PEL Presents (SUB)TEXT: Work as Madness in “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)

In the beginning, Colonel Nicholson seems to be a stickler for principle, willing to die rather than have his officers do menial labor in a Japanese prison camp. In the end, his principles seem to be a cover for personal vanity. He is willing to put his officers to work building a bridge for his enemies, as long as it leaves him with a legacy. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a reflection on the meaning of work, and whether the ravages of time, if not war, imply that being happy in one’s work—to use a phrase repeated several times in the film—is nothing more than futility and madness. Is work the key to freedom, or is it inevitably a form of bondage? How do we distinguish the desire to be creative from the desire for prestige? When is destroying something more creative than building it <p>Subscribe: <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/">(sub)Text</a> won’t always be in the PEL feed, so please subscribe to us directly: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sub-text-literature-and-film-podcast/id1526882382"> Apple</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2PQ2gT1DbrsOb7g1Dune1V?si=Omtb29FFTkGj9Oo6yrteKA"> Spotify</a> | <a href="https://subscribeonandroid.com/subtextpodcast.com/feed/podcast/"> Android</a> | <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/feed/podcast/">RSS</a></p> <p>Bonus content: The conversation continues on our after-show <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/category/(post)script/">(post)script</a>. Get this and other bonus content at by subscribing at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/subtext">Patreon</a> or directly on the Apple Podcasts app.</p> <p>Follow (sub)Text: <a href="https://twitter.com/enjoysubtext">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/subtextpodcast/">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://subtextpodcast.com/">Website</a></p>