Gonzo was created by Dr Hunter S. Thompson, inspired by William Faulkner’s words; “Fiction is the best fact” as a mobilisation of energetic counter-culture against the conservative, nuclear family-friendly America of the 1950’s. It was linked with the sexual revolution, it was the academic side of the Flower Power generation, it was progressive and it was radical and now it’s dead, or the next closest thing – it’s alive in blogs.

Feel-Good-Fifties, must have been all the mercury.

With Gonzo, the experience is everything, subjectivity and style are the tools used to document culture – as Gonzopedia remarks on its front page, and perhaps the best description of Gonzo, in general, I have read so far; “The idea for Gonzopedia is that you’d go to this site to read not about what cats are, but how people experience cats.”

Challenges to Gonzo are subtle and often invisible, though almost immovable. The writing of the genre is linked, inextricably, to narrative style; long, winding, creative passages which often exist only as tangents or amusing anecdotes laden with bias, opinion, dialogue and which pay little credence to any accepted truths. With an understanding of Gonzo as a counter-cultural movement, a writing style of a disillusioned, free-thinking, underground writers, it makes perfect sense that it has no place in any government regulated media channels. It is often subversive to the ideals (or even the specific people) behind the government, the television station or the newspaper editor – it is simply too unreliable for our political climate. The economic crisis, the War on Terror and Global Warming have shaped the last decade – great issues of uncertainty and potential doom have created a culture of fear where people seek truths, evidence, some kind of solid ground and Gonzo deals with only furthering the insanity with erratic prose. Just because the end may be nigh doesn’t mean anyone wants to hear a dishevelled old man with wild eyes screaming it at them, the audience wants double stitched, lifetime guaranteed, money-back reassurance.

You are here^

The other great change of the last decade, however, has been and Ark for Gonzo amidst the torrential downpour of political spin; the emergence of digital culture. Free from corporate influence or government intervention, the internet has become a platform of opportunity for any voice to be heard. Gonzo has come to treat the internet as a promised land, a place to exist free from restraint or warning signs, essentially the only place it can exist.

Since the emergence of the blog, one of the defining characteristics of the internet, Gonzo has remained a presence on the digital mediascape. There are countless blogs which, accurately or not, pay homage to Hunter S. Thompson’s writing, attempting to mimic his style or to attach themselves to the only name to achieve success through Gonzo. However there are few purists; while Thompson made it abundantly clear that he was there, he influenced the situation, he got punched in the face by Nixon’s aides – very few of these bloggers have any real-world presence – prompting the question of definition: Gonzo writer or citizen journalist?

“The Internet has been touted as a new mode of journalism — some even go so far as to say it might democratize journalism. Do you see a future for the Internet as a journalistic medium?

Hunter S. Thompson: Well, I don’t know. There is a line somewhere between democratizing journalism and every man a journalist. You can’t really believe what you read in the papers anyway, but there is at least some spectrum of reliability… I don’t know the percentage of the Internet that’s valid, do you? Jesus, it’s scary.”

- Interview with Hunter S. Thompson at Atlantic Unbound.

It becomes a challenge simply to differentiate between the ramblings of a pissed off blogger with a “Rage Against the Machine” shirt and a gonzo account of the seedy underbelly of modern life. Essentially, the main problems of Gonzo journalism are: being lost in the noise of a billion, unfettered opinions or being marginalised by a sheepish public.

However, Gonzo brings to journalism what traditional writing will forever lack – honesty, in all its teeth-grinding, career ending, middle-finger-extending importance. It is uncertain whether any print-media, newspaper, radio and even television will survive the digital age but Gonzo certainly has. Whether through stubborn determination or because it has a role to fulfil for an over-advertised people, it is unclear to me.

I believe that, presented with the internets’ ability to broadcast free thought, and with its increasing significance, Gonzo will always have a place and (though likely diluted), it will probably become the main expression of news as people begin to use the internet as a lens rather than their television screens. The new news-readers will be bloggers, they will not be paid, they will not be recognised on the street, they will be everybody’s facebook friend and they will carry the Gonzo gene that simply is unable to exist along-side advertising, political correctness and the objectivity that is demanded by Rupert Murdoch or CNN. Many blogs have the incindiary Gonzo Journalist ring to them and, thanks to the change in technology, are not bound by traditional limitations.

Another opportunity of Gonzo is that it can discuss elements of life which, otherwise, would fly below the profit-generating radar of traditional news but which fulfil a great role in culture. When Gonzo emerged, along with New Journalism, it gravitated to Rock N Roll culture, for example. An area which, in the 1960’s was not newsworthy, not even desirable for the general population but, now, is so important to identity forming and the function of society that it is hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t listen to your music.

One could look at Heather Dent’s article Late, Late Night (http://cultureweek.com/?p=167) and see a simple account of life in Bloomington as an insomniac. But as a piece of journalism it documents a quiet, though large part of our culture, how people experience night life, how the 8 hours most people spend asleep plays out. It is an eye-opening documentation of scrounging for coffee and warmth – it helps understand how caffeine addiction spreads, how those unwholesome, red eyed, ruffled people seem to stare daggers if they are shaken from their sleep on the bus at 9am. Just because it’s unpopular and unprofitable and unemployed doesn’t mean it doesn’t help to constitute our daily experience, our culture, our country. Gonzo captures these hidden pieces.

More drugs please.

Likewise, Michael Moore’s films (argued by many to be some of the only recognisable examples of modern Gonzo) have left a permanent mark on America’s identity. Exposing gun culture, the inadequacies of the health-care and the War on Terror, Moore has split society with controversy on issues which traditional news stations would not consider important, relevant or safe enough to report on.

Gonzo is not yet dead, however, it is hard to find. A rare, often overlooked treasure of writing whose spirit is not yet crushed. How it will progress and change, if it will survive, is uncertain, but then again, that is simply the nature of media. It is a unique philosophy and has many miles to go before it sleeps.

Useful Links.

http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/graffiti/hunter.htm – Interview with Hunter Thompson.

http://www.gonzotimes.com/ – The Gonzo Times

http://cultureweek.com/?author=14 – Cultureweek, Heather Dent’s articles.

http://www.amedianysf.com/historyofadvertising.html – by Doniphan Blair Infoart, 1994

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzo_journalism – Wikipedia, Gonzo Journalism

http://www.essortment.com/all/whatisgonzoj_rqjo.htm – What is Gonzo? – Essortment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4291311.stm – Bedtime for Gonzo? The Death of Hunter S. Thompson, BBC.co.uk

http://www.gonzojournals.com/ – Gonzo Journals

http://themonkagonzowarrior.blogspot.com/ - The Monk, an emerging “Gonzo” blogger.

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