Grizzly Man

While watching the clip of Grizzly Man in class I became fascinated with the story of Tim Treadwell. So interested in fact, that I went out and rented the movie so I could see the entire thing. My comments in this post will not be isolated to the 30 minutes that we saw in class, so I apologize to all of you in the dark-- you should go rent it.

One of the most interesting observations that was made in the movie, in class, and on the blogs is the fact that this was "his religion." Wanting to be a bear has been seen as carrying a spiritual value, which, in my estimation, is seriously lacking some of the fundamental building blocks of what a religion is.

Timothy had a true love for the bears, and this love was created in his ability to overcome his own demons by using his perceptions on the lives of the bears as his inspiration (no matter how accurate his perceptions may have been). I respect his dedication to a cause that he believed in, but this love is no more spiritual than an individual truly dedicated to any other cause or group (whether animal or human --- yes, I put that distinction in there).

Tim's actions seem to indicate that he wanted to, as he himself wrote, "mutate" into a wild animal. This transformation, however was out of necessity to survive the conditions, not out of some delusional desire to be a bear.

One of the more entertaining scenes in the film shows Tim's true human nature (as we learned about in one of our earliest readings), where he, out of desperation, "prays" to God, 'Jesus-boy', Allah, and the "Hindu floaty thing" for rain to come. This reversion to the human nature to believe in something beyond their control, despite his admittance that he understands the scientific nature of weather, is similar to the author of the New York Times Magazine article describing how, whether believer or atheist, we all have these tendencies. What is more interesting is that, when the rain does come, Tim shouts and rejoices how it is a miracle (and attributes this rain to one of the many deities he has just prayed to). As evidence he points to the fact that his radio has announced that it is only raining in his location, not anywhere else nearby.

I do not see Timothy's story as religious in nature. He did have a profound love for the animals, but this love does not justify a religion. He, very interestingly, used the expression of this love to make him feel more comfortable with his place in several mainstream religions- at one point discussing how he believes, if there is a God, that he would be very pleased with him because he is working hard for someone (actually something) else that he sees as in need of his protection.