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Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is strapping hash to his body as we open this film. From there he heads to the airport and it’s clear that he’s no professional. He’s sweating and nervous, looking like at any moment he could jump out of his skin. His discomfort only grows and this is terrifically accentuated by the sound of a racing heartbeat played in the background. The heartbeat slows down and speeds up depending on his anxiety when he’s first checked out by airport authorities. He doesn’t understand a word they’re saying when they ask him about a Frisbee (we don’t know either as there are no subtitles provided, a technique used to great effect throughout the film) When they let him get on the bus to the airplane, he is obviously pleased with himself, thinking he has outsmarted the system.
He even brags to his girlfriend Susan (Irene Miracle) that he doesn’t take anything seriously. This changes when he realizes that the real security is between the bus and the plane. They quickly discover his drugs and his experience in custody begins.
He’s escorted to the security room, where again, no one speaks English. They’re very excited that they’ve caught an American, even bringing in a photographer to snap pictures of them with their captive. They let him hold his drugs for the sake of a good picture. Not realizing the trouble he’s in, Billy even smiles for the photograph. Billy is questioned and told there will be no trouble if he cooperates. He’s allowed to leave escorted by Tex (Bo Hopkins) a well dressed English speaker who was also present during questioning. Billy tries to escape but is pursued and soon caught by Tex who holds a gun to the back of his head.
Before bringing him to the main prison, the guards beat him severely with a heavy stick leaving him unconscious for days. When he wakes, he meets fellow English speaking inmates Jimmy (Dennis Quaid,) Erich (Norbert Weisser) and Max (John Hurt,) who fill him in on the details of life in a Turkish prison. They all tell him that his best bet is to get out of there, either through appeals or as Max tells him “The Midnight Express” which is another way of saying escape. Conditions in the prison are absurd even for prison standards. Rapes and beatings (often by the warden) are arbitrary, and shankings are acceptable as long as they’re below the waist. Billy faces it stoically at first just hoping to be released soon.
His father soon flies out to see him and work on getting him out, ostensibly trying to get him released on bail so he can cross the border into Greece and leave Turkey behind. Court however doesn’t go as planned. Billy again can’t understand a word that’s said, which again shows Billy’s experience perfectly because we can’t either. His defense is completely inept, corrupt or both, happy that Billy receives a four year sentence (for possession) as the prosecutor passionately called for a life sentence (for smuggling) Billy’s dad breaks down, overwhelmed by his powerlessness. And then Billy is back to prison. He still copes fairly well, spending time with Max, Jimmy and Erik, biding time and hoping his defense comes through.
After awhile Billy’s defense visits again to tell him there’s been progress in the case but it will require paying off certain officials. Billy rolls his eyes, sensing that this is just an additional hurdle leading nowhere. Jimmy, Max and Billy start planning an escape. Jimmy comes up with a plan that seems too risky to the other two and decides to try it alone. He gets caught and is beaten so savagely that he loses a testicle due to hernia. “In comparison,” he writes to Susan “my troubles don’t seem so bad.” With Jimmy gone for a bit, Billy and Erik develop a close bond even turning to each other for physical affection and more time passes. Max is still around as well, but his drug problem keeps him occupied.
With 53 days left on his sentence, Billy gets notice that he’ll have to go through the process again. The prosecutor objected to the possession charge and moved to have it changed to smuggling (which carries a life sentence) Billy gets a chance to speak in court, and uses the time to give a speech about the nature of crime and punishment, the quality of mercy defining a country, fair play, etc. I’m certain he doesn’t gain any points with the court when his speech devolves into calling the Turkish people pigs, and proclaiming that he hates them all. This was the weakest part of the film in my opinion, as while I can understand some anger, and even an outburst or two, the sermonizing didn’t seem believable for Billy’s character, as much as a chance for Oliver Stone (who wrote the screenplay) to get some points across. Still it was only one moment and viewed against the rest of the film, it isn’t enough to damage it badly.
Billy gets sentenced to thirty years, which is better than life, but it’s doubtful that Billy appreciates the difference. Resigned to the idea that he’ll never get out, he turns to thoughts of escape immediately, Jimmy and Max both help, Max standing lookout as Billy and Jimmy chisel stones free from a wall in their cell to expose a hidden shaft to underground catacombs leading out of the prison. Happy that the shaft exists, although it’s too late in the day to attempt escape, they resolve to try the next day.
The three of them descend into the water filled tunnels only to encounter a dead end. They return to their cell and replace the stones and repeat the routine every day hoping to discover a way out. Although they replace the stones, Rifki (Paolo Bonacelli,) the despised Turkish supplier of drugs, tea, and anything else, discovers the tampering and reports it. Not knowing who to blame the warden decides to punish Jimmy (possibly because he tried to escape before.) Determined to punish Rifki, Max and Billy decide to steal his money, which is the reason for his existence. After realizing his money is gone, Rifki has the guards turn the prison upside down in search.
They learn that the latest beating has ruptured Jimmy’s hernia, and Rifki, knowing who took his money, blames Max for selling him the hash the guards “discover” on him. Seeing Max get dragged off for a beating (he’s too old and damaged to endure it) unhinges Billy into releasing all of his anger on Rifki, beating him within an inch of his life. Billy doesn’t even pause when Rifki cuts him on the arm, completely lost in his lashing out. Davis is brilliant in this scene, completely becoming the character lost in his rage. Of course, we see him next being dragged off by the guards.
Max and Billy both end up in the prison sanitarium which is far more miserable than the main prison was. The lighting is darker and the conditions dirtier, while the guards are still free to give out random beatings as they like. Billy takes on a blank stare, totally despondent, his spirit completely crushed. Everyone in the sanitarium wanders listlessly in a fog as if their spirits were removed and it doesn’t matter where they end up. The noise is also unbearable there, chaotic voices clash with each other drowning out any sense. The sanitarium resembles a hell from a medieval painting, minus the flames a perfect representation of despair as a place.
It’s at this point that Susan returns for a visit. She tries to tell Billy that people care and efforts are still being made to get him released. Billy can barely speak, muttering half phrases, obsessed with seeing Susan’s breasts. She obliges, although watching Billy masturbate to the sight of her breasts like a monkey in the zoo, brings her to tears as she realizes how broken he is. She gives Billy a photo album telling him about a teacher in Greece, who wanted him to have something on a certain page, which is clearly code that seems lost on Billy. She pleads with him to get himself together and not count on anyone else or he’ll die there.
Encouraged by the visit, Billy regains vitality, walking contrary to the circle the other inmates walk in continually. He discovers the money in the album and decides to leave. In a moving moment he says goodbye to Max, who is only an empty shell by now. He talks to a guard who lets him in to see the warden. We’re not really sure what his plan is as Billy is now speaking their language fluently (without subtitles of course.) Billy attempts to bribe the warden to bring him somewhere. He decides instead to bring him to a locked room, presumably to beat and rape him. Seeing him unbuckle his pants Billy charges the warden, accidentally knocking him into a peg sticking out of the wall, killing him. Billy takes his gun and uniform and has no trouble obtaining the keys and walks right out of the prison complex. The ending text fills in the fact that he escaped to Greece and flew home from there.
It should be mentioned that this film was based on the autobiographical account of William Hayes, but for the purpose of the character, it doesn’t matter how true or untrue the story is, as the movie is a world of its own. This is a case of a man trying to extricate himself from an impossible situation, and only barely succeeding through luck.
The Midnight Express, whatever its intention, does not convey a message of morality or mercy, as much as it says be aware of the penalties of what you’re doing as the system can easily destroy you. Stupid kid or not, you will face heavy penalties if caught smuggling drugs between countries.
As a cautionary tale this film is flawless. Director Alan Parker did a wonderful job, using enhancing effects such as the heartbeat at the beginning and the noise in the sanitarium as well as abstaining from subtitles to put us as much as possible in Billy’s shoes. Oliver Stone, won an Oscar for the script, which despite its flaws, told a gripping story . The cast is solid all the way through and Davis really makes the part his own right up until the last moment, walking like a beaten prisoner even outside the walls.
In case you missed my last post, I am a relocated yank, living in North Carolina.
Being from Michigan, the Great Lake State, or my favorite, the WolverineState, I had to learn how to drive in the snow. Literally, my dad took me out and made me drive in it, because driver’s education class was conducted during the summer. I was taught how to pump breaks, turn into your skid, not to tailgate, keep to the side roads and when I DO get stuck, not to rock the car back and forth unless I want my transmission to die earlier than the usual life expectancy of an automobile.
I remember these lessons. I am a safe driver, in any weather. But there are these folks, say, from New York, maybe, who didn’t drive in the snow when they lived there, and who are now out on the roads today, in their 4-wheel drive SUVs, flying down the roads, tailgating and swerving all over the snow-covered roadways because they are, “from the north and grew up with this kind of weather all their lives.”
These folks actually believe that they can drive safely in this snow simply because they came from the northern states where it snows for four months out of the year. Some of these people are probably the same people who had to walk to school in snow like this, both ways, up hill, in their leather moccasins, and, liked it! But they didn’t DRIVE in that snow, up hill, in their moccasins…They WALKED!
We woke this morning to the news of the century – It snowed in North Carolina last night. It is freakin’cold and be careful when driving, because it is slippery…. Oh yeah, and there have been 180 accidents reported this morning since 6a.m. The News forgot to plead with the public asking all of the assholes out there from the north to stay off of the roads because they couldn’t drive on their home streets to begin with, and, they certainly can’t drive down here where the roads are not yet plowed.
My southern-born husband and I are going to enjoy a forced day of relaxation eating foods that are bad for us, and, watching movies. MAYBE we’ll venture out to the Canes’ hockey game we have tickets for this evening, and maybe not. In either case, we will be free from having to deal with SUV owners who haven’t quite mastered being able to drive in the snow.
I am a relocated yank, residing in Raleigh, North Carolina, which I don’t count as being “southern.” I mean, the state has the word, north, in the title, after all. There are many of us relocated northerners here. In fact, there are four people with whom I haven’t spoken with in twenty years, but graduated with from high school, and now live close by once again. Small world!
It snowed last night. The news coverage was/is ridiculous. Starting last weekend, the “meteorologists” starting tracking this winter storm coming our way. And the build up and speculation throughout the week had the communities around the state gearing up for the Storm of the Decade. I went to do my weekly grocery shopping last night when I got home from work only to find that all the fixins’ for French Toast were gone from the shelves.
Why do southerners want to make so much French Toast when it snows? I don’t get it!
Batteries were in short supply, as were diapers, flashlights and candles. I was starting to think, “Wow, if everyone is this panicked about the snow, maybe they know something I don’t.” So I stocked up on my own French Toast supplies and headed for home where I dug out my candles and matches and wished for the second time since I have been here that the husband would buy a generator for when the power goes out. (These are important to have, especially when a hurricane comes through… oh wait… in the last ten years, a hurricane HASN’T come through here, has it??)
Anyway, we decided that if we were going to be snowed in, then we’d go to dinner and get out before we couldn’t move for days, weeks, maybe even months. We weren’t the only ones to think to do this, BTW. It actually started to snow while we were out. Uh oh! The storm was four hours early. I know this because it is the only story that the news was talking about – pin-pointing when the snow would actually get here. And they were wrong. Again. Argh.
Fast forward to this morning. I woke up to all of three inches of snow, and yes, it is still sleeting away. Any and all of the usual TV shows that I might watch are being preempted by the news – IT SNOWED!!
Some places actually got five inches. The city is shut down and will remain that way until it melts. See, every year, it snows once, usually here. And the cities haven’t figured out a way to get snow plows and salt trucks out on the roadways so that life can go on with this crazy, white stuff falling from the sky. Thankfully, though, I will have my French Toast!
Do you believe in forever friendship? Imagine it like that.
You get to meet someone, you talk for hours, you laugh, you joke, you have a good time together.
You grow closer to each other… you start trusting, you know each other’s thoughts, ideas, feelings. You share more… and you care more.
You can talk about anything and everything, you would not bother about work when that person needs you, you are there for them and they are there for you. You can cry on their shoulder when you need it. And you do cry, because sometimes you need it.
You can’t imagine your life without them… they are a big part of it like your parents, like your boyfriend or girlfriend, like your husband or wife. They are not just any friend, you consider them BEST friend.
Of course you fight, but you get over it … and it seems nothing will ever change… they’ll be there forever. And you honestly believe that forever has no end.
But you forget that life has its own rules. And whatever is forever for you is just a moment for eternity.
One day you fight, and then nothing is the same. You do your best to maintain this friendship, you forget about your ego, emotions, pride… you just keep showing them how important they really are in your life, but all in vain. They don’t say it is over… just the regularity of talks you have is different and in the whole one month after all your messages and mails you only get “thanks, I’m doing good” – reply.
Once.
First, you did miss them. And the intensity of the pain couldn’t be described… Then, the pain lessens but reaches its peak each time you don’t get a reply to another mail, another text message. And then you get used to their absence. Sadly. You miss them still… not that intense, or maybe the ego still is playing its role. But the pain is not the same anymore.
Just somehow you lose faith in forever. Just somehow you stop believing in the term “best friend”. And somehow you just don’t want to get close to anyone anymore.
You play in your mind millions of variants of why, how, when, if. None of them would give you the answer to your questions. None of them will soothe your pain. None of them will get that one person back to you.
In all of this you are not afraid of pain, not afraid of losing hope, faith, trust. All you are afraid of is that today you are still missing him… but what if tomorrow you don’t.
Relationships are worth fighting for but sometimes you can’t be the only one fighting. Sometimes, people need to fight for you.
Klinefelter’s syndrome (XXY syndrome) is a disorder that appears in males after they hit puberty (Berk, 2004). It is a defect in the gonads, caused by an extra X chromosome in at least one cell line (Como, 2009). The most frequent characteristics of this disorder are small firm testes, long legs, gynecomastia, poor social adaptation, subnormal intelligence, chronic pulmonary disease, and varicose veins (Queipo, Aguirre, Nieto, Peña, Palma, Olvera, et al., 2008). The greater the number of additional X chromosomes, the more severe the abnormalities (Como, 2009). Almost all men with this abnormality will be infertile due to a decrease in sperm count (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005).
Queipo et al., states that every one in 667 males have a form of this disorder, but only one-quarter of them are diagnosed (2008). The remainder of males with this syndrome go undiagnosed due to the varying degrees of severity of the disorder. The diagnosis for Klinefelter’s Syndrome is determined by karyotyping in-vitro cultured G-banded white blood cells suspended in metaphase, however this procedure requires extensive labor and can only be performed in specialized laboratories (Queipo et. all, 2008). Late or incomplete puberty during adolescence is a sign for further examination to determine if the syndrome is present in the suspected male (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005).
According to Herlihy & Halliday, the occurrence of this syndrome is increasing and may be due to adults having children later in life (2008). Herlihy & Halliday also states the this syndrome can be more effectively treated if found at an earlier age then puberty, however they claim that the best age to be diagnosed is still unknown due to the lack of research surrounding this issue (2008). Until further research is done, the average age of diagnosis will remain undetermined.
Difficulties in social interaction is one characteristic that males with this syndrome typically display. Van Rijn, Swaab, Aleman, & Kahnstate that one study shows that males with this disorder easily become distressed in social situations, and can also display traits similar to that of autism (2008). A percentage of males from the study did not engage in specific social behavior regularly, and that syndrome may serve as a model for the link between the X-chromosome and social behavior dysfunction and autism-like behavior (Van Rijn, Swaab, Aleman, & Kahn, 2008).
Due to testosterone deficiency, the male body features may be feminized during puberty (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005). According to (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005), this deficiency can result in decreased muscle tone, bone, and mineral density, a loss of libido, an increased risk of thromboembolism (an air clot in the body), and an increased risk of death form diabetic and cardiac complications. This syndrome also has an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, tumors, and possibly breast cancer (Queipo et. all, 2008), therefore, monthly self breast exams should be encouraged.
Treatment
Once the person is diagnosed with Klinefelter’s syndrome, a comprehensive evaluation is performed. If diagnosed in infancy or childhood, this may include developmental evaluation such as infant stimulation programs, speech therapy, or physical therapy (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005). In adult males, this syndrome is treated with testosterone supplementation therapy (Current Medical Research, 2006).
As soon as there is direct evidence of a testosterone deficiency, androgen therapy should be started (Wattendorf, & Muenke, 2005). This can take place when the person begins middle school, or when the male turns 14 years old (Current Medical Research, 2006). There is current research available that men with this syndrome may be able to father children.
According to (Fertility Weekly, 2006), males may be able to undergo fertility treatment through the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with sperm obtained by testicular sperm extraction (TESE). 42 men were treated by this procedure, and 18 of the cases resulted in a clinical pregnancy, and 21 babies have been born (Fertility Weekly, 2006). So far, this treatment seems successful, and may be an alternative to those males who wish to father children of their own, but may be unable to do so due to this syndrome.
Recommendations
Adolescents who experience puberty late, or incompletely, should be tested for this syndrome because the earlier it is treated, the higher the success rate of the treatment. Extensive counseling should be encouraged for those males who wish to undergo fertility treatment in order to have children. Even though the treatment may be successful, there is an increased risk of chromosomal abnormalities in their children.
Because there is an increased risk for breast cancer, breast self-exams should be performed monthly. Confidence and self esteem can be improved with hormone therapy to increase libido and energy. This should be encouraged to increase the person’s overall sense of well being. Counseling should be encouraged to those with this syndrome who are having difficulties dealing with the reality of this abnormality and being sterile.
Conclusions
More research needs to be performed on this topic. There are a decent amount of articles on this syndrome, however more articles on those actually going through this syndrome would be useful to others with similar difficulties. Research on the appropriate age to be tested and diagnosed for this disorder should be performed.
Due to the increasing number of males with this syndrome, perhaps diagnosing at an earlier age than puberty would decrease the amount of those with this disorder. The earlier in age that this is diagnosed, the better the treatment outcomes. Perhaps if this can be diagnosed in infancy, the problem could be addressed head on, and the success rate will increase. The ultimate goal would be to prevent this syndrome all together, so that no male would have to deal with this abnormality and lead a healthy life.
This year I became the proud step-mom of a child entering middle school. The second one, actually, because the first had a different set of problems at the time. So, my child… Bright, energetic, bubbly, happy kid who received straight A’s last year has totally fallen into a hole this year. Somehow she managed to fail both language arts, and, received an “F” in Chorus, as well. How do you get an “F” in a class that doesn’t require any coursework? Neither of my daughters were socially promoted, but what happens to kids as they cross the threshold into middle school/junior high? This is a question without an easy answer.
I teach high school, both a foreign language, which covers ninth through twelfth grades, and, freshman level Earth Science. Each semester that I get a new batch of students, I am amazed at how much they just don’t know -as in know how to read, how to think, and how to communicate- I can deal with the out of control hormones, the insolence, and the proverbial chip on the shoulder, but what do you do with a fourteen year old who literally can’t read?
Why were students who cannot comprehend words like meaning or describe promoted to ninth grade? For those who can actually call words, why are they not able to decipher directions and otherwise grasp what a question is asking for, or, take the words that they have just determined the meaning of for a previous assignment, and, apply those definitions to the same words when they encounter them again in future assignments?
What is being taught at the middle school level? From what I’ve seen, not very much. Students seem to be shuffled upwards through the system with no regard as to whether they have actually learned anything. But what does this kind of social promotion do for a student when they are looked upon with pity by their peers and/or perceived as stupid? What does social promotion do for the classroom when more advanced students aren’t being taught at the level that challenges them because they are slowed down by the human speed bumps who shouldn’t have even been advanced to their level in the first place?
So much is considered for the elementary levels when the federal government talks about helping out schools, and, so much pressure is put on the high school levels with legislation such as No Child Left Behind. But what isn’t studied, or doesn’t have money poured into it are the three years between elementary and high school when we lose our students completely because we allow their emotions to rule everything from proper behavior to what they eat to the manner in which they believe they should be taught.
I will close by sharing with you the result of allowing a former middle school student’s emotions to dictate her life. I have a second step-daughter who is a junior in high school this year. Her father, my husband, experienced her behind the wheel the first time she tried to take out a mailbox. She didn’t recover from the trauma of ripping off my side view mirror, and, instead allowed her emotions to get in the way, and, as a result, almost smashed into a truck parked further down the road. Since she has never learned how to control her emotions, she was not able to walk off the physiological changes (adrenaline surges) that occur when a scary situation happens.
Later that evening, I made her get behind the wheel again to drive us to the store to buy the parts to fix the mirror she damaged with the mailbox. On the way over, she almost killed us. Thank God for the adult who stopped in time, but what if it had been another teenager with similar issues?
Posted by Prattle On, Boyo 
Klinefelter’s syndrome (XXY syndrome) is a disorder that appears in males after they hit puberty (Berk, 2004). It is a defect in the gonads, caused by an extra X chromosome in at least one cell line (Como, 2009). The most frequent characteristics of this disorder are small firm testes, long legs, 
Prattle On, Boyo 