The Genius That Was Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

I'm very excited about the impending release of the documentary, "Gonzo", because my respect for Thompson, his style, and his theory, borders idolatry.  Why?  Well, because the Bible wasn't written by Jesus.  

Hunter S. Thompson is the father of Gonzo Journalism - the most significant literary movement in the past hundred years. And his message could not be more important than it is today. 

Example (excerpt from Kingdom of Fear): 

September 11, 2001

[Eighteen months before the U.S. invades Iraq]

The towers are gone now, reduced to bloody rubble, along with all hopes for Peace in Our Time, in the United States or any other country. Make no mistake about it: We are At War now -- with somebody -- and we will stay At War with that mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives.

[...]  

This is going to be a very expensive war, and Victory is not guaranteed -- for anyone, and certainly not for anyone as baffled as George W. Bush. All he knows is that his father started the war a long time ago, and he, the goofy child-president, has been chosen by Fate and the global Oil industry to finish it Now. He will declare a National Security Emergency and clamp down Hard on Everybody, no matter where they live or why. If the guilty won't hold up their hands and confess, he and the Generals will ferret them out by force.  

I recently received an email from a friend:

So, since I saw that [Gonzo] trailer -- and started reading up on Thompson -- I want to read everything he has ever written.  Where should I start?

I responded thusly:  

I would start with strong drink.  

I personally suggest the 2003 Bonny Doon Madiran.  It's called "The Heart of Darkness", and if you can find it, you can often get it for less than twenty bucks.  (As I'm sure you know, "Heart of Darkness" is named after the classic novella by Joseph Conrad -- a great piece of literature that inspired the single greatest film ever made: Apocalypse Now.)  That bottle should really put you in the right mental state -- provided you don't go do something stupid, like share it with anyone.

You could also start with a six pack of anything from Flying Dog Brewery.  I strongly suggest the Gonzo Imperial or Road Dog Porter.  They're both strong enough to give you (as we say in New York, before going out to the bar) a "six-start".

For books?  Start with "Kingdom of Fear".  It's really the only one that deals with recent history.  Needless to say, it's brilliant.

If you're more interested in a chronological experience, start with the birth of Gonzo Journalism: The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.

Then read "Hell's Angels", and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas".  After that, read "Better Than Sex."  If you watch the news, you'll be familiar with most of the major characters - as it's all about Bill Clinton's campaign - and includes some great letters and faxes from Thompson.

I discovered Thompson in college, studying Political Science, and writing a paper about Richard Nixon.  I went to the library to find some books on Nixon, I wanted to learn the real dirt before I started my paper.  As it turned out however, I wasn't a very good student.  Because it was a project assigned to the whole class, and because it was the night before the project was due, there were no Nixon books left in the whole damn library.  Save for one.

Luckily, I had a friend working in the library.  Not a friend, really.  She was one of those straight-black-hair and tattooed girls who would say hello in the cafeteria once in a while, but would never hold an actual conversation with me.  Without saying a word, she led me down an aisle of largely forgotten, dust-covered tomes, and slid a sweet bit of heaven from the shelf.  

She handed me "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72".  She said it was "wicked" (that's New York speak for "Hella Cool").  I read that book in a night, wrote an A paper, and his style really put the hooks in me.  Thompson played a major role in the modern American political landscape because Rolling Stone was just becoming a respected magazine -- and the significance of young constituents was largely ignored before the Vietnam War.  So -- politically, anyway -- Thompson was allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted.  And he continued to get a Press Pass for wherever he wanted to be.  Total access.

Don't start with that one, though.  You have to be interested in politics to get through it.  As a younger man, and as a Political Science major, I was interested in politics.  And as Thompson says:

"I brood on these things. It is one of those old habits, like date-rape and cigarettes, which I like too much to quit."

You can skip "The Curse of Lono," "Screwjack," and "The Rum Diary" for now. Save those until you've got the bait lodged firmly in your esophagus.

For now, that's probably enough.

Let me know what you think.

- Homer

So sure, I love Thompson.  Although he was an unrepentant drug addict and second-amendment spouting, bordering neo-conservative moron sometimes, his underlying message was clear.  And that message is this:  There is no such thing as objective journalism.  

The underlying theme of everything Thompson ever wrote is that of Individual Experience.  

Right now, at 2:50 AM, Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008, the top political headlines are as follows:

FOX News:  OBAMA APOLOGY TO MUSLIM WOMEN ORCHESTRATED BY MUSLIM U.S. HOUSE REP.

ABC News :  McCain Adviser Regrets Seeing 'Advantage' in Terror Attack

CNN :  Adviser sorry he said terror attack would help McCain

MSNBC :  Obama to women: I support equal pay

Now, it's pretty easy for most people to see that every outlet comes with its own political bias.  But there are millions of people in fly-over country (I'm looking at you, Nebraska) who watch the news, and take it as pure, unbiased, objective journalism (and let's face it, they're watching FOX).  Because that's what "the news", that's what journalism is supposed to be.  

Thompson refused to buy into this myth -- as do I.  

"Some people will say that words like "scum" and "rotten" are wrong for objective journalism -- which is true -- but they miss the point."  - Hunter S. Thompson

Journalism -- like every other creative art form -- is subjective in nature.  It's art.  And it's impossible to create it without painting it the color of our own personal bias, steeping it in the broth of our opinions, and looking at every situation through the funhouse mirror of our own Individual Experience.  So why try?  

Sure, Thompson took the idea to an extreme by getting completely twisted on drugs, making a scene, and injecting himself into the center of every story he ever wrote, but why not?  Why not make yourself the main character?  The story's going to be filtered through your own individual experience anyway, so why not make the story your own?  

"It was no accident that I got to be the caretaker of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz's memory - any more than being back in Saigon was an accident. There is no way to tell his story without telling my own. And if his story really is a confession, then so is mine."  - Apocalypse Now

The idea, fundamentally, is this.  Your story is yours.  It doesn't matter if you're writing for the Rolling Stone or the New York Times.  You can write like Hunter S. Thompson or Arianna Huffington.  You can be Joseph Campbell or Joseph Conrad.  You can be Mark or Matthew or Luke or John.  No one will tell the same story you will.  

So write accordingly.  

So live accordingly.