Suppressed by the major, corporate owned media, Space Truckers and it's mythos remains one of the most powerful and spiritual of the Science Fiction epics of the Aquarian Age.
John Canyon was purposefully depicted by a carefully chosen Dennis Hopper. He, one of the more spiritual adepts of Laurel Canyon, would create a role that separated it from the many Epic movie figures that proceeded it. Shakespearean in his tragedy and humble in his everyman disguise.
Stephen Dorff as Mike Pucci is the obvious successor to Luke Skywalker, and superior in wit, execution and driving ability. It is his pioneer like spirit and jaunty youth that helps propel their Space rig through the pirate infested Scum Zone, an obvious yet sublime metaphor of the corporate media which, in turn, attempted so vigorously to derail the film.
The lovely Debi Mazar as Cindy the Waitress, perfectly portrayed Universal Womanhood- always ready to provide physical comfort and fulfillment to the men who cross her path needing relief and willing to provide a gift or a promise for it. As the giver of food she also reflects back to Gaia and also to Vulveeta, the Space wench of Neptune.
There, of course, the powers of the Dark, as well. The evil Macanudo: Vader like but far more sophisticated and evil. He is super evil. Of, course, he has evil robots too. Another subtext of the Space Trucker mythos is the body horror theme, copied often by Cronenburg. Charles Dance, the evil Macanudo, who brings himself back from the brink of death by grafting machine parts into his anatomy. Even though some time the parts can't...er..perform.
The three eyes of the evil robots, and their pyramid shape, heavy symbolism there, are placed as counterpoint to the virtuous triumvirate of john Canyon, Mike and Cindy the waitress.
The Pachyderm, that interdimensional and galactic Space rig, a mythic Horn of Plenty, the Golden Cord of our eternal quest, has been the source of imagination and an inspiration for the many similar ships used in other films such as the minor Star Wars and it's comic book philosophic attempt at parity.
The Mythos of Space Truckers will not die with the literati and we can only hope for a new Criterion edition to celebrate it's significance.
