The main distinction of this style is the complete rejection of objectivity, which is a core standard in traditional journalism. It is an approach where the journalist is not a passive observer, but the central figure of the report.
As Thompson himself said:
“It’s a kind of journalism that’s bold, aggressive, and laced with humour.”
The first time the journalist tried his hand at a style that did not yet have a name was while working on the story “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved” for Scanlan’s Monthly. That’s when Thompson made a breakthrough: the focus of the report was not the events, but the journalist himself and his emotions. The story unfolds in the first person, turning an ordinary horse race report into a reflection on the urgent social problems of 1970s America.
With his extraordinary approach, Thompson allowed the reader to be at the epicentre of the events. From an ordinary sporting event, the focus shifts to a display of social decay, aggression, and the drunken madness of the crowd. The journalist “mocks” the American elite of the time, raising questions of racism, chaos, and unrest.
Combining socially important themes with personal satire became a sort of “trademark” of the journalist.
“I realised I was doing something radically different. I knew I was doing non-traditional journalism”, — Thompson said in an interview.
Another work that employed elements of the gonzo style was “Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.” It was the journalist’s first book, exploring how American society at the time was producing the monsters it later feared.
Hell’s Angels became a symbol of an alienated, rebellious America that didn’t fit into “the norm”. The journalist neither romanticises nor demonises the bikers; he admits they live in a culture of aggression, which for them is a form of self-expression and revenge.
Hunter Thompson lived alongside the bikers for about a year to describe this closed environment from a different perspective. Journalists usually portrayed such groups from the outside, often relying on stereotypes. The book also criticises the media for creating the myth of the “motorcycle outlaw”, using its platform as a source of panic and fear.
The author’s most popular book, which later gained public recognition, was “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, published in Rolling Stone magazine. The work became a bestseller and was eventually adapted into a film.
At the heart of the story is a prototype of the author himself and his lawyer. The story begins similarly to the Kentucky Derby report: the characters travel to document a motorcycle race, the Mint 400. They bring along a whole stash of drugs and alcohol. The book’s fictional characters reflect the journalist’s own experience: hallucinations, paranoia from drug use, the absurdity of American consumer culture, and the collapse of the “American dream.”
Thompson writes about racial prejudice, police violence, and the hypocrisy of America’s so-called “moral order.”
This work is a benchmark of gonzo journalism. It is written without any attempt at distance or objectivity; it’s a story of lost illusions, cultural disintegration, and inner emptiness masked as spectacle.
Thompson couldn’t write a standard report because, in his words,
“The story wasn’t about the race — it was about America.”
Hunter Thompson’s innovation lies in a style where truth does not exclude subjectivity, and the author’s experience becomes a full-fledged part of the narrative. His invention is boldly provocative, filled with sarcasm, hallucinogenic metaphors, and political disillusionment. He doesn’t just convey facts — he makes the reader feel the atmosphere of the era. Thompson opened new horizons for reportage, where the journalist is not a witness, but the hero of the stories he tells.
Translated to English with AI
