Martial Law (1998) Subtitles
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Martial Law is an American action-adventure comedy television series created by Carlton Cuse that aired on CBS from September 26, 1998, to May 13, 2000.[3][4] The title character, Sammo Law (Sammo Hung), is a Chinese law officer and martial arts expert who comes to Los Angeles in search of a colleague and remains in the United States.[5]
It was not this way in the novel by James Jones that inspired the screenplay. Jones drew his characters sharply, and indicated the ways in which each acted according to his ability and personality; his novel could have been filmed by Spielberg in the style of "Saving Private Ryan." Malick's movie sees it more as a crap shoot. For defying his superior's officers, the captain is offered first a court martial, later a Silver Star and then a Purple Heart. It is all the same. He is also transferred stateside by the colonel, and instead of insisting on staying with his men, he confesses he is rather happy to be going. This is not a movie of conventional war cliches.
The battle scenes themselves are masterful, in creating a sense of the geography of a particular hill, the way it is defended by Japanese bunkers, the ways in which the American soldiers attempt to take it. The camera crouches low in the grass, and as Malick focuses on locusts or blades of grass, we are reminded that a battle like this must have taken place with the soldiers' eyes inches from the ground. The Japanese throughout are totally depersonalized (in one crucial scene, their language is not even translated with subtitles); they aren't seen as enemies so much as necessary antagonists--an expression of nature's compulsion to "contend with itself." (One wonders what murky philosophical voice-over questions were floating above the Japanese soldiers in "The Thin Red Line." Were they also dreaming about nature, immortality, humanity and death?) Actors like Sean Penn, John Cusack, Jim Caviezel and Ben Chaplin find the perfect tone for scenes of a few seconds or a minute, and then are dropped before a rhythm can be established. We get the sense that we are rejoining characters in the middle of interrupted actions. Koteas and Nolte come the closest to creating rounded performances, and Woody Harrelson has a good death scene; actors like John Travolta and George Clooney are onscreen so briefly they don't have time to seem like anything other than guest stars.
Because whether the television commercial constituted an offer is the central question in this case, the Court will describe the commercial in detail. The commercial opens upon an idyllic, suburban morning, where the chirping of birds in sun-dappled trees welcomes a paperboy on his morning route. As the newspaper hits the stoop of a conventional two-story house, the tattoo of a military drum introduces the subtitle, "MONDAY 7:58 AM." The stirring strains of a martial air mark the appearance of a well-coiffed teenager preparing to leave for school, dressed in a shirt emblazoned with the Pepsi logo, a red-white-and-blue ball. While the teenager confidently preens, the military drumroll again sounds as the subtitle "T-SHIRT 75 PEPSI POINTS" scrolls across the screen. Bursting from his room, the teenager strides down the hallway wearing a leather jacket. The drumroll sounds again, as the subtitle "LEATHER JACKET 1450 PEPSI POINTS" appears. The teenager opens the door of his house and, unfazed by the glare of the early morning sunshine, puts on a pair of sunglasses. The drumroll then accompanies the subtitle "SHADES 175 PEPSI POINTS." A voiceover then intones, "Introducing the new Pepsi Stuff catalog," as the camera focuses on the cover of the catalog. (See Defendant's Local Rule 56.1 Stat., Exh. A (the "Catalog").)[2]
First, the commercial suggests, as commercials often do, that use of the advertised product will transform what, for most youth, can be a fairly routine and ordinary experience. The military tattoo and stirring martial music, as well as the use of subtitles in a Courier font that scroll terse messages across the screen, such as "MONDAY 7:58 AM," evoke military and espionage thrillers. The implication of the commercial is that Pepsi Stuff merchandise will inject drama and moment into hitherto unexceptional lives. The commercial in this case thus makes the exaggerated claims similar to those of many television advertisements: that by consuming the featured clothing, car, beer, or potato chips, one will become attractive, stylish, desirable, and admired by all. A reasonable viewer would understand such advertisements as mere puffery, not as statements of fact, see, e.g., Hubbard v. General Motors Corp., 95 Civ. 4362(AGS), 1996 WL 274018, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. May 22, 1996) (advertisement describing automobile as "Like a Rock," was mere puffery, not a warranty of quality); Lovett, 207 N.Y.S. at 756; and refrain from interpreting the promises of the commercial as being literally true.
The governor may proclaim martial law when the public safety requires it in case of rebellion or actual or imminent invasion. Martial law shall not continue for longer than twenty days without the approval of a majority of the members of the legislature in joint session.
With a grim realism and a slow progression of events that seems entirely plausible, The Siege postulates what might happen if an American city becomes the target of international terrorists. This is not a unique motion picture scenario, but Zwick's approach is new. Typically, this premise is used as a springboard for an action adventure flick -- an opportunity for Steven Seagal to use his martial arts, George Clooney to flash his pearly whites, or 007 to save the world. Not here. Despite one early car chase and the presence of Bruce Willis, this is not that kind of movie. The Siege is a thriller, to be sure, but it's a thinking person's thriller, where pyrotechnics give way to plot, character development supplants fight scenes, and adrenaline does not short-circuit intelligence.
The setting is New York City, one of the most likely (and vulnerable) American targets for terrorism. When a special branch of the United States military, under the command of General William Devereaux (Bruce Willis), takes prisoner suspected terrorist mastermind Sheik Ahmed Bin Talal, Islamic fundamentalists across the world take notice. The only warning the FBI receives is a single, cryptic message: "Release him." Then all hell breaks loose in New York. A bus is destroyed, killing 25 civilians. A Broadway theater is bombed. Hostages are taken at a school. As the wave of terrorist activity crests, the President must consider if the only way to save the city and break the grip of fear is to declare martial law. Devereaux argues against that eventuality, but is nevertheless ready to lead 10,000 men into action on American soil.
Another person not in favor of martial law is Anthony Hubbard (Denzel Washington), the FBI agent in charge of investigating the terrorist activities. His staff is comprised of smart, energetic, intelligent men and women very much unlike the usual group of moronic Feds we're used to seeing in movies. Hubbard develops an uneasy alliance with CIA agent Elise Kraft (Annette Bening), whose department knows more about the situation than they're willing to reveal. Yet, as the twin threats of a catastrophic terrorist action and the implementation of martial law grow greater, Hubbard finds that time is against him.
After the abduction by the US military of an Islamic religious leader, New York City becomes the target of escalating terrorist attacks. Anthony Hubbard, the head of the FBI's Counter-Terrorism Task Force in New York, teams up with CIA operative Elise Kraft to hunt down the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks. As the bombings continue, the US government responds by declaring martial law, sending US troops, led by Gen. Devereaux, into the streets of New York City.
Grossly unfair trials of people arrested since the coup took place behind closed doors in makeshift courts inside prisons. In areas under martial law, trials took place in military courts where defendants were denied legal representation and the right to appeal. Pro-democracy activists, opposition politicians, human rights defenders and journalists were among more than 1,000 people convicted during the year and sentenced, including to death and long prison sentences with hard labour. Lawyers defending political detainees faced arrest, threats and harassment.
The denial of cultural and political rights has generated a long-standing sense of grievance among some sectors of the Kurdish minority, and this has made them a fertile source of recruits for illegal radical armed organizations--in particular the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which began attacks on gendarmerie posts and other state installations in 1984. These attacks in turn provoked fierce repression--mass arrests followed by interrogation under torture, and trials in martial law courts and State Security Courts which fell far short of international standards of justice.
Radio or television broadcasting in languages other than Turkish is effectively barred by the 1994 RTUK broadcasting law. Nevertheless, the "Kurdish reality" tends to leak through. Kurdish language music - provided that it is not overtly political - seems to be tolerated, and the army's southeastern radio station "Voice of the Tigris" is sufficiently pragmatic, in trying to win the hearts and minds of the local population, to broadcast in the two main Kurdish dialects as well as Turkish and Turkmen. Interviews in Kurdish in news stories from southeastern Turkey are shown on national television with Turkish subtitles. Nevertheless, there are no legally operating radio or television stations with an explicitly Kurdish character, and attempts to found such networks have been shut down.
Derry Girls is yet another show that proves subtitles are worth the work. This comedy series focuses of a group of rebellious teenage girls in Derry (in Northern Ireland), and the background for the series is the tumultuous time in the early 1990's known called The Troubles. These girls and their families may have thick accents, but you'll come to love them once you get to know them. 781b155fdc