My husband and I saw the Rum Diary this past weekend. The critics do not like it, but I do. The movie is based on the first and only Hunter S. Thompson novel, written in the early 1960s, though not published until 1998.
The movie offers a thinly veiled autobiographical peek into the early Thompson’s psyche. To any person seeking to understand a bit more about the not yet gonzo journalist while he was still finding his footing as a writer the film will be intriguing. Of course we will never know for sure what aspects of the novel and now film were and were not based on actual experiences of Thompson, but the feel is right at many levels. I have not spent tons of time in Puerto Rico but I spent a month there, and scenes were reminiscent of things I experienced there living on a regular old street in a beach town and on a nearby island and bombing range, Culebra, where I vacationed for a few days while in the area. The bombing range features prominently in the plot although it is never specifically named in the film.
For later born Baby Boomers, of whom I am one, Hunter S. Thompson was an iconic figure as we came of age. And even though the timeline in this novel takes place before some of us were even born, the life and work of Thompson such as Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail 1972 and his regular articles in Rolling Stone during the 1970s framed many of our views on political events and on popular culture.
Late Boomer Johnny Depp (b. June 9, 1963) isn’t alone in his belief in the importance of Hunter S. Thompson as a writer and cultural icon to those of us who polishing our world views at the height of Thompson’s influence. The proto-gonzo, parts of the male anatomy to the wall, journalist in this film rails against the same nemesis that was enemy to counter culture when Late Boomer political psyches were forming and enemy to the 99% today: greedy and heartless capitalists (not all capitalists fit this description) and complacent media that care more for advertisers and bottom lines than the need to report the truth.
This is not a feel good movie. There is no happy ending. There are cock fights. The pace of the plot mirrors the stifling heavy tropical atmosphere. The film is sooooo Thompson with its short term belief and passion and its long term pessimism. See it. Not a great film but a necessary reminder about a life that shaped a generation.
Booming BlogHer Batman!
Hey Folks,
I was at #BlogHer11 in San Diego (yes, this is a hashtag to use on Twitter) from August 4 thru 6 then took a week off to figure out a stay sane plan for the coming semester. No, I have not gone back to school. My husband is taking a sabbatical this semester and will be around the old homestead the rest of this year when he isn’t on medium length investigatory trips related to his research. My daughter has moved back in for the last semester of her time as an undergraduate. I view this as a transition phase, a liminal phase and while I will try to finish up a book I’m working on and attend another conference, everything is in flux. Nothing new there for a Late Boomer. The type of change we have lived through is similar to those folks who remembered horses and horseless carriages and then had to deal with airplanes for heavens sake, only to find their life plans completely disrupted once they were well into adult life by the Great Depression. The BlogHer post that I have intended to write forever and just haven’t gotten around to doing, The Blogger session that stands out in my mind, well one of three anyway, was the Room of Your Own Session put together by Judi Boomer. At some point I will link to all the Booming Blogs that have a Late Boomer Edge, but as I am using this post as a test case to consolidate all my blogs in one spot on my main website, I am not going to go into detail here and now. I just wanted you to know the group exists and is gaining strength! Woot.