Claude and Burgers relationship?
I enjoy this movie very much but always wondered, was there more to the relationship between Claude and Burger than meets the eye?
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MovieChat Forums > Hair (1979) Discussion > Claude and Burgers relationship?
Are you talking Bro-Mance? I'd sign up.
"Sometimes my ruminations are too confusing for someone not inside my head." -Anon
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They did sort of have that vibe to them didn't they? I'd say particularly during the "Manchester England" number.
"Sometimes my ruminations are too confusing for someone not inside my head." -Anon
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A few years ago I met the composer. He is GAY.
I'm sure that figures somehow into their relationship.
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
Savage and Williams were both attractive looking males in this film. You can possibly read more into their characters and relationship and how they interacted and the film makers intentions. Haven't seen a stage production of this, but I feel the film was attempting a mildly suggestive but somewhat masked homo-erotic appeal between these 2 characters....same with Woof and Berger possibly. Being the hippie era too, and about wanting to promote free love, homosexuality probably would not have been an issue with Berger's character.
It is all subjective and in the eye of the beholder really.
The stage production was much darker than the movie. I saw the stage version of this in the 90s and I expected a light evening of entertainment. The militant stance over-shadowed the whole thing. I know the war was a major part but it shouldn't be the whole focus of the story. There were other factors like peace and love and the relationships between the characters. The film is a better balance definitely, even though it came out about five years too late.
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The military presence and the war are key to the story. It's depicted much better in the play.
shareWoof emphatically states he is not a homosexual (though Mick Jagger being in his bed opens up some possibilities for exploring some of those feelings apparently) Berger came across as straight as they come. but he was secure in his manhood to be able to dance with Claude in the "Manchester" number.
But don;t let my perceptions taint any homo-erotic fantasies that folks may have regarding the characters. With that grtoup of ragtag street urchins, anything is possible. I wouldn't even put it past Jeannie and Hud's old lady.
"De gustibus non disputandum est"
#3
I think part of the '60s counterculture was that heterosexual men were not scared of people thinking that they were gay. Notthattheresanythingwrongwiththat.
shareThis is it exactly. One of the major aspects of the '60s counterculture was questioning the rigid & narrow models of manhood that had dominated American culture. That meant feeling free enough to express love in all aspects, from sexual to brotherly, between men & not be ashamed of it. And it was also a rejection of the macho emotionless soldier model -- quite understandable, considering the horror of the Vietnam War & the knowledge of what was going on there.
"What does it mean to be a man?" was a big question asked back then, because so many young men didn't want to simply step into the American culture machine & be reduced to the same prefabricated, molded copy of manhood. Sad to say, our culture has regressed since then, and the current model of manhood is that of a perpetually adolescent boy.
Yup, there was, but the film did a horrid job of showing it (or a fantastic job of not showing it, depending on your perspective).
The thing is, in the play Claude isn't actually some lost Oklahoma boy, he's actually one of the hippies, is the ringleader of the Tribe actually, and Sheila also has a similar function. As such, Berger, she and Claude are all in a relationship, and Hair was the first ever Broadway musical to feature a same-sex kiss.
Which was all neatly cut out of the movie, because why not make something infinitely more conservative more than ten freaking years after someone had the guts to make the musical?
You watch the "I've Got Life" number and when Burger sings "I've got good times, man," to Claude, there is a lot of lovin' subtext there.
I slept with you and you're in love with my husband. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
It's mildly suggested. A lot of stuff in the play got changed for the movie, and while I don't recall it being out right stated, Berger, Claude, and Sheila share a three-way embrace, resulting in a Claude/Berger kiss, during a scene where the entire Tribe is bartering amongst each other for who they'll be sleeping with for the night.
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