When I first started reading Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas (the drug inspired, loosely based adventure chronicling Hunter S. Thompson's crazy journalist technique), I thought it was unique and insane style of writing and comical way of looking at drug addiction. Little did I know that it was partly fiction based on the journalists' life and how he wrote stories and involved himself in them, creating a new style of journalism called Gonzo. Fear and Loathing on the surface was a hilarious look into the obsession with drugs and the self destruction tendencies that accompanies the culture. I also loved that Fear and Loathing, related to American culture of living the "dream" and looking for true happiness, and why people really go to Las Vegas to find something real and win the "jackpot."
The movie for Fear and Loathing was made famous with actors like Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro lighting up the screen and being bad ass with excessive amount of drugs and partying, they consumed as they portrayed Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. My point is, that the movie was good and everything, but if you are inspired by the American dream concept, you would appreciate the novel and want to begin reading more of Hunter's work. I picked up The Rum Diary right away and began reading about this semi-fictional story about reporting in the tropics. I was also interested in the man behind the character in Fear and Loathing, which was Raoul Duke , and what his life was really
When I started reading The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson, I was amazed to find out there were more stories then I could ever imagine with Hunters' drug addicted bigger-than-life personality. If I could meet anyone it would be Hunter S. Thompson, even though he is no longer living. He was what made me really want to pursue journalism because he gave it a new life rather than mindlessly reporting the facts and being dry and emotionally unattached to the writing. I have some motivation to fight for being a independent writer even at the cost of living in poverty just to express anything I feel like writing, and travelling to find amazing ground breaking stories, rather than the traditional objective journalism.
Most people would not think a drug addicted egotistical man who has written about the Hells Angels, the dark side of politics, doing drugs, being a sheriff, and rebelling against authority, would be a proper role model. I strongly disagree, and to me, he is an inspiration for young journalists and free spirits to follow their passion and to find their own style. He did of course change the face of journalism and created too much controversy for The New York Times to handle, so why wouldn't any reporter want to do the same?
"If I'd written all the truth I knew for the past 10 years, about 600 people-including me-would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism," -Hunter S. Thompson
An illustration by Ralph Steadman for the artwork in Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas
