Tag: Midnight Express

Billy Hayes talks legalizing marijuana, Midnight Express and Turkey

LOS ANGELES, May 4, 2013 — Getting caught for trying to smuggle hash out of Turkey was the beginning of Billy Hayes’ new life. From that point on everything changed for him. He spent five years in a Turkish prison before finally escaping. He told his story in the book, Midnight Express, which was later turned into an Academy Award winning movie with a script by Oliver Stone. In this final installment of a three part interview, Billy discusses Marijuana legalization, what he has been up to lately and visiting Turkey again as a free man.

THIS IS PART THREE OF A THREE-PART INTERVIEW

SEE RELATED: Interview: Billy Hayes, author of Midnight Express (Part I)

KW: What is your stance on marijuana legalization in the United States?

BH: It should absolutely be legal everywhere. The insanity of the war is just, you know, we see the results. There’s human results. There’s economic results. I mean this whole subculture of violence and it corrupts the legal system. Prisons are overcrowded. Half the f**king people in the United States are in there for consensual crime. The insanity of that, the cost of that.

Take it from the conservative point of view, I mean I’m talking from a liberal point of view. Take it from the conservative point of view. You could save a lot of money. You could have taxes on all this. It should be legal. It’s only f**king expensive because it’s illegal. It’s only violent because it’s illegal. And that’s whoever gets involved. You know, personal little mom and pop stores, or the corporations, if they will.

I’d rather have half the corporations f**king us than guys blowing each other apart for drugs. That’s insane, the violence that’s involved in it. And I tell you, whatever you think about it, putting an 18, 19, 20 year old kid in prison for pot, trust me, that’s not a good thing for him. It’s not going to help any problem. So, I mean, it’s hypocritical more than anything else when you consider the biggest problem we have is alcohol, which sponsors every sporting event on TV. Cigarettes are sold everywhere.

SEE RELATED: Interview with author Billy Hayes (Part II)

The hypocrisy of putting people in prison for pot it’s becoming apparent. It’s an idea whose time has come. We see it slowly moving. Just while you and I are talking about it, there’s kids in prison doing hard f**king time. I can relate to time, it’s a very flexible thing. Guys in jail waiting for this idea’s time to come. There’s a vote here in California in two weeks, three weeks, whenever the election is. It’s been legalized in two states so far. People are changing. I think all drugs should be legal. That’s a whole other issue about freedom.

You want to talk about freedom? Peter McWilliams’ Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do, as long as I don’t harm you or your property, I should be free to do whatever I want without the threat of being imprisoned. That’s freedom. That’s that cowboy Ted Nugent a**hole bulls**t freedom. It’s an idea whose time is here, but, boy, that’s gonna take some pressure. There’s just not enough politicians with the balls to do it, but it’s happening. Things are happening.

Midnight Express

KW: What do you fill your time with these days?

BH: I’ve been busy. I have a whole bunch of projects happening these days. I just came back from London, they did the Midnight Express ballet. That just blows my mind. That’s just so outrageous to think there’s been so many iterations of my story between the book and the film and Locked Up Abroad TV show and a ballet. I get all my New York friends are like, “F**kin ballet? What are you talkin’ about?” That’s been fun and good and. I also shot a small part in a film up in Birmingham, England while I was there, which was fun. I had to play a child molester, a rich billionaire American child molester with particularly interesting scenes.

So, I’ve been acting a bit, but mostly working on Letters. It’s a lot of work to self-publish. Back when I had Midnight Express come out, I had E.P. Dutton. They did all the work! They did everything! Once I got the book written, it was give it to them and it off it went. They just set up everything and told me where to go and who to do and, of course, they took all the money, but they made it easier. I love self-publishing because you don’t have to listen to anybody. Do what you like and then you have to promote it. It’s hard, it’s very hard.

KW: There is a line in the movie, Airplane!, asking

BH: “Son, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?” [laughs] I’ve got a whole list of those. I’ve got like ten of those.

KW: Do you feel that line was directly influenced by your book?

BH: Absolutely, it did! And aside from that there’s Jim Carrey in Cable Guy. He gets busted and he presses his chest against the window to mock a scene from the movie and from the book, you remember. The part where Lillian presses her t**s against the window, shows them to him. Family Guy cartoon, the dog gets busted and put in prison. The dog presses his t**s against the window. I’m watching Entourage one night and Vinnie’s in the elevator. He’s coming down to do a drug test and he’s sweating and chewing gum. His buddy, Billy, says, “You see Midnight Express? He was sweating. You see what happened to him?” I’m watching Entourage and I hear this.

They used to have a Midnight Express Packing in London. They also had a Midnight Express tour bus that went from London to Amsterdam and back and smoked hash both ways. That one I love. I drive around town, I see Midnight Express courier service. I always wave at the drivers. They look at me like, “The f**k you waving at?” It’s so bizarre to me how many ways it has seeped into the culture. Seinfeld! I saw aSeinfeld where Jerry turns to George and says, “Midnight express, my friend.” It’s crazy, it’s just crazy.

KW: Have you been back to Turkey since the Interpol warrant was lifted?

Billy Hayes’ new book

BH: I went back to Turkey and I, literally, had the Turkish police surrounding me for four days, watching out for me though. That was really bizarre. I went back about five years ago at the request of the Turkish police. Pretty amazing. I got to sort of reconnect with Turkey, which is good. I had a whole nation of people that hated me, mostly for that speech we talked about, that speech in the movie that cursed them out so bad. When they heard what I actually said, we made some connections and stuff. It sort of healed something.

In truth, that was my problem with the movie. It made Turkey look so bad and there were no good Turks in the movie and everybody were bad guys. That’s just not true. It wasn’t true of my experience or of Turkey. I loved Istanbul. I made three trips there. I spent a lot of time in Istanbul. I didn’t like the prison, didn’t like the guards, don’t like the legal system, but that would probably be true anywhere you were stupid enough to get caught smuggling whatever.

KW: Is there anything else you want people to know about you?

BH: I’m the happiest guy I know. I really appreciate being alive. Everybody should. It’s a magical moment, man, and I appreciate it all.

Midnight Express was rereleased in March 2013 along with a new book from Billy Hayes titled, The Midnight Express Letters: From a Turkish Prison.

Kevin J. Wells writes about Major League Baseball and punk rock music. Follow him on Twitter @WellsOnBaseball

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July 16, 2013
Midnight Express: Iran to Turkey by Train

Iran is again catching its share of headlines. So it seemed as good a time as any to share the story of our exit from the country at the end of last year — hopping a train en route from Tehran across the border to Turkey, then all the way to Istanbul. One of the finest and most surprising segments of our around-the-world journey.

When one of our Iran-savvy friends (thanks, Masha!) put into our heads the idea of taking the train from Iran to Turkey, we couldn’t let go. We love overland journeys and we love trains, but our budget and the time allotted for our Iranian tourist visas both conspired against us. We struggled to make it work, however, and our perseverance eventually paid off.

But there we were the night before departure, train tickets in our hands. This dream train trip of ours was actually going to happen. That’s when a pang of fear set in. Oh boy, what are we getting ourselves into?

Waiting on Tehran

Our train was scheduled to leave at 11:00 A.M from Tabriz in northwestern Iran. We’d arrived at the station at 9:30 A.M. just to be on the safe side. It was the last day of our Iranian visa and we absolutely needed to exit the country. We harbored no interest in reporting what happens to Americans when they overstay their Iranian visas.

When noon arrived, even the horrible movie Orca with Farsi subtitles on the video screen couldn’t diffuse our restlessness. One of the station attendants came over and smiled, “Just relax. The train is delayed from Tehran. It’s usually like this.”

A few hours later, it was finally time to go.

Hanging with fellow passengers at the Tabriz train station.

Iran’s Orient Express

Imagine an Iranian train. I know when I envisioned one, the image resembled that of Midnight Express and harkened to something like an Indian train in the old days — dark, dank, old, and mobbed.

Instead, we found a plush, clean four-person compartment with free water, snacks, and functioning electrical outlets. We continued exploring and landed in a nicely decorated dining car with a full Iranian menu flush (read: kebabs). Sure, the décor reeked of the 1970s and lost hopes to be the Orient Express, but this vessel was downright civilized.

Oh, and did I mention that the cost of this 2.5 day train journey in a 4-person sleeper cost $75 per person?

Our Train Guardian

“I would like to speak with you.” A few minutes after boarding a young Iranian man with a briefcase stood upright in the door of the compartment we’d schemed to carve out for ourselves. His posture and tone suggested he was reporting for duty.

We thought, “Uh oh. Where’s this gonna’ go?”

Formalities out of the way, Abbas introduced himself and we quickly covered the basics — where we had traveled in Iran (a lot of places), where he was going in Turkey (Ankara to study) how often he had taken the train (he was a pro).

When it came time for lunch, we pulled out our feed bag — you know, that ratty plastic bag full of random edible bits and bobs like pistachios, apricots, sunflower seeds, dried pomegranate wraps, a stash of Iranian trail mix, loaves of fresh flat bread, and nomadic Iranian cheese.

Abbas took one look at the snacks and offered an alternative: “I’ll make lunch for us. Don’t worry, I have enough food and tea for all of us.”

He pulled the curtains closed, locked the door, and took out a camping stove. “You’re not supposed to use these on the train, so I need to hide it from the conductor,” he explained.

I made note of his butane canister: “Made in Israel” was plastered across it in big letters.

I joked, “Your camping gas is from Israel. Isn’t that illegal in Iran?”

“You can buy anything in Kurdistan (an area in western Iran),” he smiled. “Everything gets smuggled over the border from Iraq.”

Americans in Iran, on our way to Turkey, eating cans of tuna warmed over Israeli butane. Aren’t we worldly?

Abbas finished the can of tuna over the flame, bubbling, and we stabbed at it with bits of flatbread. It’s true what they say of breaking bread. Surprisingly satisfying on so many levels.

In reality, Abbas didn’t have a lot of extra food, but it was clear he wished to take care of us. He shared whatever he had and he shared generously.

“I will make a tea,” he would say, assembling his arsenal of trainbound tea-making: electrical heating element tongs (also forbidden), a bottle of mineral water, tea bags, cubes of sugar and a thermos.

His mantra: “Tea is very important!”

And it was.

Our last of many teas together just before arrival in Ankara.

Iranian border crossing fears

As the train approached the border with Turkey, my fear and anxiety grew. We were the only two Americans on the train and we were by ourselves, unescorted.

Cue footage of the detained American hikers fresh from an Iranian jail that had scrolled endlessly on the international news just weeks before.

I had expected an interrogation and bag search and was prepared. The night before boarding the train, I cleared my browsing history to erase any sign of blogging, Tweeting and Facebooking, all of which are censored in Iran. I wiped the call records clean on our mobile phones, eliminating any history of contact with Iranian friends during our visit. (I blame my spy novel paranoia on growing up as a daughter of diplomats and having lived in the former Soviet Union).

The border-clearing process began. We were called to the dining car, a few people at a time. Inside a queue formed and we worked our way from dining table to dining table until it was our turn.

The border guard looked up from his reading glasses, over his computer screen and a pile of registry books and papers.

He eyed my entrance stamp to Iran and finger-counted the number of days we’d been in the country. Assured we had not overstayed our visas, he asked where we’d visited and how our trip had been. As I rattled off all the names, I noticed a smile. He was clearly proud.

“Did you enjoy your visit to Iran?”

“Definitely.”

“Good. Enjoy your trip. Please return.”

And that was it. Polite and friendly.

Iran to Turkey: No Man’s Land

The Iran-Turkey borderlands are flush with mountainous landscapes, tiny rural villages, endless contours and the occasional shepherd tending a flock. Through one tunnel to the next, we climbed higher. In this no man’s land, it was impossible to tell exactly where we were. Let’s just say there’s no big “Welcome to Turkey” sign along the way.

As we descended to civilization, Abbas remarked: “We’re in Turkey now. You can tell by the apartments.”

I was confused. The buildings didn’t look any different to me than the ones we’d seen just 30 minutes before.

“The satellite dishes are out in public. That’s how I know we are in Turkey.”

I looked again with fresh eyes. It was a subtle difference.

As time passed, I noticed women’s headscarves coming off, mine included. The corridors came alive with new sounds as passengers began playing music on their phones and radios.

We were still on an Iranian train, but you could tell we were no longer in Iran.

Across Lake Van: The Turkish Train

Lake Van. Yes, the lake of the same name as the town hit by a devastating earthquake just a month earlier. It’s a wonder the train tracks hadn’t been affected.

Our train was supposed to stop at the eastern edge of the lake at 9:00 P.M. In reality, it was close to 2:00 A.M. when we bade farewell to our Iranian train and boarded the ferry to take us across the lake. The crowd of passengers, we included, looked weary and laden, bags dragging. The ferry was terrifically uncomfortable. The chairs were certainly big enough, but their shape was uniquely designed for torture.

A few hours later, with the sun poised to rise, we arrived on the western shore of Lake Van.

We boarded the Turkish train that would take us the rest of the way. It was more modern than our Iranian train, not quite as plush or roomy, but clean and comfortable enough.

We and Abbas crashed instantly. It was some of the best sleep we’d ever enjoyed on a train.

Iranians Prefer Americans?

When we’re asked how Iranians responded to us as Americans, people are often surprised to hear that we were treated like rock stars. But if we were Elvis on the streets of Iran, we were The Beatles on that train.

Just about every visit to the dining car turned into social hour, as we were engulfed in Iranians hoping to chat, take photos with us, and just hang out. We’d leave with hands and pockets full of nuts and dried fruits as gifts.

During one dining car interlude, as we were swamped with visitors, a French traveler sat all by himself just a few tables away. He was perfectly nice (we’d talked with him earlier), but to the Iranians on that train, “French” did not hold the same appeal as “American.”

Embarrassing. Almost.

Proud of Iran, Searching for Opportunities Abroad

Later that evening we ventured back into the dining car. After all, we didn’t want to eat all of Abbas’ food. We also secretly wanted a beer. Never had a mediocre not-quite-cold enough Efes tasted so good. (Iran was bone dry when it came to alcohol.)

Amin and Parisa, an Iranian couple we’d met at the Turkish border invited us back to their compartment for a nightcap of more snacks. As we cracked open pistachios (Iranian pistachios are truly among the best in the world) and talked about our travels through Iran, they shared photos of various Iranian historical sites they had visited. You could tell they were proud of their heritage. As graphic designers, they drew from traditional Persian design and calligraphy for their modern creations.

They told their story: “We are on this train to go to the American Embassy in Ankara. We want to apply for a student visa or maybe refugee status. It is impossible for us to live in Iran anymore. During the Green Revolution, Facebook really helped us. But we can’t survive now economically, socially.”

This sort of tale was common. We’d met so many Iranians headed to Turkey to apply for American visas.

Earlier when we had gathered in the dining car, we noticed a man with his young son. He noticed us, too. He’d sit and listen, and when the time was right, he would sit in the booth next to Dan and ask questions, non-sequitur.

“Is Texas good for job?” he asked.

“We won American green card lottery.” (To this day, I don’t understand how such an immigration program exists.)

He left, only to return 30 minutes later.

“If we go to Los Angeles, how do I get driver’s license?” he asked.

“Is Los Angeles good for job? Good life?”

Dan explained how to get a driver’s license and that in some cities, there are probably many Iranian immigrants who can provide practical information and support. To address the more difficult question Dan added, “There are opportunities in America. But success is not guaranteed. And at the moment, jobs are difficult.”

The man quickly left.

He returned once more. “Maybe I think about whether I take my family to America.”

This train, it seemed, was the American Embassy Express.

Goodbyes

Early on our third afternoon together, the train pulled into Ankara. We could feel a shift.

We were aboard all the way to Istanbul, but all our trainmates were getting off — Abbas with his generosity and insight, the dissident artists hoping to make their way to the United States, the woman who’d transcribed a poem for me in the middle of the night, the winner of the green card lottery weighing Los Angeles and Austin, the high school student who paired her unaccented English from watching Friends with dreams of studying in the United States.

While we’d enjoy the space to decompress, we could feel a void. We waved goodbye to our newfound friends as they made their way across the platform.

Our journey was coming to an end, but theirs was just beginning.

March 15, 2012
The Midnight Express now reaches Islamabad

The exotic Midnight Express now reaches Islamabad. The Turkish-Pakistan links have gone beyond emotional vision and tall statements of brotherly relations. The Pakistan-Turkey Goods Train is now being optimized. Hard facts and regional realties have now forced the neighbors of Pakistan into ocoperating in trade and military ventures. There is much discussion of the route layout, the concept of cargo train, and the focus on special reduced rates by Pakistan Railways.

Ankara and Islamabad have agreed to increase trade with the neighbors. Turkey has done with very successfully and become the 17th largest economy of the world. With regard to the Islamabad-Istanbul Goods train, named “Gul Train” the Pakistani Ministry of Railways will be formally announcing concrete marketing plan in consultation and coordination with the trade bodies of the Iran and Turkey. The concept is a symbol of the ECO integration.

The ECO is the successor organization called the RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development). The RCD was created in the sixties to bring Iran and Turkey closer to Pakistan. At the time all were US allies. After the demise of the Shah, One of the first acts of the revolution in Iran was to demolish the RCD—however on Pakistan’s insistence the RCD was expanded to include all the Eastern former Muslim members states of the former USSR. Today the ECO is taking small but potent steps to increase the trade among the member states.

The progress of the Gul project was reviewed by the highest governemnt officials in Islamabad.The Goods Train has highlighted the existing transport agreements of Pakistan with Iran and Turkey under ECO and under bilateral arrangements (Transit Transport Framework Agreement,TTFA) with the regional countries.

The TTFA was originally developed by ECO with the assistance of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The regional TTFA was signed by all ECO member countries except Uzbekistan in 1998. Pakistan and Iran also want to enhance the Road Transportation of Goods and Passengers between Pakistan and Iran using the agreement signed between them in 1987. That agreement facilitates the transportation of goods between the two countries.

The agreement for Transportation and Good was signed between Iran and Pakistan during the concluding session of Pak-Iran Joint Economic Commission on June 29,2008 at Tehran. Turkey and Pakistan are eager to enhance trade relations. To this end the two countries approved a Road Transport Agreement on June 15,2003 at Islamabad.

The Pakistan-Turkey Goods train started its regular monthly service from Turkey and Pakistan simultaneously during August, 2010. There were only six regular services from Pakistan and two from Turkey. Pakistan has now created a monitoring mechanism to improve the Islamabad to Istanbul service.

via The Midnight Express now reaches Islamabad | Pakistan Patriot.

April 3, 2011
Survivor tells the real story behind shocking cinema classic Midnight Express

IT’S one of the most famous and shocking films ever made.

But according to the man who lived through the real story of Midnight Express, the true story behind it is even more sensational.

And drug smuggler turned author Billy Hayes has told the Sunday Mail how delighted he is to be telling the true story on screen for the first time – 40 years after he made a dramatic escape from a Turkish prison by crossing open seas and minefields.

Billy, now 63, was caught smuggling hash out of Istanbul to the US in 1970 and thrown in a hellish jail.

After his escape four years later, he told his story in the best-selling book Midnight Express, which Oliver Stone and Alan Parker turned into an Oscar-winning film starring Brad Davis as Hayes.

Full of killings and sexual assault, the film became one of the biggest hits of the 70s.

But according to Billy, who has always admitted his crimes, the film is nothing like the hell he endured in jail.

He says scriptwriter Stone invented most of the violence and the rape scenes but missed out on the most exciting part of his story – a daring escape from an island prison and the murder of a close friend who was trying to break him out.

Billy is getting the chance to retell his story now in a documentary for the National Geographic Channel as part of the Banged Up Abroad series.

He said: “As much as I like the film, I’ve always had problems with it and I’m so delighted to finally get the chance to really tell my story, my way, with my words.

“My mum, who could only watch the movie once, likes the new programme.

“The only thing for me was going back to the story and revisiting all the pain I caused my family – that’s the worst part of it all and the bit that still comes back to me every day. The pain still feels as fresh as the day it happened.”

Billy’s story began in the 1960s, when he discovered marijuana and decided to make some money by smuggling it in from Turkey.

But he was caught on his fourth trip and got a four-year sentence.

He said: “I was so stupid. I felt like I was a swashbuckling pirate, James f***ing Bond, an international man of intrigue. Everything was easy until the sky fell on my head. I soon realised that my actions had consequences.

“Not only had I screwed up my own life but was causing my parents so much pain.”

During his first night in the Sagmalcilar jail, 23-year-old Billy tried to steal a blanket and was hauled in for punishment by a sadistic guard called The Bear, who tied him up by the feet and battered his soles with a stick.

In the film, it’s a terribly violent beating, with the implication the guard then sexually assaulted him.

But in reality, the foot smacking was an example of falaka, a light beating, and there was no sex attack.

Billy said: “They cane your feet and to outsiders it seems like a horrible thing but it’s not that bad.

“At the time, I thought it was killing me, but I soon discovered that it wasn’t a bad beating. Later on, I discovered what a bad beating was – they would break bones if they thought you had hash or information they wanted.”

While the film is full of violence, including the fictional scene where the Billy character bites the tongue of a prison trustee and kills a guard, most of it never happened and the worst thing about it was boredom.

“Prison was mostly endless boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

“The hardest thing for me was having to write the first letter home to my folks.”

Being incarcerated himself was one thing, but it was hurting others that was the worst part of his ordeal – and that only got worse when he enlisted childhood New York friend Patrick to secure false passports and documents to help him flee the country.

While dealing with underworld figures to buy the false ID, Patrick was murdered, leaving Billy distraught.

“Yeah, that was very bad. I’d already screwed up my own life, but then to have him die because of me was pretty much the low point and everything changed.

“I decided I just needed to do my time. I went to see his folks when I got back and that was very difficult.

“His mum was very happy to see me but they were shattered, how could you not be? I felt so bad, I told her that and she said she was fine because I’d have done it for him.

“He is with me every single day. I’m always thinking about him in so many ways.”

After he shelved his escape plans, Billy was dealt a hammer blow 54 days before his sentence was due to end, when the authorities changed his sentence to life in prison.

Facing the rest of his days in jail was too much and he soon started thinking about freedom again.

Transferred to Imrali, an island prison, he started work on his escape, which sounds like the plot of a movie in itself.

The facility was serviced by supply boats, which would always return to the mainland and never remain moored on the island. But one night, a storm left one vessel, which had a rowing boat tied to its bow, stuck at the island – so Billy took his chance.

He swam to the boat, then rowed for hours across the ocean to get to the mainland.

He said: “It was all or nothing and I was totally all in. I realised I would either make it or be caught and possibly killed, one way or another I would be free.”

He spent three days in Turkey, hiding out and dying his hair black, and then made a break for the Greek border. He crossed a minefield at the Turkish border and swam across the Maritsa river, where he was apprehended by Greek soldiers.

“The Greeks asked me everything I knew about Turkish military intelligence from what I’d seen in my escape, and then deported me.

Billy’s dad met him in an emotional reunion at New York’s JFK airport.

He wrote up his experiences in the book Midnight Express, which was then adapted into the movie in 1978. At the Cannes premiere of the movie, Billy met his wife Wendy and they have been together ever since.

Billy moved to Hollywood and found work as an actor, writer and director, but his ordeal remains a central part of his life.

He said: “I got myself busted but I got myself out, and in that way, I got my life back and my sense of self. In the end we always get what we deserve, and that’s a frightening thought.”

Banged Up Abroad, The Real Midnight Express, is on the National Geographic Channel tomorrow night, at 9pm.

I said sorry to Turkey

BILLY Hayes spent 30 years of his life trying to deal with the repercussions of the movie Midnight Express.

Eventually, he returned to apologise.

He was a huge fan of Turkey and the people, having made several trips there before he was arrested.

But the film’s violent and backward portrayal of the country saw a 90 per cent drop in tourism upon its release.

Although his own book is an honest account, the film shows the country in a terrible ligh.

He said: “I always did get on really well with the Turks and Istanbul is a fascinating city but they have a lot of issues to deal with and they don’t need my Midnight Express stuff on top of that. “The bottom line is the prisons suck, the legal systems suck but you could fill in the blanks of that with any almost country in the world. I was happy to go back there and say all this stuff again.”

The Turks invited Billy to Istanbul three years ago to tell the truth about the film and his opinions about their country.

While he admits to a paranoid fear he was going to be banged up again, Billy knew he had to do the right thing. He said: “I was aware I was not a well-liked guy in Turkey. “But I got a chance to say how much I like Turkey and how well I had got on with the Turks. “It worked, and I now feel I have made my balance with the Turks.”

Users’ Comments (1)

Jeepers wrote:

There has been a deep prejudice against Turks for centuries, since the days they served as a powerful force threatening Christian Europe. As finely crafted a film as “Midnight Exprress” is, rare has been the Hollywood film that has demonized a people and culture as completely as this film has, where everything Turkish and every Turk was depicted as either ugly or corrupt, or without any redeeming values to speak of. Oliver Stone was rewarded with an Academy Award for his screenplay and, unlike the director (Alan Parker), has — sadly — expressed little or no contrition for the great damage he has caused. The interesting point, however, is that few have acknowledged the deep racism of this film, and all of the hatred against Turks that it has caused, and this disturbing fact still points to the atmosphere of prejudice against Turks that exists today. Although the effect is perhaps not as powerful as when the film first came out (when the film influenced ignorant folks who knew nothing about Turkey), with each airing, “Midnight Express” still wreaks its campaign of hatred against Turks, and many still view it foremost as a respectable film and a “classic.”

Even in this article, we get the feeling that the author, Brian Mciver, would barely have shed the small light that he has on the racist harm this film has caused, which would probably be unlikely if the victims were any other ethnic group. Billy Hayes deserves credit for expressing his regret for his hand in demonizing a country and people, but in other articles he has gone much farther. For example, as much as prisons are not fun no matter what country they derive from, as Hayes laudably reminds us here, he has mentioned that there was more humanism in the way his prison was run than what he has heard about the typical dehumanization in American prisons.

It is time that responsible people shed their bigotry or ignorance, and stress the evil in the heart of “Midnight Express,” rather than strictly remember it fondly, as the effective thriller that the film happens to be — as most people would, if they were dealing with any other movie that displayed an entire group of humans as ones to be despised.

, Oct 3 2010

October 4, 2010