"A British Soldier Takes a Last Swig of Beer"

Original Caption: A BRITISH SOLDIER TAKES A LAST SWIG OF BEER BEFORE GETTING ON A GLIDER [for the invasion of Burma]. THAT'S AN AMERICAN AT LEFT. [May 5, 1944]

YANK: The Army Weekly was the most widely read publication for American soldiers during World War II. The army published different versions for different regions, wherever Americans were stationed, and the photo above is from the China-Burma-India edition. The article describes the US/UK aerial invasion from India into Burma, which was under the control of the Japanese.

Although this publication reflects the experiences of American soldiers in WWII, some of the stories, photos, and other items from YANK might prove relevant to our play's British soldiers during the time of the British Raj. Regardless, it's worth noting the significance of beer in both cases.

Man = Machine

One of the ideas raised in Brecht's play is the effect of technology on our sense of humanity. Are new technologies exciting and empowering, or are they threatening and dehumanizing? Perhaps this anxiety was a response to the mechanized slaughter of WWI (1914-1918) and the proliferation of more automated systems of labor -- for example, Henry Ford introduced conveyor belt systems in his main plant in 1913.

This ambivalence was evident in other works from the 1920s and continues to exist into our own era, in which we see the theme of man vs. machine, or man becoming machine.


The Adding Machine: Mr. Zero is driven to madness and murder when, after 25 years at his job, he is fired and replaced by a machine. Elmer Rice's 1923 play is a seminal work of American expressionism, and in 2007 it was successfully re-imagined as a musical.


R.U.R.: Human-Machines who are designed to serve people turn rebellious and threaten to destroy the human race. Karel Capek's 1921 science-fiction play is credited with introducing the word "robot."


Metropolis: Fritz Lang's famous 1927 film depicts a workers' nightmare in which a giant machine called Moloch literally devours people.


Modern Times: In this 1936 film, Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp offers a more comic version of the struggle between man and machine.

And the combination of fascination and fear continues to this day...

Kipling: "The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney"

Karl Eigsti called to my attention the short story "The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney" by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1889, this story of an Irish soldier and his "transformation" into an Asian god (involving a palanquin and the need to find money for beer) surely influenced Brecht's writing of Man Equals Man.

The website of the Kipling Society features some commentary on the story, along with links to the full text and to some helpful notes.

Brecht Quote: "A Jolly Business"

From the speech Brecht made on the radio to introduce a 1927 broadcast of Man Equals Man:

I imagine also that you are used to treating a man as a weakling if he can't say no, but this Galy Gay is by no means a weakling; on the contrary he is the strongest of all. That is to say he becomes the strongest once he has ceased to be a private person; he only becomes strong in the mass. And if the play finishes up with him conquering an entire fortress this is only because in doing so he is apparently carrying out the unqualified wish of a great mass of people who want to get through the narrow pass that the fortress guards.

No doubt you will go on to say that it's a pity that man should be tricked like this and simply forced to surrender his precious ego, all he possesses (as it were); but it isn't. It's a jolly business. For this Galy Gay comes to no harm; he wins. And a man who adopts such an attitude is bound to win. But possibly you will come to quite a different conclusion. To which I am the last person to object.

["A Radio Speech" in Brecht on Theatre, translated by John Willett (New York: Hill and Wang, 1964), 18-20.]

Note how Brecht sets up his audience to engage critically with the play. First, he tells them what is going to happen in the play before they hear it. For Brecht, the key question is not "What is going to happen?" but rather "Why does it happen?" and "Is it right that it should happen?"

Brecht informs the audience that the play presents "a jolly business"--in other words, a comedy with a happy outcome. But I hear great irony in this statement, since he then encourages the audience to "come to quite a different conclusion." I believe Brecht gives us a comedy--and a truly funny and enjoyable one, at that--but he also wants the audience to see the horror in Galy Gay's transformation and his submission to the "great mass of people."

The audience cannot be sure whether to interpret the play as a comedy or a tragedy, so they must engage critically with the performance to come to their own conclusions. In this radio speech, Brecht uses his characteristic irony to foster the ambiguity and uncertainty that will inspire deeper engagement and thought around the themes of the play.

Otto Dix: "Der Krieg" (1924)

Otto Dix was one of the most striking and influential artists of Weimar Germany, a key proponent of the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit). In 1924, just two years before the premiere of Brecht's Man Equals Man, Dix produced "Der Krieg," a cycle of 51 prints depicting the horrors of war.

Much like Brecht's work in the 1920s, Dix's prints are at once gritty and ironic, depicting his subjects both critically and sympathetically.

The National Gallery of Australia has excellent information on "Der Krieg," as well as access to individual prints. I've included a few images below.

"Roll Call of the Returning Troops"
... depicting a scene not dissimilar from the one in Brecht's play

"Canteen in Haplincourt"

"Frontline Soldier in Brussels"

Charlie Chaplin: Shoulder Arms (1918)

Brecht was deeply influenced by Charlie Chaplin, one of the greatest clowns in cinema. Below are links to "Shoulder Arms" (1918), starring Chaplin as a misfit soldier in the army during the Great War.

The film is about 45 minutes long, available in five sections on YouTube or through the Internet Archive.