I Will Die for the Truth

In the 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man, the audience journeys to Alaska with grizzly enthusiast Timothy Treadwell and follows his thrilling, yet dangerous life among the bears. This film, directed by Werner Herzog, is comprised of interviews with those associated with Treadwell as well as fragments of Treadwell's own recording. Apparent in the film, Treadwell was recording his time in Alaska in the hopes of developing his own documentary but died before he was able to produce anything himself. While living amongst the bears, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, where killed by these unpredictable and savage creatures. Herzog is a famed documentary filmmaker and philosopher who's work aspires to encapsulate a deeper truth. If Treadwell had been able to finish his documentary, it would have been vastly different than the version that Herzog presented encompassing all the same events. Herzog's film focuses not the bears that Treadwell was completely infatuated with but instead allows the viewer inside the troubled mind of Treadwell and the reality of his adventures to Alaska. In the essay, “On the Asolute, the Sublime and Ecstatic Truth,” Herzog states that a deeper truth can be found in the fine arts than found in facts. Through the medium of film, Herzog feels that he is able to convey the profound truth of a situation to the audience that no other method can provide. Throughout the film, Treadwell is seen screaming about politics and becoming hysterical when simply talking about grizzly bears. These animals that he is surrounded by completely posses Treadwell and lead to his ultimate demise. In Treadwell's recordings it appears that he is completely isolated to live with the bears, but the film reveals that he was often accompanied by his girlfriend. The reality Treadwell attempted to depict was very different from the truth beyond the camera. Herzog portrays a very different truth to Treadwell than what Treadwell would have offered himself.

I have found that whenever people watch this movie they can walk away thinking that Treadwell was either insane or a passionate martyr for his cause. Because Treadwell was a radical and fanatical man, almost to the point of absurd, it is difficult for many people to look past their own judgements of insanity to appreciate the honest spirit underneath. Herzog's film aims to present Treadwell in the most honest way to the audience by showing every dimension of the complex man. In his essay, Herzog says that “we also gain our ability to have ecstatic experiences of truth through the Sublime, through which we are able to elevate ourselves over nature.” Grizzly Man attempts to depict the ecstatic truth of Treadwell by presenting the audience with not only the facts of his situation but also his drastic emotional outbursts and genuine inner-dialogue. Herzog's effort to communicate this deeper truth is very affective and honestly depicts Teadwell to the audience even if they don't truly understand him. In order to elevate the audience above nature, Herzog prioritizes sincere emotion over precise facts. Watching Herzog listen to the unsettling audio recording of Treadwell and his girlfriend's fatal attack provides a sincere experience of emotion for the viewer even if they never listen to the recording itself. The deep truth Herzog describes is found in moments such as those when truth is found in emotion instead of facts.

Truth found in the fine arts is not a truth that can be easily understood or agreed upon by everyone. The truth of a piece can be very different for each different onlooker and so the truth found in it is undefinable. Grizzly Man attempts to illustrate the honest essence of a man as to better understand the choices he made that lead to his brutal death. Following Treadwell's story from the beginning of his travels to the end can teach the viewer a lot about why Treadwell did what he did and hearing about his life through his friends can be equally revealing. This truth that Herzog is searching for can only be achieved by encompassing these many facets of Treadwell's life and personality.

It is obvious in that film that Treadwell has been disconnected from reality in many ways, but appears to have found some sort of deeper truth while living with it bears. Defining the sublime is nearing impossible because the entire point is that it is above nature and reality in every way so Treadwell achieving the sublime through his disconnect from our reality seems completely possible. This truth that Treadwell has found with the bears appears to many as a death wish or insanity, but Treadwell sees it as the only option for living his life. The life that Treadwell chooses to live is a life very different from our own and is therefor very difficult to understand but comes closer to the sublime than anything I have come across within out limited society. 

In Herzog's essay, he states that the only thing man has in common with the gods is the ability to reveal the truth. Through his documentary's Herzog does just that and focuses on finding the ecstatic truth within a narrative. Herzog says that our minds can comprehend reality through facts while our souls can actualize truth through the experience of the sublime. This profound truth may or may not existence in Herzog's films for you as a viewer, but it remains his goal to come closer and closer to the truth with every second of film he produces.