The Rum Diary – Where’s Raoul Duke?
The Rum Diary hits theaters tomorrow with Johnny Depp once again playing our favorite “gonzo” journalist. Well, not quite. The Rum Diary was Hunter S. Thompson’s second novel, written when he was just 22 years old, long before he’d even coined the term “gonzo.” It was rejected seven times and Thompson had pretty much given up hope that it would ever be published. Forty years and several books later, Thompson revisited the book and decided it was a good story (and would make him a lot of money.) The Rum Diary was finally published in 1998.
It will be interesting to see how fans react to this movie. Thompson based Paul Kemp, the story’s main character on himself and his experiences living in Puerto Rico. And Paul Kemp is no Raoul Duke. This is not the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Thompson; this is a young, down and out writer trying to find his voice and keep himself fed. Sure, there’s a lot of drinking (as the name implies), and there is a fair amount of craziness. But if you’re expecting the same kind of drug-fueled lunacy that made Fear and Loathing famous, you might be disappointed.
When it comes to Hunter S. Thompson fans, I have mixed feelings. There are those who have read everything he wrote and understand that the character he created for himself is just that, a character. And, there are those, of course, who read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (or more likely saw the movie), and go to Halloween parties dressed up as Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo.
Thompson himself realized that people wanted him to be Raoul Duke, they preferred Raoul Duke, and it bothered him. And it’s still happening today, ask most people to describe Hunter S. Thompson and I can almost guarantee you’ll get a description of Raoul Duke.
But maybe this movie will begin to change people’s perceptions. As I mentioned earlier, The Rum Diary is a story about a young, down and out writer who moves to Puerto Rico trying to find his voice. It’s a work of fiction, but it’s based on Thompson’s personal experiences living in Puerto Rico, trying to get a job at the English-language daily called the San Juan Star. It’s a fast-paced story; it’s exciting, and has the requisite number of alcoholic maniacs. Most importantly, it is a glimpse into the early life and early work of one of the most (in)famous writers of all time.
Will the masses be moved? I don’t know, but I hope that, some of them anyway, will see that there was more to Hunter S. Thompson than a head full of acid.
What do you think? Seeing the movie? Read the book? Give us some feedback, post your Thoughts below.
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Bryce Wilson posted on October 27, 2011
Some nice insight on The Rum Diaries but as for Thompson’s relationship with Raoul Duke I can’t say I agree a hundred percent with your police work there Lou.
You can accuse Thompson of a lot of stuff, but trying to play down Raoul Duke isn’t one of them. I agree that the persona eventually subsumed him, and in the aftermath of the Thrilla In Manilla it more or less destroyed him as a writer. But frankly that’s as much Thompson’s fault as anyone’s. Watch Fear And Loathing On The Road To Hollywood, the BBC documentary, and you see someone who is deliberately playing into their legend. And that was way back in 1978.
Here’s an interesting excerpt from the introduction to the new collection Fear And Loathing At Rolling Stone by Paul Scalon,
“A few months after the election we were sitting in Jerry’s. Hunter looked like hell and was clearly not in great spirits. For reasons that will ever elude me, I decided to give him a helpful lecture. Retire your alter ego Raoul Duke, I said. Or send him on a long vacation. Go back to being the journalist who wrote Hells Angels. Cut back a little on the drugs and the booze. He turned towards me as he reached into the pocket of his safari jacket. He gave me a look; nothing nasty, just a look. He extracted a tab of Mr. Natural blotter acid from the pocket, stared me in the eye, and swallowed it. I got the message. Our conversation resumed. ”
There was a lot more to Hunter Thompson than a head full of acid. Unfortunately, not all of the time.
Daniel Beyfuss posted on October 30, 2011
I agree he played up the image, why wouldn’t he, it was his meal ticket. But he realized the problems it caused. In that same BBC documentary he talks about killing off Duke, saying the image prevented him from covering stories in the way he was initially accustomed to. I’m a big fan of entire Hunter Thomspson mystique, but I’d rather people dig a little deeper and find out exactly who they’re idolizing.
Yulia posted on March 4, 2012
I wonder what Mr./Dr. Thompson would have to say about Will Smith… Probably that Independence Day wasn’t onvleit enough and waaaay too Establishment.(Glad you grabbed the poster from our site. Come on back anytime.)