** The Grizzly Bear in Popular Culture **
|G. Sidney Silliman
Political Science Department
Cal Poly Pomona
Given the nature of consumer capitalism in the United States, it should not be surprising that grizzly bear gift products are on the market: calendars, jewelry, mousepads, and sweatshirts. You may purchase a poster of grizzly bear man. The grizzly bear is featured in etched glass living room furniture and sculpture with a "natural look."There are even grizzly bear jigsaw puzzles to entertain you.
The image of the grizzly bear is utilized as well to market goods and services. The 1920's crate label of the Upland Lemon Growers Association of California featured the grizzly to create consumer identification with its citrus products. The label for the Bearitage wine of Sonoma Valley features a California grizzly "enjoying" the nectar of the Gods. The Fresno Grizzlies, a California minor league baseball team, and the Memphis Grizzlies, an NBA basketball team, use bear images to market their teams. Wildtime Foods markets a "grizzlies brand" breakfast cereal (and trail mix), while Vital Ground features Grizzly Blend Coffee on its web-based Bear Mart.
The Great Bear is a recurring feature in popular entertainment. The grizzly bear was featured in the Cal Poly Rose Float of 2001, a grizzly situation. See the Animal Planet page featuring "Growing Up Grizzly." Get a laugh from grizzly bear cartoons, yet think about the messages that the cartoons convey or reinforce.
Do you make music or dance? Check out the web sites for The Grizzly Adams Band and the University of Montana "Grizzly" Marching Band. Believe it or not, a grizzly bear dance was introduced in San Francisco in the early 1900s. The dance was "rough and clumsy," according to reports. In 2008, the Los Angeles Philharmonic peformed with Grizzly Bear at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Want the news while visiting Big Bear in Southern California? Read the Big Bear Grizzly. Thirsty in Montana? Stop at the Grizzly Bar.
The Almaden Cycle Touring Club hosts grizzly bear bike rides. You can earn a Grizzly Bear Patch or a Grizzly Bear Plaque by riding with the Touring Club.
Place names the length of California bear reference to the the grizzly. In fact, most "bear places" in California refer to the Grizzly Bear, not Black Bears. Los Osos, in the "Valley of the Bears" south of Morro Bay, takes its name from the California grizzly. Climb Grizzly Peak the next time you are in the San Francisco Bay area.
The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies web page "Bears and Cultural Connections" includes a list of books and Internet links for further research.
Not a grizzly bear, yet do listen to the distinctive voice of Yogi Bear.