Hunter S. Thompson: Tribute to the King of Gonzo
4th Anniversary of The Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Author’s Death
Feb 6, 2009
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is perhaps the American author’s best-known work. It was originally released as two separate articles in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, under Thompson’s pseudonym, ‘Raul Duke’, before it became a book with Thompson’s name on in 1972.
In 1998 a film version of Fear and Loathing… was released, starring Johnny Depp (a close friend of Thompson) and Benicio Del Toro. Both the book and the film gained a cult following. The story of Fear and Loathing… is one of a journalist ('Raul Duke') and his attorney, who drive to Las Vegas together, supposedly to work on a news story. They use their trip to Vegas as an excuse to enter a hazy bubble of drink, drugs, and insanity, while mourning the end of the hippie dream that felt so alive in the previous decade, the 1960’s.
The Politics: Hunter S. Thompson v Richard Nixon
Hunter S. Thompson’s writing was admired by many, and feared by some. His position as a Rolling Stone National Affairs writer with a wide following meant politicians were sometimes intimidated. And they were right to be. Thompson spent a significant portion of his writing career speaking out against the former President Richard Nixon.
He commented on Nixon while he was in office, and out of office. Nixon was like the archenemy of Thompson. Nixon gave Thompson, and indeed America, and the rest of the world, a reason to be angry. “It is Nixon himself,” wrote Thompson in his Rolling Stone column, “who represents that dark, venal, and incurably violent side to the American character that almost every other country in the world has learned to fear and despise.”
In the same column, when Nixon departed in 1994, Thompson wrote, “Richard Nixon is gone now, and I am poorer for it… It was Richard Nixon who got me into politics, and now that he’s gone, I feel lonely.” But Thompson didn’t pull any punches, and kept his Nixon-arsenal in operation, writing, “If the right people had been in charge of Nixon’s funeral, his casket would have been launched into one of those open-sewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles… Even his funeral was illegal… His body should have been burned in a trash bin… Nixon broke the heart of the American Dream.”
Thompson’s view on politics never faded, and he continued to write on the subject for the rest of his life.
Hunter S. Thompson and Gonzo Journalism
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s Hunter S. Thompson helped popularize a new style of news and events reporting, where the journalist would place himself in the action, delivering personal points of view on top of the assigned report. This radical new style became known as “gonzo journalism”, and it allowed old and tired Objective Journalism to be exchanged for first-person accounts that read almost like a novel.
The Legend of Hunter S. Thompson Lives On
Hunter S. Thompson was a writer in a privileged position, and his writing never lost its sincerity. His audience was huge and a lot of people took heed to his words.
This meant he was relied upon to tell the truth as he saw it, to speak for the common man, and to never sugarcoat the bitter pill of reality. Thompson knew this and he never refrained from harsh wording and abusive labeling if that was indeed what he thought at the time. That isn’t to say that everything he wrote was some epic and brutal attack on something. Rather, when it was right to do so, he did it. “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
His writing was often comical and his sense of humour was warped.
Hunter S. Thompson’s writing has a unique place in literature. At best, it knows no boundaries, and certainly doesn’t commit to any rules or formula. The man was a gem, a diamond in the rough. He was the rough. The talent he had allowed him to observe the times he was a part of, and to write about them, whether he was crying on the inside or laughing hysterically. He exceeded in his field. He was a special breed, an exceptional talent, a marvelous mind, and a major inspiration.
Death of Hunter S. Thompson
On February 20th 2005, Hunter S. Thomson was reported to have committed suicide with a gunshot wound to the head. He was 67.
Many people believe a much more sinister explanation, in that Thompson’s death was a political assassination. Thompson was working on a book about the 9/11 bombings in 2001. In his book, he would explain a theory that the buildings in New York were not brought down by the crashing planes, but by explosives hidden inside the buildings. Apparently, Thompson was convinced the New York bombings were “an inside job.” The theory that he was killed in a bid to keep him quiet has never been proven.
Hunter S. Thompson’s Funeral
At his request, Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes were blasted out of a canon. It is quite fitting that a man of such character would go out with a bang. The day of salute was funded mainly by actor Johnny Depp.
Hunter S. was a rare kind of person and he stands out in history and in popular culture. There was nothing like him before and there never will be again. He cannot be imitated or remanufactured. He is unrivalled in his status, and his writing style is without comparison. He is an important figure who needed to exist in order to help the literary world take a colossal leap forward once in a while, and to provide an honest example of genuine greatness.
His wisdom, his insanity, his wit, and his unparalleled talent live on.
“Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” – Hunter Stockton Thompson
Some Hunter S. Thompson Publications
The Rum Diary
Hell’s Angels: a Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: a Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72
The Great Shark Hunt
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