The hidden side of teddy bears

Teddy Bears are stuffed toys loved by people from all around the world. The name Teddy originated from former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1902, Roosevelt, who went out hunting, refused to fire a gun at a bear, saying that it was not playing fair when hunters brought bears they caught. A merchant who acknowledged this episode through a satirical cartoon gave birth to the Teddy Bear by calling the stuffed toy bear Teddy Bear, which is Theodore Roosevelt’s nickname.

For the past 120 years, Teddy Bears not only stole the hearts of children from around the world with their warm and cute appearances but also offered insight into various areas, including cartoons, fairy tales, novels, movies, and arts. Norwegian artist Fredrick Raddum made his art piece a Teddy Bear, which is a huge 3-meter-tall bronze sculpture. This Teddy Bear became most popular among visitors in 2013 when installed at Kistefos Sculpture Park in suburban Oslo. Visitors will be surprised when they look at the back of the gentle Teddy Bear because two human legs are sticking out from the bottom of the Teddy Bear. It is the human being pressed to death by the bear. The heavy Teddy Bear did not look at what was around him but just sat where it was convenient for him. The bear does not care who gets crushed to death or not; he only looks at people who welcome him.

Raddum named the bear “Beast of the Hedonic Treadmill.” The hedonic treadmill is the tendency of humans to quickly return to their baseline level of happiness regardless of what happens to them and wish for more. Like drug addiction, people become tolerant of pleasure. They tend to look for greater and stronger pleasure, which means the Teddy Bear requires more sacrifices to maintain its innocent expression‎ and stay happy.

Even though Teddy Bears are overflowing in the world, it is made everywhere and is popular. The artist seems to have interpreted the Teddy Bear as the symbol of capitalist consumption. He seems to encourage people to look around those in and used to bad luck faced with the risk of suffocation, which is consumerism's hidden and disguised side.