As the movie progressed, I found myself finding Timothy more and more ridiculous. At the beginning I found him to be odd (I had a hard time not seeing him as an Andy Dick-esque person). Further on in the movie, I became convinced that Timothy was not well. His diatribes and antics bordered mentally ill and I found his needing to stay with the bears to be extremely unhealthy. Furthermore, his "protection" of the bears was not good for the animals. He did not belong in the wild with those animals, as he should have known from the numerous warnings posed by the government, and was only serving as a detriment to their lifestyle. It is unfortunate that those around him supported him in these actions, instead of helping him find help for, apparently, deep seeded problems that had plagued him his entire life.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Unsurprising
I was taken aback when the helicopter pilot said that Timothy "got what he deserved. I found it horribly disrespectful for him to say that Timothy deserved to die at the hands of the animals he loved. However, I have tried to believe that this is not what the man meant to say. Instead, I believe that the helicopter pilot simply meant that he was not surprised by what happen. Moreover, he believed that Timothy should not have been out there in the first place, that by risking his life for so many years it was simply a matter of time before he was killed by the bears. In this aspect, I completely agree with the helicopter pilot. Sure, Timothy loved the bears. Perhaps it is true that bears have gotten a bad rep in the past. Still, bears are dangerous, as Timothy admitted, and his death was more or less inevitable.
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It sure is interesting the range of reactions we've had to Timothy! I totally sympathize with your increasing unease regarding him, Ethan, but I do think the film at least tests what we mean by 'normal', 'healthy', 'appropriate', etc. You say that he did not 'belong in the wild with those animals', but it becomes difficult to describe what is meant by 'belong' here. It was certainly 'unhealthy' in the sense that he perished, ultimately, from living with them, but in what other ways can we determine who 'belongs' where (I mean this as a genuine question)?
ReplyDeleteRegarding the question of his mental health, one fact that supports some traditional concepts of mental competence is that he stayed only summers there (which suggests that he did recognize some limits and need for human interaction).
If we are to abstract every element of existence, "normal" begans to lose some meaning. Perhaps in the sense of what is defined as "normal", contextually within our society, Timothy is deviating drastically. However, I believe his obsession and seemingly reckless brashness stems from his intrinsic sense of purpose derived from being with bears. He died fighting for something he believed in, thats how he wanted it. I believe that is a value most would argue is admirable. Is it only when these values take unfamiliar forms do we dismiss them/fail to recognise them?
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