What is the Essential Buckaroo in the Buckaroo Banzai production documents?



The Essential Buckaroo: A Sampling of Readings
By DeWayne “BuckarooTrooper” Todd

(This article originally appeared as part of In Medias Res: The Buckaroo Banzai Production Binders By Sean Murphy, Dan Berger, DeWayne Todd, and Steve Mattsson in the August 2019 issue of the World Watch One newsletter.)


The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai has a fascinating element of realism to it. Often hard to describe, the film is frequently referred to as a “docudrama”, portraying fictional events in the context of the real world. The science, technology, and political climate of the film makes it feel as if Buckaroo Banzai and the Banzai Institute are only one small step removed from our reality and the story is only an extension of the world in which we live.

Within the assortment of documents that formed The Essential Buckaroo is a collection of 145 pages of magazine articles, newspaper clippings and book excerpts, taken from the “real world” that create a contextual background for Buckaroo Banzai.

Essential Buckaroo binder


Compiled by “Mrs. Eunice Johnson: Archivist – Knight of the Blue Shield,” this collection includes assorted “hand written” notes from Buckaroo and other members of Team Banzai, as well as highlighted sections to give insights into the connection between realities. It is clear that the creative team of Richter and Rauch were focused on bringing a sense of credibility to the events of the movie and book. As American author, Robert E. Howard once wrote to H.P. Lovecraft, “I like to have my background and setting as accurate and realistic as I can.”

More than simply being a random stack of clippings about events, perspectives, and news items that might have inspired the telling of the story, these articles form a framework for Across the Eighth Dimension that makes the film believable.


Essential Buckaroo documents


By creating a detailed index and categorization of these fifty-five separate clippings, the seemingly random and disconnected readings can be broken into several distinct categories (Character, Philosophy, Medical, Biology, Science/Physics, Military/Political, Technology, Odd News, and For What It's Worth), which sheds a fascinating insight to the connection between the realm of Buckaroo Banzai and the real world.


Character

There can be many influences on an individual like Buckaroo Banzai and from the compiled items in the Essential Buckaroo, a couple of specific influences are emphasized.

For example, Gene Autry is the subject of multiple clippings. Also known as the Singing Cowboy, Autry made his film debut in the 1935 cross-over science-fiction, musical, western serial The Phantom Empire, which features an underground empire with towering buildings, robots, ray-guns, advanced television, and elevator tubes that extend miles beneath the surface of the earth. The parallels between Buckaroo Banzai, who is also a crooning cowboy in a science fiction tale are not hard to see. Interestingly, Gene Autry is the only celebrity to have (5) Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, each earned for a different talent that he possessed (much like Buckaroo being a master of many different fields).

It was also Gene Autry who drew up the “Ten Commandments of the Cowboy,” a set of guidelines that stress core virtues like truthfulness, patriotism, respect for women, and religious and racial tolerance. These “Commandments” echo the core values of Buckaroo and Team Banzai.

Another famous personality, that is highlighted in the readings is radio and television star of the early fifties, Captain Midnight. As the successor to Little Orphan Annie, Midnight led a “Secret Society” with over 500,000 members. All it took was the top of a jar of Ovaltine to be added to the roster and receive a special “members only” ring. The “Secret Squadron” espoused core values like helping one another, being loyal to your country, and obeying your parents and was a clear parallel to the Blue Blaze Irregulars. “Justice through strength and courage” was the official motto of Captain Midnight’s followers and the same might easily have been extended to Buckaroo’s own network of resources. A handwritten note on the article declares, “Brought to my attention by Junior Knight of the Blue Shield, Scooter Lindley. Promote this boy? Shows great promise.”

A final clipping in this category takes a fascinating look at why chivalry has disappeared from most of the world but still survives in America through traditional heroes and role models like John Wayne, Jack Kennedy, the Lone Ranger, and Superman. According to the article which is taken from a book entitled The Return to Camelot: Chivalry and the English Gentleman, the code of chivalry emphasizes the importance of “Romantic love infrequently consummated, protection of women and children, courage, truthfulness, physical prowess, idealized sport, piety, loyalty, selflessness and sacrifice.” These are certainly virtues that the writer of the book (Mark Girouard) might have ascribed to Buckaroo Banzai, had he read of Buckaroo’s high moral character and the Five Stresses, Four Beauties and Three Loves.


Philosophy 

Several articles in the area of philosophy emphasize the importance of living a simple life that is focused on taking pleasure in the quality of one’s workmanship. Two of extracts are taken from books written in 1909 and 1912 by Gustov Stickley who wrote about architectural design but emphasized the importance of simplicity, sincerity and finding “beauty in daily life,” the message behind Buckaroo’s iconic headband kanji.

The note, “How true,” is scrawled next to an extract from a book written in 1887 by Edward Carpenter that focuses on what is important and how trivial matters have so absorbed people’s minds (in the late 1800’s mind you) that, “if a chariot of fire were sent to fetch us, ten to one we should not see it.”

Also included in the readings is an advertisement for a series of “training courses” by one Edmund Shaftsbury who wrote books on developing personal magnetism and advanced mental exercises that would aid improving self, mastering conflict, controlling others, and practicing thought transference. The author wrote over a hundred such books in the late 1800’s and into the 1920’s. This advertisement has a handwritten note from Buckaroo stating, “Did Shaftesbury know father? Ask the Professor.”

These philosophical perspectives of mental strength, self-improvement, and simplicity echo the core tenants of Buckaroo’s way of life.


Medical 

Within the category of articles related to the medical field, there are several discourses on the medical practice including a detailed exploration into the life, philosophy and dark humor of neurosurgeons for whom there are no “dry runs.” This article from Esquire magazine parallels the brief glimpse we are given of Buckaroo as neurosurgeon. The article states that “the human skull was not designed for easy opening. It takes drills and saws and simple force to breach it. Some doctors call this cabinet work.”

To give legitimacy to the notion of implanting an Eskimo boy with a “computer chip” that is connected “to a subcutaneous microphone which will permit the patient to transmit verbal instructions to his own brain,” ( Earl Mac Rauch, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (New York: Pocket Books, 1984), page 21) several articles cover breakthrough medical technologies like an amputee that can control an artificial leg through conscious and subconscious thought; a new artificial lens to help the blind; and a woman who can pick up radio waves with her teeth.

There are five separate clippings that discuss the impact of electricity on the human body. The effects of electricity can include emotional changes, expedited bone healing, heart wellbeing and general improvements in mood and productivity of an individual, all as a direct result of electrical stimulation or ionization of the air in our environment. In these articles, combined with an clipping on the difference between that a taste bud senses and what the brain reads as the flavor of food gives a reminder of the “mental brain washing” the Lectroids use to make us see them as human.


Essential Buckaroo documents


Biology 

One reading is simply a detailed listing of the “deadly plants” that can be found in nature, along with the effects of eating them is provided. Two plants are circled, Rhubarb and Yellow Jessamine with Jessamine appearing in a subsequent story about a man who died under mysterious circumstances. This listing provides some context for the natural herbs and poisons that the infamous Hanoi Xan is known to utilize.

An advertisement for an amazing green bean that grows up to 5-feet long and weighs up to 75 pounds may be part of the solution to world famine. Given that the food crisis is a topic that the Banzai Institute is relentlessly seeking to find an answer to, it is likely that this reading could be connected to the mysterious watermelon experiments in the Banzai Lab.


Science/Physics
Multiple clippings from the world of physics focus on the emerging and controversial issues like theoretical particle physics, neutrinos, and a unified theory of the universe. While none of these articles directly address the physics of Buckaroo Banzai, there are many “Banzaiesque” concepts including descriptions for possible designs for antigravity devices, faster than light travel, time machines, and psionics.

A note from Perfect Tommy states, “Buckaroo – Let’s discuss.”, directly adjacent to an article on “missing mass” that states, “They (neutrinos) can pass through the entire earth as if it weren’t there.” The idea of “moving through matter” is reinforced by real world scientific concepts like this.

Another reading highlights a statement about the difficulty of testing any grand unified theory of the universe, which would, in the words of the author be like, “searching the eyes of Laura Antonelli for flecks of retinal silver contributed by her genetic ancestor, the lungfish.” This allusion elicits a handwritten note saying, “Now wait a second….”


Military/Political

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai does not cast the U.S. government and military in a flattering light but the portrayal is a product of its time as evidenced in multiple articles from the readings. These articles highlight problems with the U.S. military of the late ‘70’s and early ‘80’s. For example, there is a lengthy interview and critique of what went wrong with the failed attempt to rescue hostages at the Iranian embassy. Additionally, there is an article about an inadvertent attack on a Boy Scout Troop that was camping during military war games.

Articles focus on problems with military bureaucracy and the shift from big military to smaller, mobile and highly specialized soldiers that use technology like specialized ‘attack’ dune buggies and advanced martial arts techniques.

The following quote from Senator Roger Jepson is handwritten on a single sheet of paper, “We can spend billions annually on the most modern and sophisticated weaponry, but in the final analysis it is the infantryman, sailor, pilot and medic that will determine our nation’s strength.” This vision of small group effectiveness is echoed in another article on the Elite British soldiers that performed an amazing raid during the Falklands War which might parallel why small groups of individuals and small-scale strike teams are more effective in Buckaroo Banzai than large scale assaults (sorry Tommy).

Multiple articles emphasize growing concerns about the weaponization of technology and research, including scientists from the Jet Propulsion Lab that have seen a shift from space exploration projects to development of weapons that could be used in a space conflict. In the early eighties, the Reagan administration had launched the Strategic Defense Initiative (“SDI”) that envisioned killer satellites, orbital platforms and precision lasers, fired from space in an attempt to “catch up” with developments from the Soviet Union. These trends are echoed in Buckaroo Banzai as the army pushes to buy or seize the jet car, “in the name of national interest, of course.”

 

Technology 



An article removed from Business Week highlights the key developing technologies for the ‘80’s, which include high performance silicon chips; artificial intelligence; new building materials at the ‘micro-science’ level; biotechnology that includes genetically modified plants and livestock; and new technology to find underground natural resources without drilling. As with other overview clippings, this article is filled with technological buzzwords that integrate well into the jargon of Buckaroo Banzai.

Other technology readings include an article about a machine that allows a person to talk to the dead, which might parallel some of the attempts to communicate with a deceased Penny Priddy. According to a report from the National Examiner, this device has ‘confirmed’ that the dead move among us and that Lenin, Stalin and Hitler exist in the afterlife. Perhaps this would form the seed for a future adventure of Buckaroo Banzai.

In the early ‘80’s a new breed of individual emerged, the computer hacker. As described in two lengthy articles on hackers, the original term applied to individuals who were simply “passionate devotees of the computer who prefer beating, crashing and perfecting the system to meals, sleep, dating or good grades.” With a definitive list of definitions for words like Bug, Crash, Crock, Crufty, Frobnicate, Hairy, Moby, POM, Real World, User, Luser, and Wizard; the information from these clippings formed the backdrop for Team Banzai’s hacking into the YoYoDyne network, with the help of Team Banzai’s resident computer expert, Billy Travers. Being “in the know”, makes the threat of some “computer whiz kid” even more real.


Essential Buckaroo Documents


Odd News 



Throughout the collected readings are seemingly random and diverse news stories, any of which might fit within the footnotes of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. For example, a prominent theoretical physicist who was of Japanese/American heritage was found dead in an apartment while in Geneva. Although ruled a natural death, someone has scrawled, “Unlikely! Shan’s work? Yellow Jessamine poisoning?”(Multiple references to “Shan” show an early version of Hanoi “Xan’s” name) on the side of the article. The details are reminiscent of the death of Penny Priddy.

Other stories include the discovery of a ‘super-termite’ that can eat a house in 6 months, a Soviet defector who hid from the government for over 30 years, and a mysterious cloud that has encircled the earth and is being probed by U-2 planes. All these might have formed sub-plots in the Banzai movie if more sub-plots had been needed.

In Rockford, Illinois, a news article tells of two men died in an explosion of a ‘dream invention’ involving perpetual motion. Within the margin of the newspaper, a handwritten note asks, “A primitive gravity catapult? Perhaps discuss with Hikita Monday.”

In a profile story, the tale of Chang Chi-fu (Chang Chi-fu belonged to the Shan ethnicity. Coincidence?),  the world’s biggest heroin trafficker is discussed. Living in the ‘Golden Triangle,’ a vast impenetrable region of Southeast Asia, Chang rules his empire with a personal army of 5,000 well-equipped and well-trained soldiers, many armed with American-made M-16 carbines. Sounding much like a real-life version of Hanoi Xan himself, the article declares Chang to be ‘the most evil man on earth’ because of his ruthless tactics to force peasants to grow the opium that feeds his heroin drug cartel.




For What It’s Worth 


Included in the sample of readings is neatly clipped extraction from the Alaska Administrative Code (AS17.20.180) that defines the classes of shippers of shellfish for state regulation. For those that are interested, the classes include: reshippers, repackers, shell-stock shippers and shucker-packers.

An astute reader of the collected readings might be prompted to ask, “What is the ‘Classes of Shippers’ law code doing there?”

To which Mrs. Johnson might retort, “I’ll tell you later.”

 


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