Bridge On The River Kwai Essay

For example a characters intention, sequence of steadyts, etc? A detonate in the movie which was conf victimisation was when Nicholson discrete to process the Nipponese in building the yoke. He becomes so obsess in building the span (which he regarded as a symbolic representation of British efficiency and resourcefulness, which testament be retrieveed for times to come) that he fails to pose that he is collaborating with the Nipponese even when he was in unionizeed by his consume medical officeholder.He becomes so blinded by this that he, a human being of principles and one who abide bys rules sue forcetioned in the geneva Convention is willing to excite his officers graze for the seasonably completion of the twosome. Saito tells Nicholson that it will non be necessary to birth the copy of the Geneva Convention and walks away do the silence/no- solvent response speak for him.Due to the indirect form of communication it is unexpressed to follow if Saito means that Nicholson should non bring the book because he has previously point it and now that it has been brought to his attention he will non make the British officers do manual of arms abour or that he has read the book just will still make the British officers do manual labour. fashioning silence speak instead of terms and the indirect form of communication go fors the essence of a replyive culture. An new(prenominal) part of the movie which was hard to infra abide was when Nicholson fell on the detonator at the kibosh of the ingest.It is ill-defined if Nicholson had an intention to destroy the bridge or if it was a mere accident. His locomote lines what have I done do clarify his intent tho imput suit adequate to(p) to the fact that he falls on the speculator there was no ample clarification for the identical. There is a possibility that out-of-pocket to his love for the bridge uilt by the British soldiers he had Just proceeded to warf ards the plunger to disconnec t it, however, dies while doing so and hence falls on it instead. 0 What was the best thing virtually the movie?What was the worst? The best part some the accept was the way Nicholson stood by his principles and persuaded Saito to not make his officers do manual labour and hence go by the rules mentioned in the Geneva Convention. The astonishing part well-nigh this was that this was victorious place in a POW mob where the negotiate post was higher with Saito than Nichonson. Nicholsonss leaders abilities do his officers not give in to Saito and start anual work, and hence go on to be punished in the oven.His leadership abilities argon represent thoroughly when the British medical officer comes to meet him at the oven, Nicholson was much anguish about his officers than about himself even after he was deprived of aliment and urine for numerous days. His pride and patriotic qualities tacilitate him to stand by his intelligence operation against Saito even atter physica l and wound up harm is being inflicted on him during the menstruation of negotiation. On the other hand I tonicity that 2 Saito underestimated his BATNA (Best ersatz to a negotiated agreement).I feel hat during the time of positional bargaining with Nicholson, in the finish carving under pressure and letting him out of the oven, Saito should have utilise his bear soldiers for the bridge (till such time Nicholson was persuaded to make his men work) and created more than discipline and collaboration among the workers for the timely completion of the bridge. I feel that there was little room for princip guide negotiation as Nicholson was not willing to do so. The worse part of the movie was the collapse of the bridge in the end.A bridge which was the cause of various negotiations between Saito and Nicholson, in the process esulted in numerous threats, blackmail and infliction of physical and emotional harm from Saito to Nicholson and consequentially got Nicholson himself kill ed. By the collapse of the bridge all that seemed to be a waste. 0 What did you find to be the most interesting or surprising portion of the film? wherefore? The most surprising element of the film is the fact when Nicholson decides to take everywhere the responsibleness to construct the bridge after having won the negotiation against Saito and having no obligation towards doing so.He becomes so obsessed in building the bridge (which he regarded as a symbol of British efficiency and resourcefulness, which will be remembered for times to come) that he fails to identify that he is collaborating with the Japanese even when he was informed by his own medical officer. He defends himself in front of the officer by saying that he is getting the bridge made efficiently as he wants batch who use to bridge in the future to remember how it was built and who built it. He also adds that by working on the bridge together his men will feel like British soldiers rather than Japanese prisoners. The bridge was Nicholsons trophy and was not an agent to keep the British soldiers together. He becomes so blinded by this that he, a man of principles and one who follows rules mentioned in the Geneva Convention is willing to make his officers work for the timely completion of the bridge. He forgot about the war and his loyalties and started to attending in the improvement of the bridge rather than working in compliance with the instructions provided by the Japanese. It was this perceived duty that lead to his downfall ultimately.This was due to the fact that if he was not that keen of building a vertical bridge, he would not have reacted the way he did once he identified the explosives and could have prevented the unnecessary loss f lives towards the end including his own. 3 0 What is the movie trying to tell viewers? The movie glorifies the westbound purification, especially that of the British. On the other hand it portrays the east Oapanese) to be spineless(prenominal) a nd still learning. 0 How does it go about conveying this message? In the beginning Saito and Nicholson did not get along well.Nicholson insisted that his officers were not to do manual labour as per the rules verbalize in the Geneva Convention, however, Saito was more bothered about getting the bridge ready on time. When the numerous attempts Saito made to persuade the stubborn Nicholson ailed he tried a friendly rise by offering the starved Nicholson with Beef corn and Whiskey and by telling him that the senior officers including him do not have to manual labour. Saito had to ultimately carve and wilt towards the strong armed Nicholson even though Nicholson was in his POW camp.This was done using the anniversary of Japans victory in the Russo-Japanese war in put in to save face. The concept of delivery face is due to the pertain of collectivism. This concept of saving face suggests that Saito is from a country with a high long term orientation baron (L TO) culture. Not only this, once Nicholson took up the obligation of the bridge and implement British designs, oversight and ingenuity to it, he ended up making a more technically sound and competent bridge than the Japanese could have otherwise built. What cultural issues do you see? How be these portrayed? o Individualist, Power distance and pecking order, Communication styles, role of gender, etc? In the sign part of the movie the Ameri house soldier bribes the Japanese captain to assist him in getting hospitalized. The Japanese soldier does not use the word No. He indirectly tries to xpress his reluctance to hospitalize the Ameri quarter. When the American insists using the usual American loud and verbose attitude, the solder uses silence for the same and walks away after moving his head from side to side.This indirect and non-verbal form of communication indicates that the Japanese is from a collectivist, low IDV and a high mount culture. The American soldier wanted to be hospitalized as he w as self-centered. This along with the fact that he ran away shows that he was individualistic and did not deal out about anyone else. It can therefore be perceived that e has a high internal locus of control, signifying that he is in charge of his own life and that what happens to him is a result of his own actions and hence indicates that he is from a high IDV and a low context culture. 4 A more participative hierarchy is portrayed by the British soldiers.This can be seen when the British officers and their Colonel meet and have a debate on the topic of overleap from the camp. One of the officers directly disagreed with Nicholson when he advised the officers not to escape from the camp. The officer argued that staying in the camp is a sure way of getting killed. This shows the impact of an individualistic ulture as in a collectivist culture racket is unremarkably done indirectly or very discreetly. The British (westerners) usually like to near the word No in methodicalness tor the mean to be conveyed effectively they do not understand indirect minus responses.This kind of participative nature and direct denial from an officer to the colonels advice signifies a low power distance index (PDI) as power seems to be shargond and well dispersed. This direct woo can also be seen in Nicholson when Saito tells him at the beginning of the movie that he will ordain his officers to work and he directly replies saying No. The local woman are looking up to the men and taking care of them in the scene where the American is returning the POW camp to destroy the bridge. It seems as if the women expect the men to be tough, assertive and be the provider.This shows that the local fellowship is a high Masculinity index (MAS) culture. Hierarchy has been shown in umteen instances during the film. As far as the Japanese were concern, the Japanese soldier taking his cap off and bowing (In Japan there are rules for the Japanese equivalent of the Western handshake for who t o bow, how much they should bow and hence are difficult to master) to Saito at the beginning of he film, bringing him a weapons platform to stand on as he was short and so that masses look up to him and salute him, were some instances showing hierarchy amongst the Japanese. similarly the man trusty for fanning the Saito does not speak due to respect and even if it is raining the soldier still stands outside the premises as they are lower down in the hierarchy. 0 Did you like the film? Why or why not? Yes, I liked the film. The film did not have a right or wrong due to which it follows a unique and realistic approach based on individuals. Like more war films it is neither for nor against the war. By the end of the movie the viewer is less interested in the fact that who wins the war than about how the individuals will behave. 0 What adjective would you use to describe your reaction to the film? Why did you react this way? As rightly described by Clipton at the end of the film, the adjective that can be used to describe my reaction of the film is madness. Every individual in the film is inclined towards their own duty, point and chaos that they lose what really matters and what is most important. Emotions and orders have taken over the right or sane thing to do. The characters have hence led the situation to go out of hand. 0 In what ways can you identify with the movie, its characters and its message?The movie is more about the events surrounding the war rather than the battles and the fighting. These events have turned mortality, Judgment and sound thought near and have eventually lead to madness. There are various examples of this so called madness in the movie the madness of Nicholson who says that working with the enemy is not going against ones country, the madness ot the American who accepts to return to a camp on a suicide mission where he escaped, nearly getting killed and he madness of a get by the obliged men to make harsh decisions. Based on y our knowledge of negotiations what do you entail was going on? o What kind of cloudy tricks were being used? damp 3 examples. Initially Saito used a forceful approach in negotiating with the Nicholson. Saito caused emotional (By cutting food supply and taking people from the hospital to work) and physical (When Saito slapped Nicholson and put him in the oven) means in order to persuade the soldiers to commence work on the bridge. Saito underestimated his BATNA (Best alternative to a negotiated agreement).I feel that during the time of positional bargaining with Nicholson, ultimately carving under pressure and letting them out of the oven, Saito should have used his own soldiers for the bridge (Till such time Nicholson was persuaded to make his men work) and created discipline and collaboration among the workers for the timely completion of the bridge. I feel that there was little room for high-principled negotiation as Nicholson was not willing to do so. One of the unsportsmanl ike tricks used by Saito was that of threat when he warned Nicholson that if he does not order his troops to start work on the bridge he will be shot.Another dirty trick used by Saito in the initial part of the movie was that of Chinese water torture, signifying that he kept repeating his demands without bothering much about what Nicholson has to say. 6 The third dirty trick in the movie was when Saito asked the British soldier to meet with Nicholson for 5 minutes and tell him that if he doesnt order his officers to start work he will make the people in the hospital work. This was a bluff on Saitos part, even after hearing this Nicholson neer changed his decision and the soldiers at the hospital were never made to work. What values are portrayed? Independence, cooperation, hierarchy, power, etc? The values that are portrayed in the movie are Independence, hierarchy, bravery, power, pride, patriotism, collaboration, leadership and commitment to duty. 0 How were these values portraye d? o Give examples of the type of behaviour that you base your answer upon Independence was shown when the American contend on his life in order to escape from the Japanese camp in order to be free.Hierarchy can be seen by the Japanese soldiers to Saito when they remove their cap and bow to him, when they get him a raised platform during the time of his speech, y the guard to Saitos house has to stand outside even though it is raining and by the man responsible for fanning not speaking in the entire movie. These major differences in hierarchy and the soldiers accepting an unequal distribution of power indicates a high power distance index (PDI). Bravery has been shown by Nicholson when he did not give in even though Saito threaten ed him witn a flatulency hidden in the truck.Collaboration was shown by the soldiers once the bridge was the responsibility of Nicholson. This was not present when Saito is in charge of the bridge as stated by he British engineer when he was questioned by Nicholson what he would have done differently if this was his bridge. Because of the task-oriented approach of Nicholson and he planning forrard step by step which can be seen when he says this is the end of the agenda while meeting with Saito for discussion of the proposal for the new bridge, the soldiers were able to effectively collaborate.This suggests that Nicholson is from a linear Active Culture. Pride and patriotism can be seen when the British officers were marching in group and whistling. 7 leaders was portrayed by Nicholson when the British soldier brought him food in he oven. Nicholson had not seen sun light for days, was weak and deprived of food and water but even then he was more concern about his officers than about himself. Commitment to duty was shown by Nicholson when he took over the responsibility of the bridge.He made the best and most efficient bridge possible, forgetting about the war and his loyalties. 0 Was there anything about the movie (sights, sounds , smells, colors, background scenes) that told you something about the culture that you were dealing with? What did you learn? The type of culture seemed to be a collectivist one. This can be seen rom the behavior of the society when the American escapes and reaches a village. 0 What does the movie tell you about the culture of the producers of the film?What about the film gives you this indication? The movie portrays glorification of western civilization in terms of perseverance and inventiveness, specifically the British. This indicates that the producer is from the British culture. Nicholson was able to circumvent Japanese commands due to his Engineers having the ability to construct a more technically sound bridge than the Japanese Engineers. 0 How do you recall other audiences would react to this film? Why?I feel that other audience would feel that the film is more about the events surrounding the war rather than the battles and the fighting. These events have turned mortality , judgment and sound thought some and have eventually lead to madness. There are various examples of this so called madness in the movie the madness of Nicholson who says that working with the enemy is not going against ones country, the madness ot the American who accepts to return to a camp where ne escaped, nearly getting killed and the madness of a struggle the obliged men to make harsh decisions.