Bear's?? check out this documentary..

[skyhiker2]

The Name of the Documentary is Grizzley Man..

This guy named Timothy Treadwell has lived in Alaska every summer for some 13 odd summers.. And yes he lives with Grizzley Bear's! He's off his rocker!! He films them and basically trys to pet them... Yes this guy with no protection try's to befriend Grizzley Bears and pet them. Eventually he is killed by one. ( Well deserved if you ask me.)

Anyway the point in this post is it changed my perspective of bears big time. I'am not as scared of them now, but I definitely have more repect for them. I often imagine what it would be like thru-hiking the At this March and crossing a Black Bear by accident somehow.. Well this lunatic does it on purpose and with Grizzley's no less.. Not only are the encounters entertaining. This guy "Tim" is Hilarious. This is a documentary that I think ever hiker would want to see..

If you have seen this movie I'am dying to hear what you thought of it...?

[Bloodroot]

Yeah I saw it. Tim was an idiot and it was a shame that his stupidity cost he and his girlfriend their lives.

[Fannypack]

The Name of the Documentary is Grizzley Man..

This guy named Timothy Treadwell has lived in Alaska every summer for some 13 odd summers.. And yes he lives with Grizzley Bear's! He's off his rocker!! He films them and basically trys to pet them... Yes this guy with no protection try's to befriend Grizzley Bears and pet them. Eventually he is killed by one. ( Well deserved if you ask me.)

Anyway the point in this post is it changed my perspective of bears big time. I'am not as scared of them now, but I definitely have more repect for them. I often imagine what it would be like thru-hiking the At this March and crossing a Black Bear by accident somehow.. Well this lunatic does it on purpose and with Grizzley's no less.. Not only are the encounters entertaining. This guy "Tim" is Hilarious. This is a documentary that I think ever hiker would want to see..

If you have seen this movie I'am dying to hear what you thought of it...?
Grizzly mauls, kills a bear 'expert' (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142982_bearattack08.html)

Why would a hiker want to see this documentary, to see how stupid this guy was? or how NOT to ineractive with a bear?

[Jim Adams]

beware!
if attacked by a grizzly...play dead.
if attacked by a black bear...fight for your life!
it is a proven fact that you are more likely to be attacked by a grizzly than a black bear BUT once the attack starts, you are more likely to be killed by the black bear.
geek

[Jan LiteShoe]

The Name of the Documentary is Grizzley Man..
This is a documentary that I think ever hiker would want to see..

If you have seen this movie I'am dying to hear what you thought of it...?

Skyhiker,
I saw the movie last year. It was an intriging film, a fascinating intersection of animal nature and human nature, with a hefty dose of ego thrown in. I thought it was interesting, controversial and worth watching.

Because of Treadwell's controversial ways, you'll get alot of blowback here. I wouldn't take it personally.

Best of luck on your thruhike.

[Jim Adams]

Treadwell was fairly "out there" but it was very interesting.
geek

[RadioFreq]

Grizzly mauls, kills a bear 'expert' (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142982_bearattack08.html)

If he was such and expert.....oh, nevermind, it's too easy.

[Jim Adams]

he was such an expert that he knew them from the inside out.

[Lion King]

Im sorry to whomever this might hurt or bug but I personally thought the guy was out of his mind.

it was a freaking refuge man...a place where the Grizzlies were already protected.

All he did was get them used to humans, great...now they know we taste good.

I thought at first as I watched it that "wow, this is awesome this is cool", but it wasnt about the place or the animals, it was about a guy slowly losing his mind becuase he was unhappy the world couldnt except him as an actor.

Sure he made contact and that is super..but you hang around grizzlies long enough, odds are you are going to get eaten.

When he started freaking out over the rain and Geshia and the "Little floating thing"...thats when I knew he was far gone man.

Rock on for trying though I guess

[Jim Adams]

kudos to the Lion King! I think that you hit it right on the money.

[saimyoji]

Do a search on this topic here. The discussion was rather heated a year or so ago.

[Lone Wolf]

wasn't no fries in treadwell's happy meal.:banana

[Lone Wolf]

bear hunt gone bad. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZnsL7-UdGc&eurl=

[rickb]

Bad for the bears.

[skyhiker2]

Grizzly mauls, kills a bear 'expert' (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/142982_bearattack08.html)

Why would a hiker want to see this documentary, to see how stupid this guy was? or how NOT to ineractive with a bear?


Both!

I just wanted to share the experiance of the movie... I guess I always wondered what would happen if you tried to pet the bears. LOL

Come on!!! You know you thought about! " I thought If I gave hime a piece of my sandwich he would'nt eat me and maybe I could pet him and he would lick my face like my dog does."... LOL ha ha ....

[bzmnboy]

I cant stand this. WHO HERE HAS READ THE BOOK!!!!!! It came out well before the movie and has a competely different view then the movie. The book is autobiograpical while the movie sets out to make him look like a psycho bear molester. Treadwell nearly died of an overdose before he began going to Alaska, he knew how lucky he was to be alive and I think this tripped the wire for his adventures. I am not denying that he was a little crazy, but I think he was no more crazy then someone who would Thru-Hike the AT. He had gotten a certain group of bears used to his presence and was completely safe around them, what happened was that he stayed too late in the season and the big mountain bears who are more aggressive came down and attacked. Saying that he deserved death is rash, especially when you dont know ALL the facts. There are many things that no one will ever know about him. Personally I admire and respect his decision, he knew as well as any that there was a realistic chance that he would die, but he had come close already so he didn't care. To make fun of him is obscene and very disrespectful whether you like him or not. After the movie I heard people talking about this "idiot" and "psycho" who got himself killed by a bear, but these people just saw the movie. Do you believe everything you see?
-Geoff

[Lone Wolf]

i shed a tear for the bear not a dumbass human.

[T-Dubs]

All he did was get them used to humans, great...now they know we taste good.


That was Steven Colbert's concern when he did this bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUfnI6v0rzk

"eating their way up the evolutionary chain until they get to man"

Tom

[Lone Wolf]

That was Steven Colbert's concern when he did this bit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUfnI6v0rzk

"eating their way up the evolutionary chain until they get to man"

Tom

that's funny right there.:D

[Bloodroot]

Crazy? How is thru-hiking the AT and messin with grizzly bears along the same lines?

[4eyedbuzzard]

I cant stand this. WHO HERE HAS READ THE BOOK!!!!!!
I read it back when it came out(99-00?), and yes, it certainly is written from a different perspective - Tim's. I think Tim's heart may have been in the right place(yeah, yeah, in the bear's stomach;) ) but he was way out of bounds in his actions and approach.

I am not denying that he was a little crazy, but I think he was no more crazy then someone who would Thru-Hike the AT.
I don't see them the same way. While it's true many thru-hikers march to the beat of a different drumbeat(yeah, a few are even "unstable"), most are just temporarily escaping from the day to day demands of a more complex modern life. Tim was trying to write his own tune and be a one man eco-warrior band without ever having studied music.

He had gotten a certain group of bears used to his presence and was completely safe around them, what happened was that he stayed too late in the season and the big mountain bears who are more aggressive came down and attacked.
This is the INSANE and IDIOT part. Bears, in ANY "flavor", are the largest, most dangerous predator on the continent. There are no "intrisically safe" bears - other than Teddy's and rugs. While they will USUALLY avoid humans, each and every one of them is very capable of UNUSUALLY killing and eating you, anyplace, anytime. Bears don't read the "bear behavior" books we humans write. What part of "wild animal" do people not understand?

To make fun of him is obscene and very disrespectful whether you like him or not.
He wanted the stage and spotlight - and he got it. The boos come with the accolades. That's showbiz.

[Lone Wolf]

excellent summation.

[saimyoji]

I thought the scene where he went off on the national parks people was hillarious: for entertainment value.

Junky thinking he can change the ecology of a stream to help bears get more fish: BOOO BOOO

Bears eating said junky instead: YEAH YEAH

[Mags]

Sorry, treating a griz like they were some animal at a petting zoo (complete with cute names) is just frickin' stupid. If anything, he put the bears in more danger because they became habituated to humans.

He reminds me of some people here in town: "Progressive do-gooders" on paper who are more about stroking their own ego.

Sorry. I feel sorry for his family, friends and his "lady friend". I feel sorry for the bears. I would not want ANYONE to die that way.

But, well, he wasn't exactly playing with a full deck. He brought it upon himself.


Treadwell did show a knack for cinematography (great framing!) and the music in the movie was quite cool (Richard Thompson did the score).

[Fannypack]

He reminds me of some people here in town: "Progressive do-gooders" on paper who are more about stroking their own ego.
Reminds me of town folks here in Richmond,VA. We have a zoo where the 2 bears were recently (in the last year) killed because one of them bit a child. Crazy story, will not give all the details but the city had a memorial for the bears and then had a naming contest for the 2 new bears.

IMHO, the city officials & many others, in this situation, are sending a bad msg to allot of the youngsters as well as adults. They seem to be telling us that these bears are to be treated a pets instead of using the biting of the incident as a forum for educating persons about bears and making sure that we all know that bears are wild animals (even though sometimes they may act in a tame manner). Are we educating our kids in the wrong way by letting them think that black bears are like "teddy bears" and should be treated as such?

For any of you who work with wildlife as your job, what do u think of the idea of naming wild animals in zoos (good or bad idea & why)? Btw, maybe namimg them is okay but i believe the same efforts that is used to humanize these animals should also be used to educate the public on the characteristics & behaviors of wild animals (of course, this approach would not sell as many newspapers).

Does anyone else see situations happening like this in other locales?

incident Details / Chronology: Maymont Bear News (http://www.maymontbears.com/maymont_bear_news.htm)

now i am off my soapbox, sorry for the rant.

[4eyedbuzzard]

...i believe the same efforts that is used to humanize these animals should also be used to educate the public on the characteristics & behaviors of wild animals (of course, this approach would not sell as many newspapers).
Does anyone else see situations happening like this in other locales?


Anthropomorphism(assigning human qualities to animals/things) is as human and American as Walt Disney. It's so widespread as to be inescapable. The problem of fantasy vs reality, and many people's inability to discern between the two, is also unfortunately widespread.

[dloome]

Tim Treadwell was irresponsible and stupid to the extreme. IMO, he accomplished nothing except to spread a dangerously inaccurate portrayal of brown bears with his activities in the media before his death. I really suspect this guy had serious mental problems.

And like Lion King pointed out, the area he lived in was an area in which bears were already protected. The guy was incredibly foolish and cavalier in his interactions with the bears and it killed him. Enough said.

This will blow your mind:

http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Odd%20Pics%202/Grizzly.html

Seriously, if you saw an animal like this would you go up and pet it?

[n2o2diver]

Anthropomorphism(assigning human qualities to animals/things) is as human and American as Walt Disney. It's so widespread as to be inescapable. The problem of fantasy vs reality, and many people's inability to discern between the two, is also unfortunately widespread.

Gee Yogi, I don't think Ranger Rick is going to like this.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Hey Boo-boo,

Whaddaya say we give ol Ranger Smith the slip - and slip out of Jellystone with a pic-a-nic basket or two? Hey-hey.:)

My daughter wants me to thru with her in 2010. Maybe we'll catch ya out there. Too far out to plan right now.

[SLL]

Gee I don't know BLEACH, I guess you would deem it A OK to blow it away? That's okay for you huh? Well good for you. I suppose that web site that you so brazenly pointed out to people is intended to show how ferocious and unpredictable bears are. Oh no! I retract, it shows how dangerous and predictable males are when they insecurities cause them to go out and shoot unsuspecting bears and then pose next to them with big platter like eyes and an ego the size of a small house.
As for Tim, you don't know what your talking about. You have no idea what the hell was going on. You gather your opinions from a film that was carefully edited by none other than the pretentious and highly stylizings of Mr. Herzog, fully famed by his presumptuous and pretentious connotations of other people lives. That's how he gets viewers, which in turn is how he makes money.
It isn't Tim you should be ridiculing, but then again, you are completely "out to lunch" with some of the political entities that surrounded him.
Why don't you tell us a little about Grizzly Bears dear?

[4eyedbuzzard]

Gee I don't know BLEACH, I guess you would deem it A OK to blow it away? That's okay for you huh? Well good for you.

Hey, if you took some time away from your over-reactionary response you might have read that the guy was deer hunting and the bear charged him. And, yeah, it's okay to shoot bears, especially to protect people. The framers left them out of the Constitution.


I suppose that web site that you so brazenly pointed out to people is intended to show how ferocious and unpredictable bears are. Oh no! I retract, it shows how dangerous and predictable males are when they insecurities cause them to go out and shoot unsuspecting bears and then pose next to them with big platter like eyes and an ego the size of a small house.

And what insecurities and persuasions are responsible for your attack and ego?:-? Unt, how long have you had zees feelinginks?;)


As for Tim, you don't know what your talking about. You have no idea what the hell was going on.

Most people here seem to have a very good idea of what Tim was doing - and know that his methods were dangerous for both people and bears. I won't even go into his motivations or psychological pathology.


Why don't you tell us a little about Grizzly Bears dear?

They killed Tim and ate him because he wasn't as smart as he thought he was. But go ahead, keep telling us how brilliant the dead bear expert was.:rolleyes:

Oh yeah. Nice first post, btw. Welcome to whiteblaze, from one newbie to another.:welcome

[4eyedbuzzard]

... the guy was deer hunting and the bear charged him.

:datz Seems there is more to this story.:-? The linked story at http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/O...2/Grizzly.html (http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Odd%20Pics%202/Grizzly.html) is actually two stories kind of rolled into one. The bear pictured did not charge the hunter or kill/eat any humans. The hunter was a local Air Force guy, not Forest Service, and was primarily hunting deer, but had also gotten a bear permit. http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/bearhunt.asp

Leave it to snopes to ruin another urban campfire legend...;)

[Socrates]

Crazy? How is thru-hiking the AT and messin with grizzly bears along the same lines?

To keep it in pespective, if a thru hiker was murdered on the AT and it made the news, it would probably sound something like this: "A hiker was found dead yesterday morning in Virginia on what is known as the Appalchian Trail. Other hikers who knew the man say that he had left from Georgia and was on his way to Maine on what is called a thru hike over 2,000 miles long and usually takes 6 months to complete..."

The average little city slicker would probably turn to their buddy and say "Screw that! You won't find me living in the woods for 6 months! Man, there's some crazy people out there!..."

Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge others until we've walked in their shoes, which is usually hard to do since we aren't the ones wearing them. What drives an individual to do something is personal and we have no right to say whether to not it's worth the risk. I personally admire the man. I can only hope to die doing something that love and believe in.

[4eyedbuzzard]

To keep it in pespective, if a thru hiker was murdered on the AT and it made the news, it would probably sound something like this: "A hiker was found dead yesterday morning in Virginia on what is known as the Appalchian Trail. Other hikers who knew the man say that he had left from Georgia and was on his way to Maine on what is called a thru hike over 2,000 miles long and usually takes 6 months to complete..."

The average little city slicker would probably turn to their buddy and say "Screw that! You won't find me living in the woods for 6 months! Man, there's some crazy people out there!..."

That has actually happened[AT Trail murders], and more than once. But in the final anaysis even the city slickers will agree that hiking should not carry with its other risks the acceptance of being murdered by another human. We can rationalize a bear attack as the act of a wild animal. We hold fellow humans accountable for their behavior. I don't call city slickers crazy because they venture out jogging and get murdered in Central Park - I call them crime victims.


Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge others until we've walked in their shoes, which is usually hard to do since we aren't the ones wearing them. What drives an individual to do something is personal and we have no right to say whether to not it's worth the risk. I personally admire the man. I can only hope to die doing something that love and believe in.

I'll agree that we often judge too quickly, and most always based upon our prejudice and less than perfect information. That's why I looked up the hunter/bear article on snopes, and would have edited my original reply if allowed. That said, we do have the right to judge personal behavior simply as an opionated thought and it many times exposes us to differing points of view. It is part of the educational process. We also have the right and duty to legally judge when someone's actions affect us or our society's policies and laws.

Most bear experts, those who have also devoted their lives studying bears both from an academic AND hands on standpoint, will tell you the best case scenario for bears and humans is that the two never meet in a close enough proximity for physical contact to occur. While this is obviously impossible in a shared finite habitat, Tim went out of his way to do exactly the opposite. While his videography is exceptional, he contributed little to the body of knowledge concerning bears, as his interaction with them must often be factored into their observed behavior. His passion for habitat preservation is laudable, but his field methodology was not only contrary to methods established by more educated and experienced wildlife conservationists, it was often downright illegal under National Park Service rules. As someone who lives in bear country(several live in the wooded hills directly behind my home, and I have had them in my back yard/pasture), I can tell you the worst thing for bears is for them to become comfortable and unafraid around humans, as it almost always results in a dead bear.

There is much to be said for LIVING a life doing something you love and believe in. There is no glory in being mauled to death by a bear.

"The best that you can hope for, is to die in your sleep."

[Socrates]

buzzard - i mostly agree with ya. when you put it in such a well thought out manner, i tend to respect it more. not to mention that it also makes sense. i agree that man should not interact with bears, for the saftey and well being OF the bears. he WAS in the wrong. but i'm sure he believed in what he was doing so i respect him to a degree. jesus, i'll show a little respect to anyone who's got the pecans to touch a wild grizzly! so i just think it's harsh for someone to directly insult him and his work.

[Lone Wolf]

buzzard - i mostly agree with ya. when you put it in such a well thought out manner, i tend to respect it more. not to mention that it also makes sense. i agree that man should not interact with bears, for the saftey and well being OF the bears. he WAS in the wrong. but i'm sure he believed in what he was doing so i respect him to a degree. jesus, i'll show a little respect to anyone who's got the pecans to touch a wild grizzly! so i just think it's harsh for someone to directly insult him and his work.

Those Aholes that flew jets into the twin towers and the Pentagon BELIEVED in what they did. That took pecans. They get no respect. Treadwell gets no respect.

[Bloodroot]

buzzard - i mostly agree with ya. when you put it in such a well thought out manner, i tend to respect it more. not to mention that it also makes sense. i agree that man should not interact with bears, for the saftey and well being OF the bears. he WAS in the wrong. but i'm sure he believed in what he was doing so i respect him to a degree. jesus, i'll show a little respect to anyone who's got the pecans to touch a wild grizzly! so i just think it's harsh for someone to directly insult him and his work.

Who is insulting him? I merely said that hiking the AT and what Treadwell did are by no means along the same lines. It is crazy, and the notion that these two things correlate are even crazier.

Respect? Hogwash! In no way did he prove anything to the scientific community except reineration of how STUPID homo sapiens can be in regards to their environment.

[AbeHikes]

In the movie, I loved the looks on the faces of the people who kind of knew Treadwell, but didn't "know" him. The ones who had encountered him... Not his friends.

They were doing everything they could to keep from saying "that boy was jackrabbit crazy."

[Socrates]

In no way did he prove anything to the scientific community except reineration of how STUPID homo sapiens can be in regards to their environment.

What I respect is love for nature. His love for an animal that could kill him at any moment... and did... It doesn't matter if he was delusional... Which I think he was... The guy loved bears and that's what I respect... You don't have to help science to earn mine.

[Bloodroot]

What I respect is love for nature. His love for an animal that could kill him at any moment... and did... It doesn't matter if he was delusional... Which I think he was... The guy loved bears and that's what I respect... You don't have to help science to earn mine.

Well I love raging rivers and the fish in it. Would you still have respect for me if I jumped ) off a 100' bridge and into that river?

Hell I love bears, but I know through experience to keep my distance.

[Socrates]

Well I love raging rivers and the fish in it. Would you still have respect for me if I jumped ) off a 100' bridge and into that river?

Hell I love bears, but I know through experience to keep my distance.

sure i'd respect ya! i wouldn't do it, the same as i wouldn't try to touch a bear, but i'd respect your decision. it's your life, not mine. elvis died on the crapper and look at how much recognition he still gets. this guy died being with nature so i respect it.

[Mags]

ii'll show a little respect to anyone who's got the pecans to touch a wild grizzly! so i just think it's harsh for someone to directly insult him and his work.

It takes "pecans" to stick your hand in a meat grinder, too.

It takes "pecans" to touch a downed powerline.

Finally, it takes "pecans" to stand in molten lava.

I can't say I really respect all three of the above. :-)

[Mags]

Have any of you who "respect" Mr. Treadwell enoucntered Grizzly bears in the wild?

The best way to respect bears is to let them live in their natural environment. By habituating grizz's to humans, you are disrespecting them.

Remember, we are visitors to nature. Not full time residents of "Mr. Grizzly's Petting Zoo".

[4eyedbuzzard]

Socrates,

I appreciate your post. I must admit that I can appreciate Tim's daring and fearlessness to some degree, he certainly had a bigger pair than I.

I really hope that if people can come away from Tim's life and death understanding just one thing, that good intent is not enough, then perhaps he will not have died completely in vain. It's a lesson we all often need to be reminded of. All of us, from hunters through animal rights proponents want healthy animal populations. Responsible conservation and management is more, however, than just an emotional, one-sided, "save the bears" issue.

[SLL]

Most bear experts, those who have also devoted their lives studying bears both from an academic AND hands on standpoint, will tell you the best case scenario for bears and humans is that the two never meet in a close enough proximity for physical contact to occur. While this is obviously impossible in a shared finite habitat, Tim went out of his way to do exactly the opposite. While his videography is exceptional, he contributed little to the body of knowledge concerning bears, as his interaction with them must often be factored into their observed behavior. His passion for habitat preservation is laudable, but his field methodology was not only contrary to methods established by more educated and experienced wildlife conservationists, it was often downright illegal under National Park Service rules. As someone who lives in bear country(several live in the wooded hills directly behind my home, and I have had them in my back yard/pasture), I can tell you the worst thing for bears is for them to become comfortable and unafraid around humans, as it almost always results in a dead bear."

Well thank you for speaking rationally without the use of the words "idiot" or "eco freak" speckled through the dialogue.
Most experts? Which experts are you referring to? I mean are you only including ones with PHDs after their names, such as Jonkel or Stringham, two experts with highly contrasting ethics on bear protocol. OR how about the likes of Russell and AuMiller? All of these people excel in bear knowledge through their experiences.
Don't get me started on the park service.
Seeing that the Whitefish area among others, the Flathead region seem to be foisting public development into prime territories at an accelerated rate, the chances of keeping humans and bears the "safe" 50-100 yards distance will prove to be of great difficulty. Bear encounters are bound to happen, preeminently due to poor educational efforts within communities and indifferences to the real dangers of the situation. Educational bear funding is scarce and with perhaps the exception of The Center for Wildlife I fail to see any real effects in the agencies. Hopefully in the near future this will dissipate and through all the media hype on bears these days more aggressive educational tactics will come to fruition and be taken seriously.
Most bear biologist get their "hands on" work while doing internships and slowly melt into the background of scientific paperwork and monograph editing. Those who are in the field practice capture and release to acquire their data and though I supported the Craigheads, as they were the first with radio telemetry, I believe that capture and release has now become a form of organizational means to obtain funding. Keeping bears afraid of people is a "hunter" mentality. Bear and people can live safely among one and other as long as the proper educational steps are provided clearly and plainly to the public who live in Grizzly country. Most reasons that biologists tell you that bears are, and here I will quote some of the old adjectives from the 1958 version of The Blob, FEROCIOUS, DANGEROUS, DEADLY, FEARSOME, and last but not least MAN EATING! If my only experience with a bear was when I came upon it after trapping it and then having to dart the bear while it was quite agitated and trapped, I too, would be weary of the bear, however, and fortunately, my experiences have been more than immortal. There is only so much scientific bear activity one can consistently challenge and by constantly harassing a bear in this manner is to me a hell of a lot more DANGEROUS and FEROCIOUS than anything Tim did with the already passive bears of Katmai, especially Hallo Bay and Kukak.
Recently at the IGBC, speaking of financial agendas, the topic of the coal mine in the Flathead area came up. Servheen stated that they needed financial aid to do a study on the area and habitat use of the Grizzly. He wanted something to the tune of $500,000. Now, about 10 to 15 years ago a very extensive study was done JUST for this purpose by McLelland. What is the point of doing any scientific studies if they are not for the use of the future. We spend more money on repetitive research than on the things that need attention now. Education.
Which brings me to this, Tim did a fine job on education and raised a lot of money for bear habitat and conservation. No, he wasn't your "conventional" teacher and he very often got over excited but he held their interest, taught them to appreciate wildlife without fearing it BUT taught them also how to appreciate it from a distance. He was a wonderful guy who went through a LOT of bs that caused him a LOT of grief but he continued and in the end he had finally figured out what was going wrong, it was just too late. Cut the guy some slack, don't get caught up in the films lack of depth and blatant disregard of some crucial facts.
I have had myriads of teachers and professors in my life and the ones I remember most, who taught me the most were always unconventional.
It is way too easy for the public to move among the sheep when it comes to Treadwell because things were left out and twisted and because "Hollywood" has become the end all of trance like propaganda to fact and fiction. He was a human being who went through his own transformation and although his "methods" were less than ethical at times, he was real, he believed in his cause and he had a lot of "experts" on his side. He was trying and learning. We are a part of nature, not apart from nature.
I did have some ranting's with Treadwell and do think that at times some of his methods were way over the top but I also know of all the other entities that came into play with him and his reaction was pure Treadwell.