Watched what I think was the final installment of Bad Lads Army tonight, and found it extraordinarily moving. Or possibly not that extraordinary at all, since both myself and Xoc have, throughout the show's run, felt the pull of unfamiliar but strong emotional currents. As a gay male, my emotional response to Bad Lads Army is not straightforward at all.
Let's get the obvious out of the way at the outset: men in uniform, phwoarr, etc. Actually, it's not that phwoarrsome in a purely lust object way; the Bad Lads (some of whom stretch the definition a little - parking fines?!) have tended to appeal as engaging characters rather than hubbahubba eye candy. Which is not to say I don't find the 1950s uniforms and hairstyles attractive - I do - just that they're not the primary attraction here.
Equally obvious is the SM/humiliation/corporal punishment element, and that's also of interest - if slightly muddied by the fact that "poof" seems (particularly with one Scottish taskmaster) to be one of the terms intended to humiliate. While I can just about buy the 'it's authentic 1950s' justification, I'm sure more or less racist epithets were similarly authentic, but these are conspicuous by their absence.
Anyway.
What struck me about this series wasn't the period eroticism, but the way the all-male camaraderie pulled at something other than my cock. Pretty much every episode, Xoc and I had the 'how would you have dealt with that' conversation, and at the beginning I confidently expressed my repugnance at the whole set-up. I've always loathed team games, hate people shouting at me, and can't abide being ordered to do things I find stupid and pointless. I don't possess pack instinct, I'm not a sheeple.
And yet... as Bad Lads Army has unfolded, I've found myself beginning to understand why old men get misty-eyed about National Service. Yes, much of it has been stupid - but not, I don't think, pointless. The same ridiculous men who've been screaming in X's face (or calling him a "poof") have been shown to be amazingly tender in comforting X when he's having a crisis of confidence, or powerfully motivating when X's resolve fails. It's a fairly rigidly structured, codified all-male environment (as all-male environments tend to be) but, within that framework, it's been, at points, almost unbearably touching to see the depth of affection between men. Over a matter of weeks, the petty offenders have responded to that paternal/fraternal feedback in a way that makes it clear that it's already hugely affecting the shape of their lives.
Although I've always tended to think of myself, in true Barbeloid stylee, as too 'individual' to fall for that Band of Brothers schtick, I suspect that's not the case at all. I suspect I'd fall for it hook, line and sinker. I'd sooo much crave the kind of male approval evident in Bad Lads Army that I'd work my arse off (ho ho) to become a model soldier. Which isn't a particularly comfortable thing to accept, but I think it's probably true. I'd be a tail-waggy dog rather than a cat.
So... has anyone else been watching Bad Lads Army? How have others - particularly males - responded to it? |
