Feb 10
Media Arts Center San Diego San Diego, CA
TicketsDr. Rulon Clark
Professor of Biology, San Diego State University
Grizzly Man— Trespass against us: Animal territoriality and human ignorance
Program Description
How does animal territoriality inevitably come in conflict with human nature's curiosity at co-existing alongside dangerous animals, and what are the ramifications of such tension? Dr. Clark also discusses the film itself and how it envisions animals and humans in close proximity to each other. Herzog's approach to the story also reveals the contradictions and inadequacies of documentary form to properly address the enigmas of Timothy Treadwell's perspective and ultimate demise.
Film Synopsis
A devastating and heartrending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzlies in Alaska.
Grizzly Man chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell, who was killed, along with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, by a rogue bear in October 2003. In one of the most extreme—and ultimately tragic—experiments in human-animal cohabitation ever attempted, for 13 consecutive summers, Treadwell lived (and finally died) among the bears at an Alaskan national park. The footage that he himself shot forms the core of this fascinating inquiry into the fragile relationship between man and nature.
About the Speaker
Dr. Rulon W. Clark earned a B.S. in Biology from Utah State University in 1997. He was fortunate enough to work as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Edmund D. Brodie Jr.’s research group, which cemented both a love of reptiles and research. He obtained a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2004 under the guidance of Dr. Kraig Adler, and completed several more years of postdoctoral work at Cornell working with Dr. Harry W. Greene. He has been on the faculty in the Department of Biology at San Diego State University since 2007, where he has published over 90 scientific papers and served as the research mentor for 12 M.S. students, 10 Ph.D. students, and many dozens of undergraduate students. His laboratory group focuses mainly on predator-prey interactions between pit vipers and small mammals, examining this relationship from both sides using tools from behavioral ecology, biomechanics, physiology, and functional morphology. Additional research areas include the social behavior of snakes and the conservation ecology of threatened or endangered reptiles.