Reflections on Rich Cohen's "Becoming Adolf"

In the prologue of "The Best American Essays," Susan Orlean writes about the essay's subjectivity. She refers to the essay as an exploration, "What mattered was that they conveyed the writer's journey..." (pg. 24). In rich Cohen's essay Becoming Adlof, the author takes the reader along with him as he attempts to reclaim the Toothbrush mustache. Cohen explains his reasoning behind wanting to grow that particular mustache, "I wanted to defuse it. I wanted to own it. I wanted to reclaim it for America and for the Jews." (pg. 69).

Cohen explores the possibility of disarming such infamous facial hair. "A dozen Hitlers passed through my mind: Hitler in a sport coat; Hitler in a lab coat. Hitler in a Speedo; Hitler in a Camaro. I shook myself and said, 'Get it together, Hitler--you're losing your mind!'" (pg. 75). Cohen confronts the history of the Toothbrush mustache with a great deal of humor. His Jewish background also lends another layer to the essay acting as partial motivation for his week long experiment. He notes that the mustache has been worn by both silent film comedians and facilitators of genocide. Cohen remarks on his experiences walking through the streets of New York City with his social experiment between his nose and upper lip, "So people do with the little Hitlers what people always do with lunatics in New York, the harmless or dangerous--they ignore, they avert, they move away." (pg. 75). Cohen concludes that the Toothbrush mustache can not be forgiven of its infamous past. "When you're wearing the Toothbrush mustache, you are waring the worst story in the world right under your nose." (pg. 76).

Although Cohen's essay is humorous, connecting something as inconsequential as facial hair with a tragic time in history, to me it is missing something. Perhaps it is unfair to compare Cohen's essay to that of his colleagues published in the same volume, however, as a reader, I cannot help myself from doing so. In my personal opinion, it lacks a certain depth or richness in comparison to the other essays we have read so far. I approached this essay with the expectation of something satisfyingly insightful. Instead, it was almost like being really thirsty and opening a soda, only to find that it's flat. Unfortunately, despite its merits as discussed above, I find this story to ultimately be flat.