How much sin can one take?

"In a town full of bedrock crazies, nobody even notices an acid freak." (13)

I find the idea of the people raised and working in Las Vegas more interesting than the city itself a lot of the time.  The people who have to accommodate the guests coming and going around them, all looking for a very specific "Vegas Experience" and expecting to be handed whatever that entails.  It's a lot to live up to, like any big city, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, out-of-towners have certains ideas in their head of what they're going to see.  Vegas however, is the only place I can think of, where your expectation, and intent, is to do bad things.  You expect to be able to go to Vegas, live in a land of vice for a few day and skate away.  Now many of the people living and working there, have no interest in giving you that experience, it's not actually their job.  They're restaurant works, bartenders, cab drivers, and even most of the people who work at the hotels along the strip.  However the fact still remains, this is where you go to be bad.  No wonder Gonzo Journalism is the perfect fit.  Take a bunch of drugs and just write everything until you pass out - in a town like that, it's the only way you can write.  No one is going to go to Vegas and sit in their hotel room typing away on their work, usuing only their imagination and taking in the scenery.  That's for Paris, London, New York - those are cities you can sit in.  

Anthony Bourdain went to Vegas for his show Parts Unknown, highlighting many of those very people, the ones who are still there, even once the dust clears and the crowds fall into a stupor.  Most of the people there are much more cynical than those who arrive - so the question remains, what's the point?  What does it really offer?  

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the Gonzo

My husband and I are huge fans of Hunter S. Thompson. There are few authors we agree on but we love him, Palahnuick and Vonnegut. He introduced me to this maniac writing style of quasi-journalism mixed with person testimony and a whole lot of hallucinations. I found it quite entertaining; the thought of a man paid to tell the story of a race in the middle of the desert instead telling the story of his drugged out adventure on writing the article itself. Of course this style of writing now has a name but before Thompson Gonzo journalism wasn't really a thing and even during his time he wasn't often taken to seriously. Even by the liberal media as far as his news reports were concerned. But no one could deny that this style of writing was entertaining. Rereading this excerpt played out exactly like the movie staring Johnney Depp. Drugged out speeding down the high way with Benecio Del Toro in the drivers seat and a very strange looking Tobey Macquire in the back. I feel as though I can literally see Thompson swatting at these imaginary bats. One element of the story that I believe stands out in the book far greater than in the movie is the sense Thompson and especially his lawyer have that the world around them is full of crazies and going to shit and in fact they are the last few sane members of society. When Thompson's attorney threatens to bomb the electronics store and burn down the sales associates house then says "'That'll give him something to think about,' he muttered as we drove off. 'The guy is a paranoid psychotic, anyway. They're easy to spot .'" (Thompson 7). It's just the irony that makes me laugh calling the sales man a psychotic but they see nothing wrong with speeding down the highway at 90+ miles per hours tripped out on qualudes. But this is why I think I find Thompson's style so enthralling. I've been around my fair share of drugs even though I chose to stay sober I've seen my friends 'tripping balls' and for some reason I see all those old times, friends, parties in the writing of Thompson. Laughing at the person seeing dragons while watching CNN. Playing baby sitter to my friends on robatussin watching them walk like they've never used their legs before and move so awkwardly it's hard not to laugh. I understand that was childish and unsafe but I can't pretend that reading "fear and loathing" doesn't take me back to that place. Of feeling like you're in the underbelly of life. Walking a thin line and like this balancing act gave you a deeper understanding of reality. I know now that I was wrong and I enjoy being a "square" and have unfortuatly had to cut most all of those people out of my life but I know I'm better for it in the long run. Thompson lived fast and died tragically. I saw a documentary made by his friends, in particular Johnny Depp who built a Gonzo fist in his memory to celebrate his life and existence. And maybe like his bio said he didn't want to become the english professor reliving his glory days by retelling the same story about the time he drove through the desert high on ether. He didn't want to even say goodbye to his youth and instead ended his life before that happened. 

Would Thompson have been as influential to the world of writing without the drugs? Is Gonzo journalism really even journalism or is it more a column of personal biased opinion? Did Thompson have an understanding of the world and a clear insight of the people around him like him and his attorney believed?  Or was he just a really eloquent drug addict? 

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Thompson and Lahey

Gonzo journalism definitely is Hunter Thompson’s body of work. I looked up “Gonzo” journalism and discovered it is about not objective reporting but subjective reporting and putting yourself and feelings often written in 1st person into the writings. Thompson’s writing about his drug fuelled trip to Vegas is definitely very “Gonzo” I can’t even the number the amount of drugs, booze and ether both Thompson and his Samoan lawyer consumed during their trip. The most important thing for them to pack was a healthy supply of drugs for their trip. As I read the story all I could think about was how they were driving under the influence and I hoped that they did not cause any accidents. I was not especially entertained by Thompson’s drug induced hallucinations “The woman’s face was changing: swelling, pulsing…horrible green jowls, and fangs jutting out, the face of a Moray Eel!” (Thompson page 13) I would have to say that I agree with Bill Clinton’s put down of Thompson and his recklessness. The picture of Thompson in the biography looked like Jim Lahey of “Trailer Park Boys.” Lahey is a character who was never sober in his adult life. The character Ricky could also be styled after Thompson. He uses drugs as if it is common place and what’s wrong with you if don’t use them. The most positive thing I can say for Thompson’s style is that he keeps it very real, graphic and fast paced. He doesn’t care a great deal for moral issues but seems to live in the moment as if his actions have no negative consequences.

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I'd never read Fear and Loathing before, but I've always wanted to and I can definitely see why it's talked about in the tone it is. The closest thing to Hunter S. Thompson I've read before was part of a comic series called Transmetropolitan, which is more or less just Thompson in the future dealing with politics of the future, but still relating them back to modern issues in it's own way. That was really the only thing I needed to know that I should read Fear and Loathing.
I really liked his writing style as a whole. It reminded me of a Hubert Selby Jr. quote I read once, "Keep your balls out of your writing." And it really does that. There's no sense of pride, nothing is built up to feel crazy epic, it's all just very nonchalant. My favorite example being at the very beginning when the drugs start kicking in and he's hallucinating, "No point mentioning
those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough." Things are that straight forward throughout the entire thing. There really aren't a whole lot of flowery language, nothing is made to sound cool or really does anything to set a tone, which in it's own way sets it's own tone if that makes any sense. And I really liked that approach. It didn't have to try but still felt well thought out and authentic. The interaction with the hotel clerk even seemed awkward on paper (even if he hadn't seen her face change, it still wouldn't have been the most conventional conversation ever). Not really sure why that minor part stuck out at me other than I feel like I've probably been the clerk in this conversation before for someone else.

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Fear and Loathing

Believe it or not, I have never read Fear and Loathing before, nor have I seen the movie.  I know it is super popular but I have never seen it.  I have never heard of Gonzo journalism before this, and I like how free and honest it is. He really didn't hold back, said what he thought, told the REAL story with no filters or editing. There were times I couldn't stop laughing, picturing how freaked out the kid in the backseat in the beginning of the story must be.  "Thanks for the ride," he yelled.
"Thanks a lot. I like you guys. Don't worry about me." He was probably never more scared or at least uncomfortable in his life.  The drug filled bender they were on was chaotic to say the least.
As for effectiveness and fairness of America's war on drugs, the sign saying 20 years in prison for having possession of pot in Nevada is remarkable. I would imagine it was true then, but that's amazing. Probably not the fairest of laws at any point in time.
What is American? The line in close reading from page 9 talks about the possibilities of life in America, and like it or not, their trip was American. They got to do what they wanted, being drug filled on a long trip through the desert to get to Vegas and make an ass of themselves, while having a hell of a time and meanwhile getting freaked out from the drug hallucinations.
I have to think his drug use definitely broadened his creativity, you can't make this stuff up.

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