Hedwig's Angry Inch

Is it Hedwig or Hansel? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
I’m in an early Spring funk, experiencing a bit of writer’s block. Hopefully it will clear up along with the unseasonably cold, rainy skies outside. Regarding politics, I feel remiss that I’ve commented so little on Obama’s presidency after 3 months -- after all I gave so much time to W. Bush. I’d have to give Obama an A-; I think he’s dealt earnestly with all the things he has to deal with. He’s shifting emphasis from Iraq to Afghanistan and holding some failing companies’ feet to the fire with regard to business recovery. Has he stepped in it a couple of times (e.g., driving Rick Wagoner away from GM)? Assuredly -- but there are a lot of cow patties to step around these days.

HEDWIG
Hedwig and the Angry Inch came out 8 years ago, and was a hit in all the art house theaters. For whatever reason, I thought the topic was unappealing and the trailers didn’t engage me -- I just watched it for the first time this weekend. The movie is, on the surface, about a transgendered entertainer named Hedwig who’s chasing his ex-boyfriend, Tommy Gnosis, (also a successful singer) across the U.S.. It seems Tommy dumped Hedwig after finding out he had a sex change, and stole all the song material which Hedwig had written for them both to share.

Let’s queue to Hedwig’s past, in order to explain the movie’s present: The “angry inch” comes from the fact that Hedwig had a botched operation which left him with an inch of penis remaining. Hedwig started life as Hansel, a sexually confused East German boy who fell for an American (male) GI at age 14. East Germany wouldn’t let a couple emigrate away unless it was a man and a woman, so Hansel had a sex change and took the name “Hedwig” from his mother’s passport. They came to Kansas where the GI promptly dumped Hedwig for another young boy -- Hedwig was left to pay his own way in life with a cabaret act, performing at various dives and sometimes odd jobs like babysitting.

Queue to the movie’s near-present: Hedwig meets a slightly younger, 17 year old boy named Tommy on one of his babysitting jobs. Tommy is a deeply religious boy, wholesome and All-American. Hedwig turns Tommy on to glam rock and also steals Tommy’s heart. They become soul mates of sorts, until a session of heavy petting reveals the angry inch. Tommy can’t handle a transgender and runs away (with all of Hedwig’s music no less). Tommy starts a successful career as glam rock singer Tommy Gnosis.

INTERPRETATION (PLEASE!)
The movie has an interesting ending, which might be subject to several interpretations. Hedwig and Tommy meet again and have a song duet on an empty stage, facing each other. Where it looks like they’re about to embrace, Tommy turns and walks away. The next scene shows Hedwig dressed as a man, looking a bit like Tommy, even with Tommy’s trademark silver cross painted on his forehead. Hedwig hands his blonde wig to a band mate, signifying that he no longer wishes to do drag as Hedwig.

I will offer my own dime store insights …

o Though Hedwig and his manager have filed a lawsuit against Tommy for copyright infringement, Hedwig cares nothing about the money. He just wants Tommy back.
o Hedwig is looking for his “other half” as is said to exist in Greek mythology and honestly believes it exists in Tommy.
o Hedwig comes to realize that the missing half was in himself all along, and merely suppressed. His tragically weird childhood could be blamed for a lifetime of flashy drag routines.
o At the outset, you think that Hedwig is "angry" that an inch still remains -- at the end of the movie, there's the prospect Hedwig is actually angry that 5 inches were removed, as he reasserts his identity as a gay man (and no longer a transgender woman).

I may have it all completely wrong -- it would probably take a Masters in Psychology to give this movie its correct meaning. In any case, Hedwig is a fascinating movie -- watch it and see if you pick up another vibe besides anything I’ve said above.

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