Werner Herzog: Documentary Analysis

Grizzly Man does not only show the story of Timothy Treadwell, an actor who decided he would move to Alaska and spend thirteen years living among grizzly bears until one claimed his life, but also challenges watchers and spectators to understand his message through the way in which the information is presented: as a documentary of a documentary. The director Werner Herzog guides the audience through the multifaceted account of Treadwell’s adventures through editing, narration, and research outside of the original footage. As watchers try to decipher what part of the truth Herzog may be showing out of Treadwell’s footage, Herzog tries to makes sense of the character of Treadwell. Finally, Treadwell, throughout his own footage, shows he is also trying to understand the false appearance of nature and how he interacts with it. Only through its meta-narrative presentation does Grizzly Man bring into discussion its three layers of verisimilitude: (1) Herzog’s documentary which focuses on (2) Treadwell’s documentary which focuses on (3) the relationship of man and nature.

Werner Herzog’s documentary moves us to determine the truth in his work. In Lynn Cinnamon’s article from 2015, she writes that Herzog even sees fiction as

It is clear he is the main subject of Herzog’s film, not the bears. He becomes like a character in the literary sense that both the audience and Herzog try to make their own assumptions of and analyze. Some people, such as Sam Egli, the helicopter pilot who assisted in the cleanup of Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, are critical of Treadwell’s actions, saying he had good intentions but was also asking to be eaten because he crossed the line between humanity and nature. Others look on in amazement and fond memory such as his Kathleen Parker, a friend of Treadwell’s who helped him in the winters when he was away from