On Friday, the nation’s self-christened and self-appointed English teacher gave us a new word – gonzo!
The man who used the most memorable phrase in English by an Indian when he wrote ‘Exasperating farrago of distortions, misrepresentations an outright lies being broadcast by an unprincipled showman masquerading as a journalist (sic)’, has taken his role as the nation’s teacher seriously.
On Friday, he tweeted, describing ‘you-know-who’.
Word of the Week: Indian media has become the preserve of the gonzo journalist! pic.twitter.com/M6fk22cpGK
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 24, 2020
The word isn’t of particularly old vintage and was probably conceived in 1971 by the father of gonzo journalism Hunter S Thompson.
But first the etymology of Tharoor’s word: “1971, American English, in Hunter S. Thompson’s phrase gonzo journalism. Thompson in 1972 said he got it from editor Bill Cardosa and explained it as “some Boston word for weird, bizarre.” Probably from Italian (Neapolitan) gonzo “rude, sottish,” a word of unknown origin, perhaps from Spanish ganso and ultimately from the Germanic word for “goose” (see goose (n.)).”
The word like much of the English language, borrows from Italian, Spanish and Germanic.
Current definition according Merriam-Webster:
“1: of, relating to, or being a style of journalism marked by a lack of objectivity due to the writer’s immersion in the subject and often participation in the activity being.”
2 informal
a: outlandishly unconventional, outrageous, or extreme
b: very strange or unusual
The term is now used across genres like gonzo pornography or gonzo comedy.
What exactly is gonzo journalism?
Simply put, a style of journalism which has no pretence of objectivity like You Know Who. The story is told as a first-person narrative. The author is not only the protagonist, but it draws its power from social critique and self-satire, eschewing the journalistic worldview that the reporter should never be part of the story.
While the tricycle rule states that a journalism should never become part of the story, that is never be seen riding the tricycle after shooting a children’s day event, gonzo journalism not only has the reporter riding the tricycle but probably takes it through burning hoops.
Describing the genre, it’s pater said in 1973: “”If I’d written the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.”
Who was Hunter S Thompson?
An American journalist and author, Thomson was memorably played by Johnny Depp in The Rum Diary. He became famous with the publication of Hell’s Angels, though he sadly became too famous in the upcoming years.
Known for his contempt for authoritarianism, love for firearms and alcohol and narcotics, he famously said: “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”
He ultimately committed suicide at 67 and his ashes were fired out a cannon in a ceremony funded by Johnny Depp. The funeral was attended by several famous people and friends including John Kerry and Jack Nicholson.
