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The Midnight Express (1978) phenomenon and the image of Turkey

2005; Routledge; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01439680500236581

1465-3451

Dilek Kaya Mutlu,

Cinema and Media Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Acknowledgements Thanks to Dr Jeannette Sloniowski and Dr Barry K. Grant for their helpful advice. Dilek Kaya Mutlu (PhD, Bilkent University) teaches visual communication and animation at Bilkent University, Ankara. She has published essays on American culture and American films in Turkey as well as Turkish popular cinema. Notes Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Oliver Stone), and Best Original Score (Giorgio Moroder). Best Drama Picture, Best Supporting Actor (John Hurt), Best Film Debut—Male (Brad Davis), Best Film Debut—Female (Irene Miracle), Best Screenplay (Oliver Stone), Best Original Score (Giorgio Moroder). Parker began his media career in 1968 as a director of television commercials. By the end of 1975, he had made only a 50-minute fictional film (No Hard Feelings, 1973) and a full-length film (The Evacuées, 1975) both of which were for television. It was Bugsy Malone (1976), 'a pastiche gangster musical with a cast composed entirely of children', that established Parker as a feature film director. Midnight Express was his second feature. For more information, see John Wakeman (ed.) World Film Directors Vol. 2 (New York, 1988), Alan Parker, pp. 739–743. Samantha Miller and Lorenzo Benet, Escape Artist, People, 52(21) (1999), p. 108. Adam Dawtrey, Quinta backs 'Midnight' sequel, Variety, 5 May 2000. See, for example, John McKay, Heche, Vaughn Pair Memorably in Tale of Drugs, Love and Morality, Hamilton Spectator, 22 January 1999, p. E:2 and Jay Carr, Return to Paradise Lost, Despite Some Fine Acting, Boston Globe, 14 August 1998, p. C:4. See, for example, Malcolm Johnson, The Heroin Unchic of Brokedown Palace, Hartford Courant, 13 August 1999, p. F:4 and Philip Kemp, Brokedown Palace, Sight and Sound, 9(12) (1999), p. 38. A major proof of this is that one often meets, although corrective in approach, references to this film in travel guides, travel memories, or tourism articles about Turkey. They all communicate the message that Turkey is not Midnight Express. For example, The Alternative Travel Directory: The Complete Guide to Travel, Study and Living Overseas reads: 'Toss Midnight Express out of the window … The Turks are friendly, generous, kind, hospitable and outgoing.' Quoted in Lucy Izon, Thailand Tops with Student Travel Guide, Toronto Star, 3 April 1999, p. K:7. See also Mary Lee Settle, Turkish Reflections: A Biography of a Place (New York, 1991), p. xii and Rick Steves, Europe Through the Back Door: The Travel Skills Handbook for Independent Travelers (Berkeley, 2002), p. 447. For example, when the Canadian journalist Ken Hechtman returned home to Montreal after spending a week in jail as a prisoner of the Taliban in 2001, he stated that, as CBC-TV reported, 'he holds no grudge against his captors. He even sympathizes with them.' Hechtman said: 'Absolutely they're [Taliban] being demonized. People are expecting me to come out and tell these Midnight Express type horror stories and I don't have any.' Alison Smith, CBC-TV broadcast, 2 December 2001. Quoted in Barbara Klinger, Digressions at the cinema: reception and mass culture, Cinema Journal, 28(4) (1989), p. 3. Ibid., 5–9. Lawrence Van Gelder, The Plaudits Continue, New York Times, 3 October 1976, p. 21:2. Miller and Benet, Escape Artist, p. 108. Clark Taylor, Making 'Midnight Express': The Long and Dark Road, Los Angeles Times, 22 October 1978, pp. CAL:6–7. Pranay Gupte, The Movie Will Star, New York Times, 6 June 1976, p. 21:1. Alvin Klein, I Can Play a Prisoner, Believe Me, New York Times, 27 November 1983, p. 11LI:31. Gupte, The Movie Will Star, p. 21:6. Lawrence Van Gelder, After a Nightmare, Awakened Interests, New York Times, 24 April 1977, p. 21:2. Chrissie Hynde, On Kent State, in Ashley Kahn, Holly George-Warren & Shawn Dahl (eds) Rolling Stone: The Seventies (New York, 1998), p. 22. Gelder, After a Nightmare … , p. 21:2. Leopold Tyrmand, Toying with the Cultural Messages, National Reviews, 32(18) (1980), p. 1083. For a discussion of the term 'exploitation' in the film industry and critical discourse, see Thomas Doherty, Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s (London, 1988), pp. 3–7. Quoted in Anthony Holden, Behind The Oscar: The Secret History of the Academy Awards (Toronto, 1993), p. 77. Riordan James, Stone: The Controversies, Excesses, and Exploits of a Radical Filmmaker (New York, 1965), p. 96. Walter La Feber, Salvador, in Robert Brent Toplin (ed.) Oliver Stone's USA: Film, History, and Controversy (Kansas, 2000), p. 93. Frank Beaver, Oliver Stone: Wakeup Cinema (New York, 1994), p. 35. Neal Nordlinger, The making of Midnight Express, Filmmakers Monthly, 12 (1978), p. 20. It was reported that the audience in the theatre cheered when Hayes bit out Rifki's tongue. See, for example, Andrew Yule, Fast Fade: David Puttnam, Columbia Pictures, and the Battle for Hollywood (New York, 1989), p. 80. In Andrew Horton, Britain's angry young man in Hollywood: an interview with Alan Parker, Cineaste, 15(2) (1986), pp. 31–32. Quoted in Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters, Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony For a Ride in Hollywood (New York, 1996), p. 94. Ibid., p. 95. '78: Midnight Express, Films Illustrated, 7 (1978), p. 185. Ibid. Quoted in Steve Umberger, Conscientious exception, Humanist 39 (1979), 66. James, Stone: The Controversies … , p. 103. Yule, Fast Fade … , p. 79. Beaver, Oliver Stone … , p. 32. Bernard Boland, Cannes 78. 23 Films Vus A. C.: Midnight Express, Cahiers du Cinéma, 290–291 (1978), p. 29. All translations from French are mine. Hubert Niogret, Midnight Express, Positif, 208–209 (1978), p. 92. Bruno Villien, Midnight Express, Cinématographe, 40 (1978), p. 79. Fabien Gastellier, Midnight Express, Jeune Cinéma, 113 (1978), p. 42. See Kemal Çevik, Fransa'da Irkçılığa Karşı Kanunlar ve Midnight Express, Ankara İktisadi ve Ticari İlimler Akademisi Yönetim Birimleri Fakültesi, 1(1–2) (1979), pp. 131–132. Philip Bergson, Love among the ruins, Times Educational Supplement, 25 (1978), p. 12. David Robinson, Cannes Repeats the Miracle, Times, 26 May 1978, p. 11. David Robinson, Picking Up the Pieces, Times, 11 August 1978, p. 7. A.D. Murphy, Midnight Express, Variety, 24 May 1978, p. 27. Alan Parker: In the Picture, Sunday Times, 16 July 1978, p. 35. See Çevik, Fransa'da … , p. 133; Beaver, Oliver Stone … , p. 32; and American Escapee from Penal Colony Leaves Turks Climbing Walls, New Times, 4 October 1978, p. 15. See, for example, Ergun Goze, Geceyarısı Ekspresi, Tercuman, 14 October 1978, p. 4 and Atilla Dorsay, Geceyarısı Ekspresi'nin Getirdigi, in Atilla Dorsay, Sinema ve Çağımız (Istanbul, 1998), pp. 157–158. Çevik, Fransa'da … , p. 133. Joseph Dalton and Joseph McLellan, Style: Personalities, Washington Post, 31 August 1978, p. F:2. See Deny 'Express' is Anti-Turkish, Variety, 20 September 1978, p. 38. Beaver, Oliver Stone … , p. 32. Quoted in Griffin and Masters, Hit and Run … , p. 95. Hail Midnight Express Warning To Young U.S. Tourists On Drugs, Variety, 27 December 1978, p. 6. Amnesty Int'l Exits Midnight Express, Variety, 30 August 1978, p. 44. See Pressure from Turkey in Israeli ban on Midnight Express, Variety, 30 August 1978, p. 23. Turkish Envoy to Ireland Asks Ban On Col's 'Express', Variety, 13 September 1978, p. 39. Quoted in Deny 'Express' … , p. 38. Klinger, Digressions … , p. 10. Although towards the bottom, Midnight Express remained within the '50 Top-grossing Films' list of Variety up to the week ending 2 May 1979. Variety, 25 October 1978, p. 14. Jerry Robinson, Introduction, in Jerry Robinson (ed.) The 1970s: Best Political Cartoons of the Decade (New York, 1981), p. 8. US Tackles Drug Problem, in Weekly Reader: 60 Years of News for Kids 1928–1988 (New York, 1988), p. 177. Alfred W. McCoy notes that Turkey was 'the major source of American narcotics throughout the 1960s'. In the early 1970s it was estimated that 80% of the opium that entered the United States in the form of heroin was produced in Turkey. When the Nixon government declared war on drugs, the United States attempted to convince Turkey to stop growing opium poppies through 'a mixture of diplomatic pressure and promises of $35 million in aid', which finally led the Turkish Government to impose a total opium ban after the 1972 harvest. However, the ban lasted only two years and Turkey resumed its state-regulated poppy production in 1974. For further information, see McCoy, The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade (New York, 1991). See, for example, Clarke Taylor, Making Midnight Express: The Long and Dark Road, Los Angeles Times, 22 October 1978, pp. CAL:6–7. Susan Griffith, Travelers to the East Survival Kit (Oxford, 1986 [1979]), p. 45. Hail Midnight Express … , p. 6. Ed Bruske and Dannie Racliffe, Personalities, Washington Post, 13 February 1979, p. B:2. David Sterritt, Actual Episode Fictionalized for Screen, Christian Science Monitor, 16 October 1978, p. 26. Peter Lev, American Films of the 70s: Conflicting Visions (Austin, 2000), p. xi. Ibid., p. 99. Pauline Kael, Movie Yellow Journalism, in Pauline Kael, When The Lights Go Down (New York, 1980), pp. 499–500. Gary Arnold, Sensationalistic Trip on the Midnight Express, Washington Post, 28 October 1978, p. B:6. Peter Biskind, Midnight Express, Cineaste, 9(2) (Winter 1978–1979), p. 44. Janet Maslin, 2 Hit Films Without Gimmicks, New York Times, 14 December 1978, p. C20:1. James, Stone: The Controversies … , p. 102. Nordlinger, The making of Midnight Express, p. 21. See 50 top-grossing Films, Variety, 2 May 1979. Susan Bluestein Davis, After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis (New York, 1997), p. 57. Quoted in Terence Smith, Carter, in California Visit, Sharpens Reagan Attack, New York Times, 23 September 1980, p. B:8. For a detailed report of such an event, which occurred recently in Canada due to the History Channel's airing of Midnight Express on 26 December 1998, see http://www.cbs.ca/english/decision/990617c.htm See, for example, Turkiye Aleyhinde Bir Belge, Cumhuriyet, 6 April 1993, p. 10 and Turk Dusman Film, Milliyet, 6 April 1993, p. 21. Inflation adjusted value of 3.5 billion TL in 1993. See Guzide Yulek and Cengiz Semercioglu, Geceyarisi Expresi Reklam Rekoru Kirdi, Hurriyet, 8 April 1993, p. 25. See Geceyarisi Ekspresi'ne Halktan Buyuk Tepki, Cumhuriyet, 7 April 1993, p. 10. See, for example, Turk Dusmani Film, Milliyet, 6 April 1993, p. 21 and Yulek and Semercioglu, Geceyarisi Expresi … , p. 25. Turkiye Aleyhinde Bir Belge, Cumhuriyet, 6 April 1993, p. 10. Dogan Heper, Hep Ayni Film, Milliyet, 11 April 1993, p. 2. See, for example, Yalcın Peksen, Turkler Beyaz Perdede: Geceyarisi Ekspresi, Hurriyet, 8 April 1993, p. 24. For example, Dr Nayereh Tohidi remarks that Midnight Express is 'a cult film for Armenians in Los Angeles.' Quoted in Margaret R. Miles, Seeing and Believing: Religion and Values in the Movies (Boston, 1996), p. 214. For a discussion of the historical roots of the mutual distrust between Turkey and Greece, see Heinz Kramer, A Changing Turkey: The Challenge to Europe and the United States (Washington, D.C., 2000), p. 164. Mehmet Basutcu, The power and danger of the image, Cinemaya: The Asian Film Magazine, 17–18 (1992–1993), pp. 16–19. Haluk Sahin, Midnight Express 20 years later: a Turkish nightmare, New Perspectives Quarterly, 15(5) (1998), pp. 21–22. As late as 1999, when Sony attempted to use Midnight Express DVDs as a part of its promotion campaign for Sony DVD players, TUSIAD (The Association of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen) protested to Sony by sending letters to the central branches of the company. Combined with the support of the Turkish press, the protest soon turned into a national campaign inviting people to boycott all Sony products in Turkey. Consequently, Sony had to remove Midnight Express from its list of promotional films not only in Turkey, but around the world. For details, see Meral Tamer, Sony DVD'nin Promosyonu Geceyarisi Ekspresi Filmi, Milliyet, 19 June 1999, p. 8 and Geceyarisi Ekspresi Artik Sony'nin Promosyonu Degil, Milliyet, 24 June 1999, p. 6. See, for example, The Same Old Trouble, Turkish Daily News, 6 December 2001.