"Once I understood what was making America such a dangerous, unhappy nation of people who had nothing to do with real life, I resolved to shun storytelling." - Kurt Vonnegut.
The most influential force in society, the media has for years been a chronicle of the zeitgeist, typifying public opinion on everything imaginable. For the outspoken the media is an invaluable tool with which to evangelise unspoken truths. During the latter half of the 20th Century, three ambassadors of American counter-culture - Hunter S. Thompson, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Joseph Heller - used their art form as a weapon against society and the force that governed it. The trio's distinctly different approaches all pointed to the same targets - the heart of the American dream, and the jugular of US society. .
All of these writers live in a time where avarice, racism and corruption are rife in society and government. Hunter Thompson chronicles the "fear and loathing" he experiences in Las Vegas, but his themes are much farther reaching. By an unspoken caucus he became the leader of the disenchanted generation of late 60's America. Staunchly anti-Nixon, Thompson's pioneering work in Gonzo Journalism may have generated detractors of such stature as Tom Wolfe, but he remains for many the one true icon of New Journalism. .
One of Thompson's fans in the literary circle, Kurt Vonnegut, present at the bombing of Dresden (which gives him much ammunition with which to attack war and suffering), is perhaps more renowned for his unique narrative style than political agenda. Nevertheless, Breakfast of Champions is clearly designed to rub middle-America's face in the sheer, unadulterated ugliness of life with its frank and unrelenting dissection of US life. Regarded by many as one of the greatest American writers of all time, Vonnegut has created a truly delightful yet deeply sinister book. .
Joseph Heller is an author often compared to Vonnegut in the hall of 20th century American literati.
Upon hearing the phrase "Roman Republic", most people think of a rich, powerful, vast nation with a dictator as the only form of government. Most people are wrong. The government of Rome had three well-known parts. Those parts were the senate, the consuls, and, in certain times, the dictators. In Ro...
The United States military involvement in Iraq has been an area of concern for government officials and the American people as a whole. With the latest eruption in Iraq, the question of whether or not to send our troops back into the turmoil of a country that has a flimsy government and operating re...
The Suez Crisis of 1956 demonstrates the inextricable link between the vehemence of Cold War politics and the decline of the once invincible imperial powers. The consequences of the crisis acted to ensure the decline of Anglo-French dominance in both Egypt and throughout the Middle East. This not on...
These stops included new types of pipes created by the Germans which provided varying sounds, including those that mimicked the viol family, reed stops (trumpet, posaune, shalm, vox-humana, etc.), closed pipes adding a much softer and deeper sound and smaller pipes which produced more penetrating sounds. ...
In the year 2015, are Americans with access to a variety of life-saving vaccinations knowingly avoiding them? The answer is yes. While many parents and guardians choose to vaccinate their children, others oppose for a variety of reasons. Whether online research, religious beliefs or ethical position...
March 13, 1960) on bass, Paul Hewson (later nicknamed "Bono Vox" and eventually just "Bono", b. ... There was a shop in the O'Connell Street area of Dublin, which sold 'Bonavox' hearing aids, and this seems to have been adapted to Bono Vox. ...
