The film we watched about Timothy Treadwell was interesting, but at the same time, a little disturbing. The first and main reason I felt it was disturbing was because it was like watching the moments before someone's death, when you know it's coming. The fact that he was a real person (and that this wasn't just a staged film) gave in an almost creepy tone in my mind. Also, the fact that he is now dead makes me feel bad (or worse I guess) about saying I think he was mentally unstable. I believe there is something deeply ingrained in us by our culture that says once a person passes away it is wrong to say anything negative about them. That's how it feels, at least.
My problems with what Timothy Treadwell was doing are not easily put into words. I do believe that bears, as living creatures, deserve to be treated with respect, and to me, respecting them means leaving them alone and letting them live out their lives like normal. Timothy Treadwell clearly had good intentions and wanted what he believed to be best for the bears, but I do not agree with how he went about it. Some of his actions in the film were mildly disturbing as well, beginning with the fact that he was naming these wild animals and treating them as though they were puppies he just adopted from a pet shop - which clearly was not the case. He named the bears and even acted as though they were close personal friends. I was annoyed with him when he was filming the fox playing with his hat (which, I will admit, was pretty adorable) and then he got angry when the fox took off with the hat. He was calling after it and demanding that the fox bring the hat back. One has to ask, did he really believe that this fox - a wild animal - was going to understand what he wanted and bring the hat back? Did he not expect something like that to happen? It was just incredibly bizarre. Even domesticated dogs and cats who are used to having humans talk to them and tell them what to do would not necessarily return the hat.
The way Timothy Treadwell talked and acted reminded me of someone who was either 1) on drugs or 2) developmentally delayed mentally and/or emotionally. Like I mentioned before, It feels strange to say this at all, let alone about someone who has since passed away, but I am trying to be honest in this blog. I think the fact that he loved the bears and wanted to do everything he could to protect them and give them the best life possible was admirable. He seemed to think of them as his family and friends, which I'm sure is how a lot of us view our pets. I know when it comes to my cat, I feel similar to how Treadwell seems to have felt - I treat her sometimes the way I would a friend. I even talk to her as though she were a friend on occasion. However, I found it incredibly strange that Treadwell seemed to believe that these bears were just like him. I recognize the differences between humans and aminals, and realize that we don't have to be the same in order to love and respect all the animals in the world. I think it's a shame that Treadwell lost his life because he so misjudged the bears he was working with.
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