Thompson's and Acosta's Collaborative Creation of the Gonzo Narrative Style
Abstract
In her article "Thompson's and Acosta's Collaborative Creation of the Gonzo Narrative Style," Shimberlee Jirón-King presents an analysis of Hunter S. Thompson's and Oscar Zeta Acosta's works and a correction about the origins of Gonzo Journalism. Jirón-King suggests that Thompson's and Acosta's writings express the authors' disillusionment about the loss of the American Dream and that their texts suggest the revolutionary movements they hoped for would transform a disintegrating culture have only fallen prey to the shortsightedness of US-American culture. The counter culture they observe simply develops its own forms of racism, classism, power-mongering, and corruption that re-inscribe hegemonic discourses rather than creating new social forms and values. In Jirón-King's view Thompson and Acosta examine this world and come to the conclusion that no substantive changes can be made, that tyranny always reasserts itself even when the players have changed. For Thompson, the Democratic Convention of 1968 demonstrates the futility of his efforts; for Acosta, the Chicano Moratorium of 1970 leads him to the (fictionalized) bombing of the judge's chambers. These texts thus become acts of rebellion, the effort to at least articulate their dismay at the failure of the American Dream and their efforts at the restoration of a society they believe in.
Recommended Citation
Jirón-King, Shimberlee. "Thompson's and Acosta's Collaborative Creation of the Gonzo Narrative Style." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 10.1 (2008): http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol10/iss1/5
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