Were the Gods a bunch of closet-cases?
Fowler, the soldier-boy, ranting about "cleaning the house", having house prayers to keep "that sort of thing" at bay. Yet look at how he regards that cute little Wharton.
Bartley, who "can't take much more", casting those longing glances.
And don't they look ultra camp in those snazzy waistcoats?
Barclay almost certainly was. Remember the scene where Guy blackmailed him and the other God (his name escapes me) so they wouldn't beat him? He said he'd go to the head master with a list of all the people he'd done it with over the years, referring to both of them. Plus Barclay seemed to quite fancy Judd! As for Fowler, well who knows. He was certainly repressed but whether or not he was sexually repressed, well that's up to you. :)
I love children. I’m not a paedophile obviously; I just think they’re great.
From what I've read, sexual encounters at English public schools (boys) were quite common and didn't mean that the participant was homosexual. Raging hormones in close quarters in an era where heterosexual sex before marriage could ruin someone's future, made it understandable. I think that's what was meant when a few of the Gods said that's what happens when the school official isn't an "old boy" - i.e. he didn't go to this public school and doesn't realize that this is widespread behavior. The boys had always handled the matter; it didn't rise to a dismissable offense and created scandal for the school. Guy Burgess was a homosexual, drank heavily and was not discreet about it.
shareYes, sexual encounters at British public schools ( the equivalent of American private prep schools) were somewhat common. They were carried out furtively and discreetly. People knew they occurred but pretended ignorance and didn't talk about them. It was considered an adolescent "phase" that would be outgrown. But these schoolboy liaisons sometimes had lifelong consequences.
Barclay probably recognised his homosexual tendencies, they made him feel uneasy and were part of his frustrations. Fowler didn't want to recognise his tendencies at all, and he reacted by turning his frustrations inward, and persecuting anyone who openly displayed gay behavior. In other words, he became homophobic to cover up his own suppressed desires. Both of these guys were closet-cases.
Unfortunately, two of the actors who played "gods" have since passed on. Robert Addie (Delahay) died of lung cancer in 2003. Frederick Alexander (Menzies) died in a traffic accident, shortly after the completion of 'Another Country', in 1984.
I really don't think Fowler was supposed to be gay or closeted. Not gonna lie, when I was watching this movie for the first time, I was just waiting for the moment when someone brought up Fowler's homosexual encounters, or when perhaps Bennett would accuse Fowler of being closeted. However, after watching the movie a second time, I think that Fowler's rage and militarism was supposed to be a representation of and or allusion to British Imperial society during the 1930s. He was militaristic, a religious conservative, and politically and morally intransigent. As first, I was confused as to why they kept on showing Fowler with Wharton, and that's what made be think he had homosexual tendencies at first. However, after rewatching these scenes, it made me realize that the interactions between Fowler and Wharton were supposed to represent the transference of Fowler's (the older generation) militarism and ideology to Wharton (the younger generation). When Wharton was helping Fowler get dressed, Wharton was looking at Fowler like he was a war hero, and when Wharton found out that Bennett has appealed to the house "Gods" for loosing them the military inspection competition, Wharton said something like "I hope they give him (Bennett) a jolly good beating." In short, though Fowler seemed to be a miserable human being, I don't think that I was from repressed homosexuality.
As for the the rest of the Gods/Prefects, I don't think any of them would have entered into homosexual relationships after they graduated and were allowed to be around women. Barclay did act weird around Judd, but I think that was just because he appreciated Judd's honesty and political stand. Barclay knew what was happening in the school was wrong, but he didn't have the courage to do anything about it. Likewise, Delahay was just one of those students who were "lonely" and entered into homosexual relationships. I say "relationships" because in the play, not in the movie, Fowler accuses Delahey of frequently engaging in "immoralities." Menzies I believe was neither a homosexual or had experimented. Menzies was just realistic about what went on in these schools.
Accio Brain!
Wharton looked up to Fowler in the same way as some juniors looked up to Judd or Bennett.
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