Ever wondered where the 'space jockey' came from?

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Rob Lopez

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You all remember the 'space jockey' from Alien? Well we know that Ridley Scott too was fascinated by it, and has used it in Prometheus, creating a story about 'god creator' aliens seeding life on earth.

You might also know that theories are entertained about aliens having visited Earth in the past and being revered as gods by ancient peoples - a theory popularised by writers like Erich von Daniken, who wrote the best selling Chariots of the Gods?

Well, to back up his story, Erich referenced ancient art, including the tomb lid of Pacal the Great

Check out the picture in the link and see if it reminds you of the space jockey

Ridley Scott may or may not have known of the (visual) connection, but I bet the set designer (who I think may have been Giger himself) did.

I've not seen this connection made before, so I'm kind of wondering whether anyone else has.
 

dclary

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That's really too vague to make a connection, IMO. I think if you research, you'll see a lot of reclined men looking skyward in ancient art.
 

Rob Lopez

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That's really too vague to make a connection, IMO. I think if you research, you'll see a lot of reclined men looking skyward in ancient art.


With a large cylindrical object stretching out in front of them?
 

MJNL

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Er, kind of looks like the back of his "throne" to me...not a tubular protrusion in front of him. Ever recline sideways in a chair?
 

Rob Lopez

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Er, kind of looks like the back of his "throne" to me...not a tubular protrusion in front of him. Ever recline sideways in a chair?

Yes, it most probably was.

I think I'm being misunderstood. I'm not saying that the mayan king was the space jockey, or on a journey to the stars. I'm not even saying that aliens visited the ancient peoples.

I'm saying that the set designer might have used that image consciously when he created the space jockey mock-up, perhaps because the set designer either saw the image somewhere or read Erich's book. And since Prometheus seems also to have used ideas popularised by the likes of Erich, that maybe either the use of the image in the first movie was deliberate (for Scott's later idea), or that Scott, who undoubtedly had conversations with Giger, nurtured that association later and held on to it until he was ready to make Prometheus.
 

MJNL

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I understood you originally, I just think it's a bit of a stretch. Not that a stretch isn't exactly what it takes to inspire things. Could be a connection--but if there is I'm guessing more so with concepts like are found in "Chariots" rather than direct connections to ancient depictions (or, at least, that specific depiction).
 

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I am sure the designer was family with the ancient aliens theory and all that goes with it. These days most people interested in sci fi are.
 

Friendly Frog

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I saw the image of Pacal's tomb in a movie still, if I recall correctly. The scene where they look over several images different civilations showing the same star configuration, I think. I think the image was even changed to fit in the stars.
 

Mr Flibble

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I must be missing something here because I can't see anything in the two that looks even similar except *lays back* or *person surrounded by stylised stuff* and that's a real stretch...

If you want to see 'alien in yore times' there's loads better examples.
 

dclary

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I thought "Space Jockey" was a short story by Robert Heinlein.

This is the first time I've ever heard that thing in Alien called a space jockey.

I have the Alien trading cards from back in the day. They called it a jockey. I had no idea why back then. Maybe he was supposed to be riding a giant space horse?
 
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