Abstract
Literary animal studies are confronted with a systematic question: How can writing, as a human-made sign system, represent the nonhuman animal as an autonomous agent without falling back into the pitfalls of anthropomorphism? Against the backdrop of this problem, this paper asks how the medium of film allows for a different representation of the animal and analyzes two of Werner Herzog’s later documentary films. Although the depiction of animals and landscapes has always played a significant part in Herzog’s films, critical assessments of his work—including those of Herzog himself—tended to view the role of nature imagery as purely allegorical: it expresses the inner nature, the inner landscapes of the film’s human protagonists. This paper tries to open up a different view. It argues that both Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World develop an aesthetic that depicts nonhuman nature as an autonomous and lively presence. In the close proximity amongst camera, human, and nonhuman agents, a clear distinction between nature and culture is increasingly blurred.
Highlights
Literary animal studies are confronted with a systematic question: How can writing, as a human-made sign system, represent the nonhuman animal as an autonomous agent without falling back into the pitfalls of anthropomorphism? Against the backdrop of this problem, this paper asks how the medium of film allows for a different representation of the animal and analyzes two of Werner Herzog’s later documentary films
The White Whale In Moby-Dick, whose legibility both as a novel and as a whale is constantly put into question, Ishmael reminds the reader that the sperm whale has never “written a book, or spoken a speech”
Nonhuman animals do a lot of things, a lot of things human animals don’t quite understand
Summary
Know the know the language of the bear.” (Grizzly Man 2005, 00:14:27), Treadwell claims, a belief that separates language themore bear.”. The Against the backdrop of this view nature as competence in performing this feat. Against the backdrop of this view of nature as essentially essentially mute, Grizzly Man’s representation of Treadwell is structured by the spatial figuremute, of a Grizzly. One of the most moving, yet disturbing scenes of the footage shows scenes of the footage shows Treadwell hesitantly trying to touch a bear when both of them encounter. Treadwell trying to touch a bear when them encounter eachMan other2005, in the liminal each otherhesitantly in the liminal region at the shore of aboth lake of What are the rhetorical and ideological currents that are at play in Herzog’s narration of. What as areathe rhetorical and ideological currents that areinatspite playof inits
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