I've been watching Timothy Treadwell's "Grizzly Man Diaries", and I've got to say the series is better than the original special on his life and work with the grizzly bears in Alaska. He took some amazing video footage of bears and foxes and his still photography just blows me away.
To me it is a wonder that he didn't get eaten sooner by bears. He got so close to bears that he would touch them. They are wild animals and he totally humanized them in his mind and elevated himself into some sort of super-hero animal protector in his mind IMHO. I think he was crazy as H-E-double hockey sticks! He camped alone for months at a time in a TENT, did not have a rifle or pistol, ranged a large area sometimes using bear paths, and got in very close proximity to bears.
What do you think? Was he a genius? Was he insane? Egomaniac? Excentric?
There is insanity in genious, I believe. Many of the greatest thinkers and inventors usually walk a fine line between sane and insane.
Timothy Treadwell was a drug abuser, who felt he had nothing to lose (as he gave up his addiction), and he turned all his attention and passion on the grizzly bears. In my opinion, he was a very sensitive individual, with perhaps a few cards short of a full deck, but with genuine love in his heart to try to protect those amazing animals.
I read the book (loved it!) and watched the original documentary, which really did seem to portray him as a fruitcake. He did bring to light the poaching problem that still goes on, and made the bears seem so much more "real". As a general rule I think the less human medling with bears is the best idea, however, those gorgeous creatures need to be protected, and I think Timothy did a great job getting that point across.
Reg: 08-29-2006
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Quote: ingrid halonen
What do you think? Was he a genius? Was he insane? Egomaniac? Excentric?
He was a N-U-T...but egomaniac works, too.
I have not read his book nor have I watched "Grizzly Man Diaries", but I did watch the documentary twice and it ranks up there as one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Timothy's antics, along with the film's dead-pan narrator, left me howling. Probably not the intended reaction.
The documentary also left me with the impression that for all his supposed compassion and respect for the bears, it was less about them and all about Timothy...his needs and his magical thinking. Whatever good work he did, and that's really debatable, his last act for his beloved bears was drawing attention to the fact they can kill and eat you.
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What do you think of the late Timothy Treadwell?
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