Grizzly Man Documentary Analysis

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“Grizzly Man” was made after Timothy Treadwell's death in tribute to his life.A life that not many would consider living. The film’s ambiance made me feel like Timothy was still alive. The style of this documentary held a very unique disposition, taking an unorthodox approach to capture the audience. Grizzly Man consists of footage Timothy shot of himself going through his adventures, interacting with the bears, daily routines as well as interviews conducted by Werner Herzog. This formatting creates a film within a film structure which aids in the films unique flare. The documentary mode found in this film is observational, participatory, expository although it shows some signs of reflective mode as well. The film’s focus is not on nature or even the bears, it rather hones in on the life of Timothy Treadwell following him as he committed his life to his …show more content…
Participatory is “raising the question about what is knowledge,” (Nichols.115) One clear instance of participatory mode for example is when director Herzog is interviewing Jewel Palovak. We get a shot of him listening to the tape of Treadwell’s death, he tells Jewel to turn off the tape as he could not bear (no pun intended) to listen to the rest of the tape. The audience is exploring with Herzog that at this point Timothy's death becomes a real undramatized event not to be exploited by the film, it makes the decision known, the audience are therefore must respect the decision when they realize his death deserves some privacy. Herzog interviews with Treadwell’s family and friends sheds light on a side of Timothy that would otherwise be undiscovered, the interviews further humanizes him. Herzog also interviewed experts such as the pilot that that brought Treadwell to the forest and the cornorner that examined his body. These interviews offer small but essential pieces to the story of tread well and helps round and fill the documentary’s