Discussion Group May 1: The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent & Depraved

[fljoe0]

Tonight at 8:00 we will Discuss Hunter Thompson's The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent & Depraved.

http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf

The Kentucky Derby is Saturday so I thought this one would be fun to read. Brace yourselves, it's a little rough in a couple of spots but it's hilarious (at least I hope I'm not the only one that thinks so).

 

[Spideyman]

Tonight at 8:00 we will Discuss Hunter Thompson's The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent & Depraved.

http://brianb.freeshell.org/a/kddd.pdf

The Kentucky Derby is Saturday so I thought this one would be fun to read. Brace yourselves, it's a little rough in a couple of spots but it's hilarious (at least I hope I'm not the only one that thinks so).

Read it over weekend-- will discuss with you all tonight and hilarious it is!!! Perfect choice.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...agreed it's funny....quite the scathing social/satirical commentary on the vaunted event.....he's a genius with a story-just found myself a bit taken aback at what would be considered wildly politically incorrect now....the African American racist bent and the gay bashing.....still, quite the descriptive coverage and I even came out the other end of the read a bit hungover and my eyes were streaming from a little leftover "Billy".....

 

[Dana Jean]

Interesting choice as I am currently reading Fear and Loathing.

I really love the Gonzo Journalism that he is known for. Personally, I think that's what makes it fun and funny. When a person inserts themselves in the story and we see it through their eyes. Rightly or wrongly. Everyone has an opinion of a situation, and I'm sure someone else writing at exactly the same time, same event would see it through their eyes. An added splash of wtf -- his eyes were usually floating from use of something. So that adds an even more interesting dynamic to his style.

I agree with Scott that the racism and gayism did give me pause, but I don't look at that as a bad thing like a lot of people do. It's a colorful vocabulary in my opinion, not a declaration or statement of hate. People could argue otherwise, but I really don't think his intent was that at all. They are words and we give them power over us -- or we don't. I choose to not let these words have power in the way haters want them to have. But of course, I would never use them. When it comes to a writer, the English language is their playground and they should be allowed to use them all or they aren't being true to the writing. JMO

I absolutely loved loved loved the artwork that accompanied this story. And I can see why people were so upset with his portrayals of them. They all look gluttonous and vulgar and greedy and leering. I loved it. bwhahaha!

And, as a little girl, with 3 channels only, my dad and I would watch the Kentucky Derby always. (Also the Preakness and the other one, the triple of the triple crown.)

It was all so charming and make believe and dress-up for me. The clothes, the pretty hats, the beautiful men and women, the gorgeous horses. A "civilized" culture (which apparently was nasty and crude according to Hunter.) .

Of course, the Wide World of Sports didn't show us THIS particular Kentucky Derby, did they? I never once heard Jim McKay talk about the agony of defeat when someone vomited in the grand stands.

Fun choice fljoe.

 

[fljoe0]

...agreed it's funny....quite the scathing social/satirical commentary on the vaunted event.....he's a genius with a story-just found myself a bit taken aback at what would be considered wildly politically incorrect now....the African American racist bent and the gay bashing.....still, quite the descriptive coverage and I even came out the other end of the read a bit hungover and my eyes were streaming from a little leftover "Billy".....

I was shocked by a couple of the inappropriate words in this story. The 70s were pretty casual about things like that. This was a magazine article which even makes a little more surprising. He was projecting those words onto other characters but it was jarring.

 

[fljoe0]

I think the story is summed up perfectly at the end when Ralph Steadman says we came down here to see this terrible scene and it's us.

 

[fljoe0]

When Hunter is trying to get the press passes at the beginning and is offered field passes instead, he says no, we need to see everything. We didn't come all this way to watch the race on TV. And then that's exactly what they did.

 

[fljoe0]

Interesting choice as I am currently reading Fear and Loathing.

I really love the Gonzo Journalism that he is known for. Personally, I think that's what makes it fun and funny. When a person inserts themselves in the story and we see it through their eyes. Rightly or wrongly. Everyone has an opinion of a situation, and I'm sure someone else writing at exactly the same time, same event would see it through their eyes. An added splash of wtf -- his eyes were usually floating from use of something. So that adds an even more interesting dynamic to his style.

I agree with Scott that the racism and gayism did give me pause, but I don't look at that as a bad thing like a lot of people do. It's a colorful vocabulary in my opinion, not a declaration or statement of hate. People could argue otherwise, but I really don't think his intent was that at all. They are words and we give them power over us -- or we don't. I choose to not let these words have power in the way haters want them to have. But of course, I would never use them. When it comes to a writer, the English language is their playground and they should be allowed to use them all or they aren't being true to the writing. JMO

I absolutely loved loved loved the artwork that accompanied this story. And I can see why people were so upset with his portrayals of themselves. They all look gluttonous and vulgar and greedy and leering. I loved it. bwhahaha!

And, as a little girl, with 3 channels only, my dad and I would watch the Kentucky Derby always. (Also the Preakness and the other one, the triple of the triple crown.
It was all so charming and make believe and dress-up for me. The clothes, the pretty hats, the beautiful men and women, the gorgeous horses. A "civilized" culture (which apparently was nasty and crude according to Hunter.) .

Of course, the Wide World of Sports didn't show us THIS particular Kentucky Derby, did they? I never once heard Jim McKay talk about the agony of defeat when someone vomited in the grand stands.

Fun choice fljoe.

Hunter describing those drawings and the reactions was so funny.

 

[fljoe0]

A funny line when Hunter was trying to describe to Ralph what the Derby would be like:

"Just pretend you're visiting a huge outdoor loony bin."

 

[Spideyman]

The story was more about the people in attendance than the actual Kentucky Derby race. The winner of the race and the female rider where only briefly mentioned.
Agree, 1st person added to the writer being a character himself.
One thing that caught my eye-- with all the wrong things happening in the country, ( Nixon, Cambodia, student unrest) the people only thought about the race and it being one big party.

Some language was strong, but it was the "70's.

 

[Spideyman]

A funny line when Hunter was trying to describe to Ralph what the Derby would be like:

"Just pretend you're visiting a huge outdoor loony bin."

There were so many funny lines. Really enjoyable read.

 

[Dana Jean]

The story was more about the people in attendance than the actual Kentucky Derby race. The winner of the race and the female rider where only briefly mentioned.
Agree, 1st person added to the writer being a character himself.
One thing that caught my eye-- with all the wrong things happening in the country, ( Nixon, Cambodia, student unrest) the people only thought about the race and it being one big party.

Some language was strong, but it was the "70's.

Yes. All of that buffonery and drunken excess juxtaposed with the unrest in the country was a stark and dark contrast.

The man he tells about the Panthers going to the Derby was angry and full of sorrow. Lamenting about the possible staining of something so traditionally American.

""No!" he shouted; his hands flew up and hovered momentarily between us, as if to ward off the words he was hearing. Then he whacked his fist on the bar. "Those sons of bitches! God Almighty! The Kentucky Derby!" He kept shaking his head. "No! Jesus! That's almost too bad to believe!" Now he seemed to be sagging on the stool, and when he looked up his eyes were misty. "Why? Why here? Don't they respect anything?"

And his reaction to that information reminded me of the famous quote about the JFK Whitehouse.

“Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.”

I think we all have our Camelot.

 

[Dana Jean]

And just adding to what I said above, the man is practically inconsolable over his beloved Kentucy Derby traditions being sullied.

Where is his righteous indignation about young people dying in the streets, on college campuses in Cambodia?

His misplaced pain is absurd. And that's what makes Hunter's essay so good, he shows the theater of the absurd and the puppets we are.

 

[Spideyman]

Interesting Rolling Stone article on the story/ author and artist. Note the "colors" Steadman used. Funny!!

Remembering Hunter S. Thompson's Gonzo Kentucky Derby Epic

New ESPN '30 for 30' short 'Gonzo @ The Derby' revisits the moment that Hunter S. Thompson covered the Kentucky Derby and conceived his style.

www.rollingstone.com

 

[HollyGolightly]

Bypassing previous comments to say Hi friends! I'm going to read this right now. I've always wanted to read Crazyman Thompson. Here I go - I shall return.

 

[HollyGolightly]

Very cool and timely story fljoe0 ! I enjoyed my first Hunter Thompson story muchly. I really like the Gonzo style he created. I've always enjoyed first person writing, it has that sense of being there that other narrators within a story have to work very hard to relay. It also confuses the hell out of me. I'm ashamed to admit that I had to ask Google if this was a story or an essay. I'm still not sure I know the answer to that.

I grew up not far from Lexington - in Florence, KY. The derby was a big deal. One time my dad and I had to drive somewhere to get my Aunt Debby from her derby mishap. I was young and I just remember she smelled bad.

Though incredibly cruel - the "n word" and the gay bashing didn't phase me - it's not part of MY vocabulary, but it's the South in the 1970 - no big surprise there. It's how it was and still is in some places (and by that - I mean places in the heart - where prejudice lies). I loved Hunter's response by putting his Marlboro into his cigarette holder.

Kentucky whiskey. Is whiskey drinking making a comeback? It seems to be here in Memphis-or is it just the people I run with (and by that I mean the Ogre).

Back to the story - I really like HT's observatory style - people watching as the story. He's witty and crude. Steadman's drawings were too funny - I loved them too Dana Jean - and they look familiar - have I seen those in Playboys from the 70s? All of this really blurs the lines between story telling and essay writing for me. But that's perfect, right? A very convincing writer, that Hunter Thompson. I'd heard he would be.

So naturally I read up on him and discovered his tragic end. I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't already know - but sheesh. I'd have been pissed if I was his wife/ex-wife, kids, etc. Almost like he thought it would be a gift to them. And so I wonder - what was he really like.

The story, the writer and the story of the writer have left me intrigued and wanting more. That's the calling card of a truly gifted writer.

 

[fljoe0]

Very cool and timely story fljoe0 ! I enjoyed my first Hunter Thompson story muchly. I really like the Gonzo style he created. I've always enjoyed first person writing, it has that sense of being there that other narrators within a story have to work very hard to relay. It also confuses the hell out of me. I'm ashamed to admit that I had to ask Google if this was a story or an essay. I'm still not sure I know the answer to that.

I grew up not far from Lexington - in Florence, KY. The derby was a big deal. One time my dad and I had to drive somewhere to get my Aunt Debby from her derby mishap. I was young and I just remember she smelled bad.

Though incredibly cruel - the "n word" and the gay bashing didn't phase me - it's not part of MY vocabulary, but it's the South in the 1970 - no big surprise there. It's how it was and still is in some places (and by that - I mean places in the heart - where prejudice lies). I loved Hunter's response by putting his Marlboro into his cigarette holder.

Kentucky whiskey. Is whiskey drinking making a comeback? It seems to be here in Memphis-or is it just the people I run with (and by that I mean the Ogre).

Back to the story - I really like HT's observatory style - people watching as the story. He's witty and crude. Steadman's drawings were too funny - I loved them too Dana Jean - and they look familiar - have I seen those in Playboys from the 70s? All of this really blurs the lines between story telling and essay writing for me. But that's perfect, right? A very convincing writer, that Hunter Thompson. I'd heard he would be.

So naturally I read up on him and discovered his tragic end. I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't already know - but sheesh. I'd have been pissed if I was his wife/ex-wife, kids, etc. Almost like he thought it would be a gift to them. And so I wonder - what was he really like.

The story, the writer and the story of the writer have left me intrigued and wanting more. That's the calling card of a truly gifted writer.

This story is considered an essay by most but it reads more like a short story. I think many of Hunter's articles and essays read like short stories.

If you want to read more by Hunter, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas is a good place to start. It's like the Derby on steroids. I have The Great Shark Hunt which is a large collection of his work and I've also read Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail which is a book he wrote covering the 1972 presidential campaign. Those books are both good.

I think Terry Gilliam did a very good job with the movie Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (with Johnny Depp). I would have thought it an impossible book to do a good adaptation of.

 

[Spideyman]

May we have a volunteer for the May 8th reading group? Find a short story, available free on line, and post the link. Thankee.

 

[cat in a bag]

I cannot add much to what you guys have already said. This was my first Thompson read.

How much of that stuff goes on, do you think? It kind of surprised me. I guess because all I know of the Kentucky Derby is what you see on tv. The fancy stuff. HIGH SO-CI-E-TY. To read (Fiction? Non- Fiction? Little of both?) that the attendants are the same drunken fools as everyone else is kind of made me laugh.

And yes, set against the real world events of the time shows the head in the sand type mentality of the attendees. Although, sometimes I think a little bit of head in the sand stuff works to let us keep our sanity in the crazy world.

 

[Spideyman]

Approaching close of MB for the week--
possible short story for group read on May 8th

The Blue Cross

The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton

americanliterature.com

The Blue Cross by G.K. Chesterton


****************** If someone else would like to suggest another, please feel free. Would like to give others an opportunity to pick the group readings. *************