Mused

Aren’t people tired of the antics of Hunter S. Thompson?

I am going to try not to gush like a teenage girl, but I must admit my anticipation and enthusiasm concerning the new Hunter S. Thompson documentary, Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.  The New York Times review describes the film better than I can, however this coverage (both the review and the documentary itself) of Thompson and his work seem to be more accurate and less…hokey…as the feature film and biopic stoners and hipsters (myself included) have come to enjoy.  Why am I blogging about this documentary?  Simple.  I am not your average Thompson devotee, I suppose, but as an undergraduate creative writing major at  a highly respected, yet stuffy institution of higher learning, I found solace in the voice of the Gonzo journalist while my classmates lauded John Updike and Vladamir Nobokov.  Don’t get me wrong,  I can appreciate some  perfected realism.  I have always been attracted to a more pungent narrative style in my own writings that has been nothing short of inspired (there I said it) by the freedom of writing from one’s own silent, but constant noise from within.  David Carr, the Times writer, is quick to point out that Thompson’s drug and alcohol fueled words could never have been so…toxic without the assistance of said substances, a caveat used in all commentary concerning Thompson’s expansive career.  No doubt such antics were recipe for the often winding prose, but it is not the lifestyle I was (or am) attracted to.  It is the use of language to weave a tale so visceral and visual that the words become moving images in my head.  I read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail first, then proceeded to digest the entire repertoire throughout early college.  At the suggestion of my two siblings, I tuned in to Thompson’s weekly musings on ESPN.com’s Page 2.  His Hey, Rube column loosely  covered sports happenings and his complaints on such, but  more broadly spoke to America and societal problems.  The columns were entirely succinct, yet ruthless, and this was the voice I craved.  Now that I have gone onto the world of graduate school and interactive media, I often forget my writing roots (oh dear, sappy tendencies once again).  I suppose I started this post to hush the underlying  sounds of those skeptics that have heard enough nonsense from Thompson and those still in his camp.  The documentary aims to shift perspective surrounding the Gonzo legacy from the outrageous day-to-day outbursts of the man himself to the true professional and unique writing career he created and sustained, which, in short, brings me back to his work time and again.