I am not a German and hence could not understand this. But, why is it that Hendrik Hoefgen insisted that he be called 'Hendrik' instead of Heinz? Is there some kind of social hierchy associated with the two forms of names?
shareI was curious about this myself...
shareThe character's name is HENDRIK HÖFGEN, that's how he's called (or better: he calls himself) in the film. One time his name is mistaken to "Henrik" (another, but much more usual name) and he complaints about it. This is part of the story and has dramaturgic meaning.
HEINZ was his given, original name, but he disliked it and he'd choosen HENDRIK instead of it, by the plot.
Yes, it is correct he wanted to change his name to be more unique. But he also did it (according to the book) so that everyone will know him as HenDrik and when the unique name becomes "common" he thinks that it is only then is a testament of his true success. It also represent a loss of innocence as Heinz was his "childhood" name, a name of a boy who was more innocent and pursued the arts for pure passion instead of ambition for public acceptance.
shareYeah, “Heinz” is… Well, think of Heinz Doofenshmirtz or Heinz Tomato Ketchup…
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