This is my page about a book and a movie that, though they are similar, differ in one major way. The movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a comedic "trip" through a journalists assignment in which the job becomes skewed, cut with, and eventually absorbed by, the collection of drugs that Raoul Duke (Huster S. Thompson) and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo (Oscar Acosta), have brought along with them. The movie is great for a laugh and for describing the "drug culture" of the early seventies that was stuck in the mid to late 60's. Following the two characters is fascinating as you watch them escape capture by police at every turn without ever coming into contact with them in an authoritative capacity. Their adventure is too intricate and detailed to explain ANY of it here. You must watch the movie, and try to realize that this is, for the most part, a true account of the events that occured to them during the week following April 22, in the "foul year of our lord, 1971," (Thompson).
The book obviously came first, having been written in 1971, while the movie was released in 1998. The book is a much more true account of those events. The chronology is different, there is much more detail, and additional events not even mentioned in the movie. And while the movie was basically a comedy based on a true story, the book is the story. Thompson claims later that no one in their right mind would claim this story to be 100% true, but the book is written from notes and recordings made at the time of the trip. There is one major theme that does not come across in the movie. The book is about two guys, on an assignment to Las Vegas to cover a dirtbike race, and with the almost constant "daze" they are in due to the aforementioned collection, the trip becomes about finding the "American Dream" and the beauty of the choices that we make. Under the veil of several highs and lows, the story could be misconstrued as nothing more than two guys doing a lot of drugs, with one of them recording their experiences on several media. However, reading all of the reflections and introspections on their choices, and interpreting them, is what makes this about something much bigger than drugs and a sports article.
If you have seen the movie, you must read the book. And if you have read the book already, read it again and look for more evidence of something bigger. And if you have done that already, you are probably like me in the respect that now I want to read all of Thompson's work from Hell's Angels to all of the Gonzo papers; which are his published articles in several different publications indicting almost everything from the era it was written from the perspective of an incredibly articulate and brilliant journalist.
Obviously, this is only my perspective, but I think that if you approach the story with the right attitude, you'll love it and Thompson as much as I do.
Below are links to two different sites: one for the book and one for the movie. I tried to find the best sites in order to show the contrast betweeb the two media. |
