Fear and Loathing is overrated

Get really high then watch the movie..Watch duke the whole time very intently and maybe ull get it..

 

there are 2 groups of people i know when talking about F+L:

1) the idiots: these are the ones who havent heard of it, and i need to describe it as "2 guys go on a drug trip to vegas"

2) the thompson fans: the ones who will see the halloween costume, and call you "hunter" or "Thompson", NOT "hey, its fear and loathing!" they have typically read one or more of the books and have knowledge beyond that of the movie.

the movie is a great representation of the book, and Depp is a wonderful actor. however, it is only able to properly catch the drug culture portion of the story. the book is about more than that. it is a deeper view of the psyche, and of the american dream

 

dr.thompson is just an amazing writer. he was able to put himself in the story and make anything revolve around him. Try reading fear and loathing on the campaign trail. amazing read, it's fun to compare that campaign with the 2008 campaign. the good doctor saw himself as the poster child for all the failed idologies of the 60s, hence the drug use. hunter loved america, he loved the idea of the american dream, it's something that has intregued authors for ages and i think the vegas book is a good interpritation of it. it's relavent now as it was then, both happened in times of choas and creation of every kind.

 

who fucking cares? everyone is always saying "oh this is overrated and that is overrated" FUCK OFF! If you like something then just fucking like it and if you don't, then don't. But get over the overrated crap, it's getting fucking boring. Things being overrated is overrated.

 

this is an incredible piece of work. RIP Hunter S Thompson

 

Overrated or not it is still a genius book. Thinking things are overrated is overrated man!

 

how fuckin weird, i just watched the movie. i was going to read it, but I picked up The Rum Diary first and it bored the shit out of me, so i just rented F+L the movie. I liked it. Johnny Depp and Benicio were really really great.

 

while i agree the drug use is a bit excessive, you have to keep in mind context when reading a book. this book was written in the 1970's, when prolific heavy drug use was widespread among all types and classes of people, especially creative types like hunter s. thompson himself.

like another poster already mentioned, this book is also culturally important/relevant because it can be seen as the advent of gonzo journalism- a fast-paced, in-your-face, nitty gritty type of journalism that was started and revolutionized by hunter s. thompson.

 

I hear a whole lot about "gonzo journalism" but the only writer I can think of that used that title was Hunter himself.

 

Tom Wolfe actually coined the phrase "gonzo journalism", he wrote a book entitled The New Journalism, which contains some short stories (including HST's first gonzo piece) and some sections from popular gonzo books. Here is a list from the above mentioned book of authors that contributed in some way or another to gonzo journalism: Tom Wolfe himself, rex reed, gay talese, richard goldstein, michael herr, truman capote, joe eszterhas,terry southern, hst, norman mailer, nicholas tomalin, the list goes on and on.

I highly recommend the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe.

Also, I really enjoyed fear and loathing:las vegas, because it was really funny to me. I think if you think its overrated then you're missing the point, which is to not take anything too seriously. That's just my opinion though.

 

Wow..old thread.

this is only because Terry Gilliam is a badass director and made a great adaptation.

You're a fool.

like who?

To those posters who have never taken a significant amount of LSD or Shrooms - you are too ignorant to understand this book.

The book is not shallow or badly written or lacking anything. This book spoke to my sense of adventure...always good in a novel..I hate when authors leave out the fucking adventure!

Here is what I got out of the book:

Psychedelics were suppose to be a key to victory but in the novel he is abusing the hell out of them....I think that is how he saw the revolutionary spirit.. decaying..all the hipsters trying to find enlightenment become drug addicts.

To me it was poignant..I'm an LSD advocate and I like studying the history of the Counter-culture.


I read Hells Angels and thought it was boring....but FAL was exciting.

 

I love Fear and Loathing, one of my all time favorite reads. I would have to say its not for everybody, but for me its great on a few different levels. I guess its just what you read into it.

 

Movie is overrated, book is amazing.

 

I thought they did a pretty good job on the movie, but yes the book is far superior.

 

Well, they did a good job with most aspects, but it just didn't have the same feel and the satire and commentary was mostly lost in the comedy of it.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a great movie, but a lot of people seem to give it too much credit.

 

For me it's just a good read. I mean sure the massive drug use makes it better. I'd rather read about two freaks high as a kite going nuts in Vegas than a book about two normal people going to Vegas to be professional. Who doesn't like insanity?

 

Funny thing is, I have seen the movie probably 15 times. Mostly due to the fact that I lost the book at a Dead show. Also the fact that I can kick back and watch a movie a hell of a lot faster then I can read a book.

But the book always takes the cake, every time.

 

I just started reading this book again a few days ago. I think it is absolutely amazing, and it has nothing to do with the characters being on drugs. The moods that Thompson is able to capture and convey in words are just amazing to me. The crazy, hectic, and face passed nature of the book is like a portrait of the crazy hectic human mind, and the twisted nature of the American dream. I love it.

 

Blasphemy!

 

I prefer courage and devotion