WHEN THE GOING GETS WEIRD
By Jason Goley, copyright 1998
given to a communications class in Fall, 1998
WORKS CITED
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
That was a statement by Hunter S. Thompson, the father of Gonzo
Journalism.
That statement gives us a small insight as to what Gonzo Journalism is.
The only dictionary where you will find the word gonzo is The Oxford
English Dictionary. That dictionary defines gonzo as: "a type of
committed, subjective journalism characterized by factual distortion and
exaggerated rhetorical style."
All of you have heard the word gonzo before.
But I would like to make it clear that I am not referring to any Muppet
characters.
I have read many articles and several books written in the gonzo format.
Today I am going to explain to you how gonzo's roots are planted in New
Journalism, give you the six basic criteria of gonzo, and give you a few
examples of writings in the gonzo style.
It is important to know what New Journalism is in order to understand
what Gonzo Journalism is.
New Journalism was created in the early 1960's as an alternative to
mainstream journalism.
The mainstream press in the ‘60's covered "Leave it to Beaver" type
news.
Subjects considered socially unacceptable, were left out.
These topics included: the youth, drugs, and peace.(Warrior)
Hunter Thompson created the gonzo style when he wrote the article "The
Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved."
He was commissioned by a sporting magazine to write an article about the
race.
He wrote a very critical analysis of the people who go to the Kentucky
Derby instead.
He hardly even mentioned the race.
This article is written as if it were a work of fiction.
It will help you to know that stories written in the gonzo format can be
likened to fiction novels. (Othitis)
The word gonzo can be traced back to Bill Cardoso, a journalist, who
came up with the word in a letter to Thompson after he read "The
Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved."
"I don't know what the F--- you're doing, but you've changed everything.
It's totally gonzo." (Othitis)
Gonzo and NJ have the same foundation, but gonzo goes above and beyond
the scope of NJ.
Gonzo can best be defined by breaking it up into its six basic
components.
The first thing to remember is that gonzo "has no set rules."
Like NJ a gonzo journalist chooses "subjects that are either ignored or
misrepresented by the mainstream press."
For example, Thompson rode with and wrote about the motorcycle gang, the
Hell's Angels.
Gonzo Journalism contains "overlapping themes of drugs, violence, and
politics."
Of which I will give examples in a few moments.
"Vulgarity and sarcasm are used as humor" in gonzo writings.
Gonzo journalists are not objective.
It is obvious through Thompson's writings that he had a strong distaste
for Richard Nixon.
And finally it is "left up to the reader to distinguish between fact and
fiction."(Othitis)
Here are a few examples of published gonzo writings to expand on the
idea that drugs, violence and politics are the main themes of gonzo.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which was made into a
movie this summer
starring Johnny Depp, is a book written by HST.
Drugs are the main theme of this book.
Here is a quote to illustrate this point:
"The trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. We had
two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of
high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a
whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, and
laughers."(Fear pg.4)
Believe me, the entire book has an underlying theme of drugs.
"Strange Rumblings in Aztlan," is an article Thompson wrote for Rolling
Stone magazine that represents the theme of violence.
Here is a passage: "A sheriff deputy fired a tear gas bomb through the
front door and blew half of Ruben Salazar's head off." (Shark pg.122)
Thompson covered the 1972 presidential election for Rolling Stone
magazine.
He then combined the articles to make the book
Fear and Loathing on the
Campaign Trail '72
which exemplifies the theme of politics.
I am going to paraphrase a passage from that book:
"When Nixon stands at his White House window and looks out on an
anti-war demonstration, he doesn't see dissenters, he sees criminals,
and dangerous Parasites." (Shark pg.224)
It is not hard to find the themes of drugs, violence and politics in
gonzo.
Well I did what I said I was going to do.
I explained how gonzo journalism sprouted from the seeds of NJ.
I told you that gonzo has no rules, chooses off beat subjects, writes
about drugs, violence, and politics, is vulgar and sarcastic, is not
objective, and there is no distinction between fact and fiction.
And I gave you three examples of gonzo writings that contain the themes
of drugs, violence and politics.
But there is another aspect of gonzo, gonzo art.
Gonzo art translates the ideas of gonzo journalism into drawing.
Here is an example by Ralph Steadman.(Fear pg.79)
The man in the drawing is HST.
Jason Goley
Outline For Speech to Define Gonzo Journalism
Thesis:
Gonzo Journalism's roots are planted in New Journalism, it is
characterized by six basic criteria, and contains themes of drugs,
violence, and politics.
I. Gonzo Journalism's roots are planted in New Journalism.
- A. New Journalism was created in the early 1960's as an alternative to
mainstream journalism.
- B. Hunter S. Thompson created the Gonzo style when he wrote "The
Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved."
- 1. Compare Gonzo's style of writing to that of a fictional novel.
- 2. The word Gonzo was created by Bill Cardoso
in a letter to Hunter S.
Thompson.
II. Gonzo can be defined by breaking it up into its component parts.
- A. It is important to maintain that there are "no set rules" for Gonzo
Journalism.
- B. A Gonzo journalist chooses "subjects that are either ignored or
misrepresented by mainstream journalists."
- C. Gonzo Journalism "contains overlapping themes of drugs, violence,
and politics."
- D. "Vulgarity and sarcasm are used as humor" in Gonzo writings.
- E. Gonzo journalists are not objective.
- F. Gonzo journalists leave it up to the reader to "distinguish between
fact and fiction." (Othitis)
III. The following are examples of published Gonzo writings.
- A. Thompson wrote the book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which
incorporates drugs as a theme.
- B. The article "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan" by Thompson, represents
the theme of violence.
- C. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 is a book written by
Thompson that exemplifies politics as a theme.
WORKS CITED
Othitis, Christine. "The beginning and Concept of Gonzo Journalism."
1994. The
Great Thompson Hunt. Online. Microsoft Internet Explorer. 5 Oct. 1998.
Available: www.gonzo.org
--- "Genres of New Journalism." 1997. Warrior Wordsmiths. Online.
Microsoft Internet
Explorer. 8 Oct. 1998.
Available: www.gonzo.org/wsmith
Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. New York: Random
House, 1971.
--- The Great Shark Hunt. New York: Random House, 1979.
Simpson, J.A. and E.S.C. Weiner. The Oxford English Dictionary. Volume
VI. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1989.
