Hunter S. Thompson: The Pioneer of Gonzo Journalism

Hunter S. Thompson, born July 18, 1937 and died in 2005, revolutionized journalism with his Gonzo style: an immersive, subjective approach that blends personal experience with reporting. From his rebellious youth and Hell’s Angels immersion to his iconic work “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” Thompson’s life was a turbulent journey marked by creative genius and personal chaos.

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By Toni Botes

Hunter Stockton Thompson, a self-proclaimed hillbilly, came into the world on July 18, 1937 and passed away of his own accord in 2005. His life was a complex and bizarre jumble of impotent creativity against a backdrop of influential influences on nearly everything he touched. Thompson’s counterculture appeal was more than skin deep. He may not be a household name anymore, but his unconventional perspective changed the lens of journalism forever. A pioneer of gonzo journalism, he appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared into the mirage of fame and pop counterculture.

The origin story

Thompson grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. At first, his life was ordinary. His mother was a librarian and his father was a public insurance inspector. Thompson’s father died of a neuromuscular disease when he was 14. He had just begun to make progress as a writer and member of a prominent literary society, but then his mother began drinking heavily. Thompson probably never came to terms with the aftermath of his father’s death. He got into trouble for his involvement in a robbery, which led to his expulsion from the Athenaeum Literary Association in 1955.

Finding his feet

Thompson was fortunate enough to spend only 31 days in prison for his criminal activities; he joined the Air Force when he was released. Although he was rejected from the aviation cadet program, he took a job as sports editor for The Command Courier, an Air Force newspaper. Sports journalism gave Thompson the freedom to embellish and excite in ways that traditional journalism did not allow.

To chart one’s own path

Ultimately, Thompson was honorably discharged for his rebellious nature. It was noted that he “would not be guided by policy.” With some experience, he was able to leave the Air Force newspaper in 1958 and join Time. But in 1959, he was fired. Thompson was far from suited for a traditional workplace. He lost one job after another and was not a man to go with the flow; he had to forge his own path. He found inspiration in the work of Thomas Wolfe, and the literary-inspired style known as New Journalism began to seep into his underutilized creative subconscious.

Ten years after his expulsion from the literary society, Thompson found refuge in the then-obscure motorcycle gang Hell’s Angels. Thompson was hired to write an article about the Hell’s Angels; it was so well-received that he was offered a book deal, giving him the chance to fully immerse himself in the dark underworld. It could only have been their criminal proclivities that had piqued his curiosity. He spent the next year living and riding with them. After they denied the Hell’s Angels a cut of the book’s profits, the gang brutally beat Thompson. He nearly lost his life and suffered injuries that would haunt him for the rest of his days. The book was published in 1967. Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, was hugely successful. While it did not yet meet the standard of gonzo journalism, it did change the course of his career.

Political preferences

Thompson was never an uncontroversial figure. He was fond of criticizing the hippie movement for being overrun by drug-induced escapism and lacking political convictions. He felt that by 1967, hippies no longer seemed to be pushing for change and progress. In 1968, Thompson signed the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest, pledging to withhold his tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. His political resolve was further strengthened after he witnessed the riots in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. The altercation between police and anti-war protesters has since been widely documented as brutal. Witnessing such violence, along with being punched in the stomach by a police officer, left an indelible impression on Thompson. His ex-wife later recalled him talking about the event and said it was one of only two times in their 17-year marriage that she had seen him cry.

“I went to the Democratic Convention as a journalist and came back a cold-blooded revolutionary.” – Hunter S. Thompson

Enter Gonzo Journalism

The birth of Gonzo (journalism) is a story that has been told many times. In short, he was racing toward a deadline for which he had done almost no work. Dejected, he tore the manically subjective story from his notebook and sent it to his editor. The work was later hailed as a breakthrough by Bill Cardoso, editor of the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine. Thompson’s style came to be called Gonzo, meaning crazy and eccentric. The piece in question? A sports article called “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved.” What Thompson had seen as an utter failure became a defining moment in his career. The style of Gonzo journalism is rooted in intense personalization. While regular journalists stepped aside, Gonzo journalists joined in; they were right in the thick of the action.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Another gem mined from the depths of Thompson’s consciousness was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The book was loosely based on a road trip Thompson took with Oscar Zeta Acosta, a prominent Mexican-American activist and lawyer.

Thompson’s wife said Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was based largely on a fantasy alter ego, but his vivid descriptions of the effects of drugs were based on real-life experiences. The book gives those of us who play by society’s rules a glimpse into a new world. Thompson created an uncensored space that brought the darkest corners of his mind to light. The 1972 book reads like poetry.

While Thompson’s otherworldly antics took his readers to new heights, Thompson’s career was bound to collapse at some point. The inability to surpass his earlier successes accelerated his depressive, drug- and alcohol-fueled decline. In 1974, Thompson traveled to Kinshasa to cover “Rumble in the Jungle,” the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali fight. Instead of watching the fight, he spent his time drunk in the hotel. He never wrote the article. Hunter was a mere mortal. He was unable to complete much of the work assigned to him toward the end of his career. He could only trade on his name, not on his ability to confuse us with something new.

Thompson’s ex-wife Sandra described him as an incredibly angry man, and as time went on, he developed scars and baggage. Thompson survived on the intense devotion and support of his ex-wife, along with alcohol and drugs. Without the means to find peace, he disappeared into a parallel world, rarely, if ever, sober. Thompson took his own life on February 20, 2005. If there’s one thing we can learn from Hunter S. Thompson’s story, it’s that despite our hairy moles and dysfunction, there’s something valuable inside all of us.

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This article was originally published by FirstEdge and is published with permission.