will be
blurred, so it will be impossible to distinguish for sure what is truth and
what is simply the director’s imagination at work.
After watching half of the film in class on Tuesday, I completely agree with your observation that the documentary is a construct of how Herzog perceived Timothy Treadwell, and thus how he wants us to perceive him as well. It is evident through the clips Herzog chooses that he is portraying Timothy as slightly troubled, and out of tune with reality. He show's the humorous and sometimes flamboyant sides of Timothy, as he talks about girls and explains that he's not gay. He shows Timothy's retakes and footage of Timothy shooting himself taking videos in the lake. If the documentary were to be about "saving the bears," Timothy's sole motivation for spending endless summers in Alaska, the majority of the documentary should be about the bears. Herzog would not have added clips of the coroner or the body of Timothy, because that's not what Timothy would have wanted. It is evident, after watching only part of the film, that Herzog's motivation behind writing conflicts with Timothy's ambitions of saving the bears.
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