Stone won't make himself vulnerable to anyone or the facts, whether that means eliminating all JFK conspiracy theories other than his own or simplifying a story and people as he has done here in Midnight Express.  Stone borrowed Billy Hayes' real story of being held in a Turkish prison for several years after being caught smuggling hashish, and hijacked it to devastating effect.  [I focus on screenwriter Stone instead of director Parker because the substance of Hayes' original book was altered by Stone and Parker just created Stone's skewed vision].  Stone was successful in destroying the Turkish justice image in the minds of generations of Americans.  Ask most any American [now thirty years after Stone made his movie] to picture a Turkish(or Islamic) prison or court room or justice system, and the one portrayed in Midnight Express is the one that is ingrained.  Coincidence or not, it should be noted that this humiliating portrayal of Islamic justice came at a time of increased Hollywood output of negative Islamic images and favorable Israeli ones(the unprecedented and universally viewed miniseries Masada).  To this day, Islam's portrayal in movies is considered horrendous by those who study it(Shaheen's 'Reel Bad Arabs').

Instead of having ANY sympathetic Muslim/Turkish characters, they ALL are beasts.  It turns out the real Billy Hayes actually made friends with several Turkish inmates but accepting Stone's reality means accepting this truth as a lie.  Constantly the Western inmates have more depth,..they play instruments, they sing, they constantly visibly show compassion that the Muslims lack, they even articulate in a courtroom why Western justice culture is superior to Islamic sense of justice.  The Muslims in the film are stoic, opportunistic, hypocritical, and, well,..evil.  They are portrayed as victims of their own culture, as the judge hangs his head down when Billy is castigating Islamic justice for its lack of mercy, and the judge seems sad when he replies that his hands are tied.  There is no reaction or inquisitiveness in the faces of the Turkish prosecutor or the others - the viewer sees them as programmed by their culture.  Just so the viewer isn't confused as to the root of what creates such a fiasco of justice, Stone purposefully puts Islamic prayer beads in the hands of reprehensible characters like the Turkish public defender, and makes sure that a mosque is the prominent structure occupying the frame as Billy is driven around the city by policemen.  Likewise, he hangs Christian symbols on the victims in the film.  The warden never attempted to rape Hayes, as the film depicts, nor did Hayes murder anyone.  Stone's manufactured murder of the raping warden may have been an effort to implant the idea that the resolution the [mostly Christian] viewers should expect between their culture and the grotesque monster of Islam will take the form of a violent showdown.

The differences between the book and the film is evidence that Stone possibly used the powerful vehicle of a "true story" to instigate prejudice against Turks/Muslims.  Billy Hayes, now 56 years old and living in LA, recently tried[in the Seattle Post] to correct Stone's portrayal of his book: "The message of 'Midnight Express' isn't 'Don't go to Turkey', it's 'Don't be an idiot like I was, and try to smuggle drugs." and, "I loved the movie, but I wish they'd shown some good Turks. You don't see a single one in the movie, and there were a lot of them, even in the prison. It created this impression that all Turks are like the people in 'Midnight Express.'"
Stone won't make himself vulnerable to anyone or the facts, whether that means eliminating all JFK conspiracy theories other than his own or simplifying a story and people as he has done here in Midnight Express. Stone borrowed Billy Hayes' real story of being held in a Turkish prison for several years after being caught smuggling hashish, and hijacked it to devastating effect. [I focus on screenwriter Stone instead of director Parker because the substance of Hayes' original book was altered by Stone and Parker just created Stone's skewed vision]. Stone was successful in destroying the Turkish justice image in the minds of generations of Americans. Ask most any American [now thirty years after Stone made his movie] to picture a Turkish(or Islamic) prison or court room or justice system, and the one portrayed in Midnight Express is the one that is ingrained. Coincidence or not, it should be noted that this humiliating portrayal of Islamic justice came at a time of increased Hollywood output of negative Islamic images and favorable Israeli ones(the unprecedented and universally viewed miniseries Masada). To this day, Islam's portrayal in movies is considered horrendous by those who study it(Shaheen's 'Reel Bad Arabs'). Instead of having ANY sympathetic Muslim/Turkish characters, they ALL are beasts. It turns out the real Billy Hayes actually made friends with several Turkish inmates but accepting Stone's reality means accepting this truth as a lie. Constantly the Western inmates have more depth,.. they play instruments, they sing, they constantly visibly show compassion that the Muslims lack, they even articulate in a courtroom why Western justice culture is superior to Islamic sense of justice. The Muslims in the film are stoic, opportunistic, hypocritical, and, well,.. evil. They are portrayed as victims of their own culture, as the judge hangs his head down when Billy is castigating Islamic justice for its lack of mercy, and the judge seems sad when he replies that his hands are tied. There is no reaction or inquisitiveness in the faces of the Turkish prosecutor or the others - the viewer sees them as programmed by their culture. Just so the viewer isn't confused as to the root of what creates such a fiasco of justice, Stone purposefully puts Islamic prayer beads in the hands of reprehensible characters like the Turkish public defender, and makes sure that a mosque is the prominent structure occupying the frame as Billy is driven around the city by policemen. Likewise, he hangs Christian symbols on the victims in the film. The warden never attempted to rape Hayes, as the film depicts, nor did Hayes murder anyone. Stone's manufactured murder of the raping warden may have been an effort to implant the idea that the resolution the [mostly Christian] viewers should expect between their culture and the grotesque monster of Islam will take the form of a violent showdown. The differences between the book and the film is evidence that Stone possibly used the powerful vehicle of a "true story" to instigate prejudice against Turks/Muslims. Billy Hayes, now 56 years old and living in LA, recently tried[in the Seattle Post] to correct Stone's portrayal of his book: "The message of 'Midnight Express' isn't 'Don't go to Turkey', it's 'Don't be an idiot like I was, and try to smuggle drugs. " and, "I loved the movie, but I wish they'd shown some good Turks. You don't see a single one in the movie, and there were a lot of them, even in the prison. It created this impression that all Turks are like the people in 'Midnight Express. '"