The Death of the American Dream: A documentary

“Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson” is an interesting look at one of the most interesting, er, ‘non-fiction’ writers in American letters. The film, directed by Alex Gibney, has a limited release and made it to the Twin Towns a week ago. What I found interesting was that, in an obvious paean to the founder of Gonzo Journalism (a sub-set of the New Journalism movement of the mid-late sixties), the film wasn’t a complete over-the-top gushing about the man. The film not only examined his talents (“Hell’s Angels” ranks among my top non-fiction novels all time), and his excesses (drugs, guns, alcohol, and did I mention drugs and alcohol?), but his failures and his diminished abilities toward the end of his life.
Among the really great interviews in the movie were Tom Wolfe and Pat Buchanon. Buchanon, who was Nixon’s speechwriter when Thompson was on the capitol beat during the early 70s, showed a particularly dry wit and appreciation for Thompson’s writing talents. Wolfe credited Thompson with supplying audio tapes of Ken Kesey’s rolling party with the Merry Prankster’s for his seminal work “The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test.” Democratic candidate George McGovern and Jimmy Carter were also included among the interviews on the life of Thompson. Thompson’s best work culminated in “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail,” which was a compilation of his work for Rolling Stone during the 1972 presidential primaries, and the book that became required reading for every pot-smoking college freshman “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. The crushing loss of McGovern, and subsequent writing failures -- the Ali fight in Zaire in which he got loaded and failed to show up and cover the event – were part of his spiral downward.
Thompson, according to RS Publisher Jann Wenner and Wolfe, was caught in a box that he created. He could no longer cover events because he was bigger than the events themselves. Coupled with that, his drinking and drug use was taking a toll on his writing acuity. His final years were Hunter covering Hunter. As much fun as the man’s persona seemed, he was in essence a sad man who couldn’t deal with diminishing skills and an inability to publish the great American novel.
One of the strangest points in the film was when Thompson’s son, Juan, was interviewed about his father’s death. Apparently it was a sunny winter day in Woody Creek, CO, when Hunter took a gun to his head and ended his life. Juan stoically recalled the day as being very peaceful and that his father undoubtedly chose the setting to end his life. Juan, in a very odd choice of words, called it “a warm family moment.”
Thompson ended his life in the same way that his hero, Earnest Hemingway, ended his. Still, as his first wife Sandi said, for fans who thought that Thompson’s act was one of strength, they were mistaken. Sandi said that Thompson’s act was cowardice and that he left while the battle was still at hand. His weaponry of words, according his ex-wife, could be useful today as the failures of the Bush Administration roll on.