Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Gonzo and Marijuana
First things first: what is Gonzo? On hearing the name, many people will think of a purple Muppet "Whatever" or even a Japanese anime studio. However, Gonzo is a term that's usually applied to journalism, (though it can be applied to other forms of creative output and situations). It's a type of journalism that involves the writer in the story, eschewing the usual journalistic detachment in favour of full frontal, sometimes fictional, descriptions of the story subjectively and in the first person. Put another way, if I were to start writing and talk about the way I was sitting, the lucky jar of marijuana seeds on my desk and their relationship to anything I write, that would be gonzo journalism.
Though I don't have any marijuana seeds on my desk, you might find that many people who espouse this type of writing do. Started in the sixties and seventies, Gonzo journalism was about centring the writing on a particular idea, news story or prevalent theme of the time. Almost uniquely American, the issues questioned were those of the time: war, government, civil rights, cannabis and harder drug use and personal freedoms. This often meant involvement in some or all of these issues, and it's hard to think of one Gonzo journalist who wasn't involved in most if not all of them. Use of cannabis and much harder drugs was obviously common, and it can be argued that this in turn fuelled the Gonzo style itself.
Hunter S. Thompson
While a series of journalists embraced Gonzo, it is Hunter S. Thompson who was the king of the genre. Thompson's colourful life included running for sheriff in Aspen on the "Freak Power" ticket, riding with and writing about hell's angels, and documenting the 1972 campaign trail in his own inimitable way. Arguably, his most famous work is "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream", often shortened to just Fear and Loathing. In the text a fictional version of Thompson and his attorney travel to Las Vegas to write an article on the mint 400 race. Marijuana is just one of the many drugs consumed along the way in a text that examines excess, American life and the American dream.
Thompson didn't stint on drugs. Famous for his use of anything (from using a lightbulb as a bong to chomping on raw Marijuana seeds) to try anything, the link between Gonzo and Marijuana becomes fairly obvious at this stage. Fear and Loathing is a bible for writers in the same style, and as you can imagine the genre attracts people who already have an affinity toward iconoclasm, drug use and living outside the usual views of society.
When the patron saint of the style championed Marijuana use, and the drug is central to some of Gonzo's ideas, it is clear that the drug had at least some effect on the genre as a whole. The main question is less "Is there a link" and more "how much has one affected another?" the problem is, with a mix of such artistic, fictional, pharmaceutical and journalistic forces, you may as well ask "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
Robert Kane is the web editor of Sensible Seeds. Based in the UK, the company sells cheap marijuana seeds and informational books on marijuana to customers all over the world.
What are good drug movies?
I love the book go ask alice. I enjoy drug stories. Fear and loathing in Las vegas. Pretty much anything drug related.
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what is the best hunter s thompson novel?
fear and loathing in las vegas would be the popular choice of coarse, but im looking for something less obvious.
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What are some good movies on netflix?
I'm looking for some movies with a strong drug reference, for example Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And any really good stoner movies like Smiley Face. They need to be in netflix instant. Thanks. P.S and any other movies you consider a must see.
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - The Hotel
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