Posted
on October 13, 2014
The
show The X-Files is considered a science fiction horror drama
show that originally aired on TV from 1993 to 2002.
I never watched
it, for the same reason that I never see anything (or read anything,
for that matter) in the horror genre: I'm a wimp and a scaredy-cat!
But almost everyone else did—the show was a huge success, and it
spun off into another TV series and two movies (however, all the
spin-offs had mixed success).
It
originally aired on September 10, and it ended on May 19 – so why
is today, October 13 considered X-Files Day? Today is the birthday of
the creator of the show, Chris Carter. He was born on this date in
1957 in the same town as one of my daughters: Bellflower, California.
Chris
Carter is a pretty interesting guy. He loved surfing, and he wrote
for Surfing Magazine before becoming its editor when he was
just 28 years old. He also loved to make pottery, and he made
thousands of pieces of pottery as a form of relaxation, even (he
says) meditation.
There
are so many things to discuss about The X-Files: conspiracy
theories, skepticism, paranormal phenomena, spirituality, and
reversing gender stereotypes. The show went from cult favorite to pop
culture icon, and it fed into the general suspicion of governments
and large institutions that so many people—so many Americans,
especially—seem to feel.
In
the show, two FBI Special Agents investigate unsolved cases. One of
the agents, a guy named Fox Mulder, always spins off crazy
conspiracy, supernatural, or spiritual-based theories, most of which
involve aliens; the other agent, a woman named Dana Scully,
supposedly offers skeptical and science-based thinking, assuring her
partner and audience that there must be a reasonable and rational
explanation of the weird things they are investigating.
And,
in the show, Mulder always wins.
In
real life, science and skepticism win the arguments—because, of
course, they are evidence-based. Another way of saying the same thing
is that they are based in reality. But The X-Files is a
fictional show, and according to Mulder, “the laws of physics rarely apply.”
The audience could clearly see that the fantastical theories of
Mulder were true, as they watched aliens darting about and a group of
men conspiring to cover up evidence of the aliens' existence. I
wonder how many people felt their trust in science erode after
watching a decade's worth of X-Files episodes? Or were the paranormal
and alien escapades just too crazy to influence anyone's idea of
reality?
 |
| The title character of "The Mentalist," Patrick Jane, is always pointing out the tricks people use to convince the gullible that there is something supernatural or paranormal going on.... Oh, and he solves crimes! |
I
have seen several shows in recent years in which rational,
reasonable, and accepted ideas rule over paranormal or
conspiracy-theory ideas. They include Psych, a comedy that is
no longer on the air, and The Mentalist and Castle,
both still running. Another recent-but-cancelled series, Fringe,
on the other hand, was pretty far out there, you know, on the fringe!
What
sort of show do you prefer? I generally prefer the rational and
skeptical over the fantastical and mystical, myself.
Also
on this date:
Dia
de la Raza (Observed)
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
No comments:
Post a Comment