Question: What kind of person was Timothy Treadwell? Is Warner Herzog trying to portray Treadwell as a hero of enironmentalism, a deluded incompetent, or something in between?

1200-1600 word complete draft of essay analyzing "Grizzly Man," the Warner Herzog documentary about the life and death of grizzly bear fan, amateur documentarian, and aspiring nature film presenter Timothy Treadwell.-

The Essay Question

Address the following issues in your essay (in any order you like):

• What kind of person was Timothy Treadwell? Is Warner Herzog trying to portray Treadwell as a hero of enironmentalism, a deluded incompetent, or something in between?
• What were Treadwell's goals? Were they about "protecting the bears," or were they more self-promotional in nature? To what extent did he achieve them?
• What do you think this documentary's "lesson" or "point" (or theme) was? What idea(s) was it grappling with, and what can an audience learn from it?

Where To Find Evidence To Support Your Claims

Use summary of the film to support every claim (argument) you make about its intent and meaning. Some of the elements of the film you may be summarizing / analyzing to support your claims:

• Sound--music, Treadwell's filmed monologues, sounds, Herzog's voiceover, and testimony from interviews with others
• Image--how people/scenes are framed (close up/far way, detailed/blurry, what's in focus and what isn't), who is pictured, the setting Herzog chose to film them in, how characters move/look/dress.
• Editing & Filming Techniques--how does film transition from one scene to another, and what camera angles and types of shots used
• Pacing/Structure--the order information is given to us and how it affects our reception of the film, how fast or slow things move

Other Assignment Details

Organization Requirements

• • An introductory paragraph with:
    • 1-3 sentence summary of the controversies/issues Herzog is addressing
    • 1-3 sentence thesis statement that tells us about the film's themes/ideas/message(s)
  • A body paragraph for each major idea or topic you address (all body paragraphs should support thesis statement). Body paragraphs should all contain:
    • a topic sentence stating what the paragraph will cover and what it will argue
    • support sentences that include quotations or summary from Herzog's film 
    • analysis sentences explaining
      • how the quotations and summary provided serve as evidence your topic sentence claim is true
  • A conclusion paragraph with:
    • 3-4 sentence restatement of your main idea & most important pieces of evidence 
    • an outro/farewell/"big picture"/future prediction ending sentence
  • >>>>See "Paragraphing 101" slideshow for more details on any/all of these essay paragraphs and what they might look like<<<<<