The Violent Truth About Nature

For centuries, members of our society have perceived nature to be a romanticized entity, disregarding the inevitable dangers that exist. One individual that shared this mindset was Timothy Treadwell, known to many people as the “Grizzly Man”. Treadwell lived among the coastal grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska for 13 summers. At the end of his 13th summer in the park in 2003, he and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed and eaten by a grizzly bear. Treadwell's life, work and death were the subject of the 2005 documentary film by Werner Herzog titled Grizzly Man. The film tackles numerous deep issues about man's role in the world and his place in nature. (See Trailer Below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogYDUmIigw0

The ideas and issues of this film are similar to William Cronon’s The Trouble With Wilderness. At one point in the reading Cronon explains, “Among the core elements of the frontier myth was the powerful sense among certain groups of Americans that wilderness was the last bastion of rugged individualism.” This is a perfect example of Timothy Treadwell and his relationship towards the environment in which he found refuge. Throughout the documentary, Herzog explains to the viewer that Treadwell had an individualistic mindset when in regard to nature within the Alaskan wilderness. Treadwell used nature as an escape from his life back home, and he saw nature as a place where he could be free from all of society’s restrictions and judgments. Treadwell never looked at nature from a realistic standpoint where nature is actually violent because its inhabitants have to fight and struggle to survive. Humans aren’t adapted to that type of life and never will be.

Cronon expands further on this issue, saying, “Idealizing a distant wilderness too often means not idealizing the environment in which we actually live, the landscape that for better or worse we call home,” along with, “The romantic sublime was not the only cultural movement that helped transform wilderness into a sacred American icon during the nineteenth century. No less important was the powerful romantic attraction of primitivism, dating back at least to Rousseau—the belief that the best antidote to the ills of an overly refined and civilized modern world was a return to simpler, more primitive living.” Cronon’s explanation on romanticizing nature is similar to Werner Herzog’s thought on this issue. (See Video Below 2:08 – 4:08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xQyQnXrLb0

In a segment of the video (2:08 – 4:08), Herzog explains that nature is “violent” and is not the romanticized image of the wilderness that most people see as harmonious. He also describes nature as “lacking order” and "chaotic". However, in the end Herzog makes clear that he “loves the jungle, but he loves it against his better judgment”.

Conclusively, Timothy Treadwell’s story epitomizes the fact that humans cannot successfully live in a wild and primitive environment without repercussions. Cronon and Herzog exemplify this fact through their works, and suggest that while people can enjoy the wilderness, it is necessary to acknowledge the very real dangers that nature entails.