Grizzly Intentions

After viewing Grizzly Man in class, discussions sparked both in class, and on www.anamericanstudies.com. For those of you who aren't familiar, Grizzly Man is a documentary (created by Werner Herzog) about the life of Timothy Treadwell, a man who spent 13 summers filming and living among Alaskan grizzly bears. Timothy and his girlfriend were eventually killed by a grizzly at the very end of his 13th summer.

Timothy Treadwell (right) 

One of the questions raised about this film was "Did Treadwell get what he deserved?".

I strongly believe that one's faults are mostly in their intentions, rather than their actions. After viewing this film, Treadwell seemed to have the best intentions for these animals, despite the issues people saw with the execution of his actions. (i.e invading a wild habitat and introducing animals to human exposure) I then realized- do I really know the intentions Treadwell had?
I only had a mere glimpse into this mans life, and the side of Tim that I saw was the side that he wanted the to world to see. Not only is it possible that Tim acted very differently when his camera was rolling, but it is also possible that Herzog portrayed Tim the way that he wanted to as a film maker. Herzog had thousands of hours of footage to use, but he specifically simmered it down to 100 minutes.

Tim said a million and one times: "I love these animals more than anything in the world". I have no doubt that Tim felt a deep connection to these animals, but as seen in the movie, Tim could rant about the government one second, and then suddenly switch back to being a "kind warrior" the next. He may have loved the bears more than life itself, but perhaps his intentions were not to love and save these animals, but to become famous for saying so. It is naive to automatically assume that Tim Treadwell was a selfless man just because he proclaimed himself as such.

Due to the fact that I don't know what Treadwell really felt, it is hard to say whether he "got what he deserved". Even though I don't agree with the way Tim "saved" these animals, it doesn't mean his unconventional life deserved to be ended. His dream was atypical, but who am I to say that it was wrong? Although I don't know how Tim truly felt, it would be ridiculous to say that a man who only wanted to give, deserved to be taken.

Ttyl? Xoxo...

While reading Mr. O'Conner's blogpost about the Kindle, I started thinking about other forms of technology that perhaps, unknowingly shape our society. My inspiration was not hard to find after looking 3 inches to my right and spotting my cell phone.

The cell phone is undoubtedly cemented into today's society- especially America's. I hate to admit it, but my cell phone will be within a 10 ft. radius of me 99% of the time. I see how this behavior is pathetic, but what cell phones have now allowed us to do is what really scares me. 

Believe it or not, telephones were not always around (gasp!). Yes, people either had to speak face to face or send a letter, and God only knows how long that took. Once the telephone was invented, people could communicate across town with out ever leaving their home, but the ability to see that person's face was taken away.

Cell phones took it one step further when the age of texting started to irrupt. Texting allowed people to send quick messages without having to place a call, but it then took away the ability to hear the other person's tone of voice. This is where I see the problem.

A large percent of my generation now feels that the ability to see or hear someone does not seem relevant. You're still talking to them right? Is there a difference?- The answer is yes. I don't want to sound dramatic, but text messaging is desensitizing humans. People today (mostly young people), now hold regular conversations via text messaging. I am most definitely guilty of this, but I've started to recognize the side effects it has on me. 

Allow me to elaborate.
The Homecoming dance is quickly approaching at my high school, and a lot of people turn to texting when searching for a date. After telling my parents this fact, they promptly reminded me: "In my day, you couldn't ask a girl to homecoming by sending a heartless text message! You had to ask her to her face, and take it like a man!". As much as I hate to admit it, they are right. I personally know people that not only have gotten asked to homecoming, but also gotten dumped via text. The dump-er didn't want to hear her crying or see her in pain, so he texted her. I also have a friend that refuses to call the boy she likes over the phone because she feels, and I quote: "That would be so awkward...."See my point yet? People are scared to talk to one another. And by "talk", I mean actually talk. 

I wish I could call everyone that sees this blog post so you could all hear the voice that I write this in, but... wouldn't that be awkward? 

The Success Meter

I often wonder who measures success. I wonder if America has a 'one size fits all' success scale, and is the top of that scale the "American Dream"?

Take rap for example. I'm a fan of rap music. I listen to a lot of music, but I'll admit to the fact that I enjoy quality rap. (Believe it or not, this is relevant)
Rap constantly intrigues me. Mostly because my community doesn't exactly produce much of it.... Quite frankly, a lot of rap music buds from parts of America that culturally function very differently than mine does. Coming from a sheltered, affluent, North Shore suburb doesn't leave a lot of room for cultural exposure.

Moreover, a lot of mainstream rappers are expected to have a lot of fancy things, and in this case- bigger is always better. Even though I enjoy some of their songs, their "success" is not the type I dream of attaining. Does that make them unsuccessful or am I just using a different scale?

I'm sure there are millions of Americans that think Big Sean or Lil' Wayne are living the American dream, but if I disagree does that make me crazy for not wanting "success"? Perhaps I was just never told that their type of success existed. Growing up, the recipe for success that was passed down to me always managed to contain the words "college", "job", and "married".

Let's look at it from my view shall we?
George Watsky is another artist I listen to, and he also happens to be one of my idols. He is a young man in his early 20's, and after competing in slam-def poetry competitions for much of his youth, he finally added beats under his poems and started to create amazing raps. But George Watsky's raps are not like Big Sean's. His songs are carefully crafted, and are real pieces of poetry, rather than an upbeat tune I'd put on a "Car Jams" mixtape. The funniest part is, George Watsky is hardly well known. He is one of the most talented individuals I've ever come across, but yet he lives a very modest life and does what he loves. To me, George Watsky is more successful than all the mainstream rappers combined, but that is just in my eyes. One set of eyes in a nation of 300 million. Watsky may be living my definition of the American dream, but clearly not for all of America.

... I do believe I just answered my own question.

*Just for kicks and giggles? Presenting: George Watsky*
WARNING: This video contains references not appropriate for persons under the age of 13