A Documentary Review: The Grizzly Man

Was Timothy Treadwell Morally Just? 

The moral implications and admirability behind Timothy Treadwell’s work in the Grizzly Man remain ambiguous. 

On one hand, we must acknowledge that Treadwell’s behaviors and interactions with nature imposed on the bears, crossing an unspoken boundary between humans and nature that should never have been crossed. 

That begins said, one could also posit that nature’s indifference toward humans as Herzog makes apparent through his cinematography makes it so that Treadwell’s interference with nature had insignificant any impact. Thus, if nature were truly indifferent to human intervention as the documentary suggests, then Treadwell’s actions and imposition into the bears’ environment would theoretically have no impact. However, does the lack of negative consequences render his actions moral, or must we also take into account the absence of a direct positive outcome? 

Treadwell’s efforts to film and document his life co-existing harmoniously with the bears was subconsciously a selfish decision meant to fill a void caused by his early substance abuse and failed acting career. Through his time with the bears, Treadwell finds comfort and safety as we can see him opening up about his true feelings toward civilization and crudely expressing his thoughts. 

Now, we must consider if intention plays a role in the distinction of one’s morality. In Treadwell’s case, his motivations are seemingly pure. From Treadwell’s perspective, he was merely carrying out a necessary and noble task no one had done before him. In fact, he states that his love and dedication to the bears supersedes the value of his own life, claiming he would succumb to death if need be and refuse to fight back. Ultimately, Treadwell ended up dying at the hands of a bear. 

While some may argue that his demise was a result of his irresponsible and immoral intervention with bears and nature, the circumstances of his death may have actually strengthened his bear conservation efforts. Therefore, one could suggest that the outcome of Treadwell’s expeditions led to overall positive ends, and hence, nullifies the minuscule immoralities with his inference of nature.

That said, despite his just and well-meaning intentions with the bears, Treadwell’s execution was slightly skewed. Although he truly believed that his work would have paved the way for bear protection, I believe that his efforts to film and document his life co-existing harmoniously with the bears was subconsciously a selfish decision meant to fill a void caused by his early substance abuse and failed acting career. Through his time with the bears, Treadwell finds comfort and safety as we can see him opening up about his true feelings toward civilization and crudely expressing his thoughts. As a result, underlying his surface-level intentions for his yearly exile with the bears, he is also driven by selfish means. 

Ultimately, due to Treadwell’s ambiguous actions and motivations, the moral implications of his work remains unclear.