How the X-Files Influenced the Post-MTV Generation
Though “The X-Files” has gone the inevitable way of all television shows, its effects are still influencing today’s young adults. The “I want to believe” attitudes fostered by the show’s dry-wit writing and purposefully pointed mechanism of government conspiracy and cover-ups of the existence of extraterrestrials were bound to happen. Images of paranoid nerds and technogeeks has since become somewhat of a staple of 90′s culture, along with the iconographic alien head, the circular UFO with blinking lights, shadowy government agent types, and the heavy-handed force with which those agents deal out the government’s wishes and will upon an unwitting populace that is duped into thinking they are alone in the universe. “The X-Files” resurrected a cultic and mostly dying phenomenon that might have been remembered through its originating force, Erich Von Daniken’s seminal and largely discredited book Chariots of the Gods. Though aired with more humour and a less serious tone than its predecessor, “The X-Files” managed to create a sub-counterculture that had its foundation in something a little more evidentiary than Chariots’ mystical vehicles: government cover-ups. The result was the burgeoning of a teenage and young adult generation that has begun to question its government as much as, if not more than, the Hippies of the 60′s or the 80′s’ MTV generation–parents of a bastard so thoroughly unencumbered by any one set of values that it is difficult to pinpoint origins, much less actual beliefs.
The Evidence
Building upon its motto, “The X-Files” presented a slightly skewed version of reality in which the truth (or the Truth) was out “there” for the taking. Reality bending is a popular format for shows of this ilk; “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” were two such shows that really set the stage for alternative universes in which the norm was off-kilter, idiosyncratic, and dangerous to anyone who disregarded these attributes. In “The X-Files”, viewers were offered the equivalent of a police procedural that focused on the paranormal. The premise of setting two FBI agents against the United States government in a battle for the truth not only had sustainable story material, but the substance of the growing cloud of mystery concerning the cover-up of the existence of extraterrestrials gave many viewers the impetus for what has been an increasing distrust and discontent with the actions of politicians and lawmakers. For children growing up during the 80′s, the world abounded in scandal and intrigue; from the Iran-Contra cover-up to the AIDs epidemic to the Chernobyl incident to the increase in terrorism across the globe, there seemed to be no haven of justice or truth, and no champion to foster the fight for wrongs to be righted. Politicians surrounded themselves with scandals and lies to cover the scandals, and the government perpetuated the belief that it had become a monster grown beyond its original proportions, and that it lived only for itself and its own interests. The children of the 1980′s stepped warily into the 90′s, perhaps only subconsciously aware that they had absorbed the news events, the talks of the towns and their parents, and their well-mocked school lessons. They now wore a mantle of skepticism that would permeate their future as teenagers and adults looking for answers but finding only more questions.
Enter Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), brilliant young profiler who just happens to believe the government is guilty of masterminding the most widespread, most conniving cover-up of history: the existence of alien life. His determination to discover the roots of the mystery is matched by his rampant enthusiasm for speculation on matters of the paranormal and the supernatural. Playing the counterweight, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) provides a deep skepticism and scientific reasoning to balance Mulder’s often logic-defying, yet oddly compelling scenarios and profiles of the cases they are assigned, known as the ‘X-Files’. Their pairing was always the true genius of the show’s storyline, since they provided the necessary checks and balances to each other to enforce the conclusions of each show’s premise.
Though muddied and prone to inconsistency as the series progressed into its latter seasons, the thesis remained ungranulated. The Government is Big Trouble. For Mulder, the government holds all the keys, and it is through a fear of losing its power that it refuses to release the truth. However, as Scully implies in Episode 2 of Season 3, entitled “Paperclip”, the truth is not enough anymore; what she needs are answers, answers to the frightening questions of loyalty to government and country; of the duty of the citizenry and the duty of the government to its citizens; of the sacrifices made to ensure the future of the nation-and mankind. As she delves more deeply into the X-Files, she encounters the stuff of uber-science, defying her medical and scientific background and touching her core beliefs. Meanwhile, Mulder experiences similar validating experiences in such a way that would have any “true believer” wetting his pants in glee.
Yet in a way, their experiences are still at the behest of the government they work for. Their exposure to the X-Files is itself a conspiratorial whim of the FBI, and Scully’s presence is for the unspoken purpose of debunking Mulder’s work in the paranormal. Thus viewers are shown that while questions of conspiracy remain, only the select few have access, and that on a limited basis, and that under the control of a beastly government unwilling to give up its secrets. Tantalizing? For a teenager or twenty-something growing up in the 90′s, not only is it tantalizing, it is the beginning to a new way of regarding the real world.
The Reasons
“The X-Files” was perfectly poised to receive the high ratings it did given its entertaining blend of paranoia, humour, and pathos, utilizing the consistently good writing provided by its creator, Chris Carter, the talented Glen Morgan and James Wong, Producer Howard Gordon, and the creative Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotznitz. Its high production values, including the first season’s series-setting atmospheric and moody lighting helped solidify “The X-Files” in its Friday night timeslot, building up to an impressive 14.9 rating and 25 shares in its fourth season. However, the numbers that gave “The X-Files” its success and nine running seasons were built gradually from the detritus of television viewers who have long been marginalized by mainstream networks.
Billed as a sci-fi series, Fox executives gave the show and its creator, Chris Carter, little hope for success. Its timeslot was a difficult one to maintain extended and continuous viewership, and its content was not considered mainstream enough to attract a wide audience. Word of mouth and the Web cemented “The X-Files” in the public consciousness as a show that not only dared to focus-not on foreign enemies-but rather on the evils within the United States government, but also managed to depict a number of subjects in a positive and thoughtful light that are normally abused on television as comedic foils. Topics such as religion and faith, as well as the supernatural and paranormal were treated respectfully and artfully, increasing its fan base by appealing to sentiments that played well with average Americans.
The exegesis of conspiracy within the folds of American government was the key, however. Numerous episodes, especially coming at the tail end of Season One and throughout Season Two, dealt with Mulder’s and Scully’s attempts to ferret the truth from the tight grip of government denial. Often they were met with fierce resistance, embodied by the mysterious and deadly Cigarette Smoking Man (William Davis). Indeed, the finale of Season Two left viewers wondering if Mulder was dead, killed by CSM’s draconian orders to burn the evidence of a train car filled with the bodies of alien-human hybrids. The progressing storyline, augmented with Mulder’s urgency to find the truth and Scully’s attempts to keep their imaginations in check, became fodder for an increasingly paranoid subtext, one which has since become the basis for many political and social theories posited by the “up-and-comers”-what I am taking liberty in calling the “X-Files Generation”. These theories range from the ridiculous to the plausible; like Mulder’s own “spooky” ideas, they are possessed of varying amounts of paranoia, conspiracy, and sometimes kooky ideas of the mechanics of governments, world affairs, and media.
The political sphere of this generation has been increasingly fractured and split down ideological lines that correspond to frustration with the lack of representation within the government. Perceived conspiracies abound on both sides of the map, fueled by an abundance of pseudo-evidence, increased communication via the Internet, and a willingness to replace the reality one lives in with an X-Files reality, skewed to accurately depict an imagined worldview. Thus we are inundated with theories of the government masterminding the September 11th plot, the military being responsible for shooting down commercial airliners, burning down private compounds, and many other tantalizing, yet unsubstantiated plots. In fact, a 2001 Gallup survey found that more than 50% of Americans believed the government is covering up the existence of alien life. Nearly 50% believe the American government is responsible for numerous acts of terrorism that have long been attributed to known terrorists. Distrust of the government is the unifying thread. The political tie-ins to “The X-Files” were undoubtedly the most pervasive of any other show on television at the time. During a flashback sequence in which Mulder’s sister is abducted, the event playing on the television screen in their living room is the Watergate scandal-distrust is thus deeply ingrained into the hero’s psyche, and the political mechanizations for the levels of deception within the government become the impetus for Mulder’s crusade.
Another facet to the splintered theories is the levels of control within the government. This was a popular theme throughout the X-Files, which depicted puppet agencies working together for a mastermind organization, called the Syndicate, which was a group of men from around the world who were working to cover up the government’s dealings with extraterrestrials. This is reflected in common beliefs that the government is controlled by small but powerful groups. Zionists, Fascists, Lobbyists, Environmentalists, the Military Industrial Complex, and even the Nazis are frequently demonized as holding the reins of government, buying favours and votes, influencing with blackmail those who can’t be bought, and even killing those who refuse to bow to their diabolical mission.
Finally, the series made ample use of a host of characters that, accurately or inaccurately, represent different phases of American socio-political thought. To wit, Mulder’s conviction that the government is behind the scenes, a shadowy yet public force manipulating the truth and hiding in ambiguity, is representative of the so-called X-Files generation. He embodies the soul of the believer, and is the true motivating rebel force working from within to bring down the array of forces aligned against him. Like Mulder, many X-Filers are themselves young and intelligent, working in government positions, yet holding political and social views that match Mulder’s deep skepticism of anything posited by the government as truth. They can fall on both sides of the political map, though typically these young Mulder’s hold liberal, or at least libertarian ideology, and are often politically active. They are tenacious in their beliefs, open to extreme possibilities, even ones that may contradict, or at least defy, normal modes of reality. They can find evidence of government cover up, corruption, denial of facts, media manipulation, and outright deception in many of the daily news items, even when they rest on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Paranoia knows know political party, and holds only one agenda. Fear is a motivating factor, and they will often see the exotic amidst the mundane.
The Truth
There is another reason “The X-Files” garnered so much popular attention and became such a defining show for the post-MTV generation. Since the early 1960′s, concrete concepts like “truth”, “morality”, and “right” and “wrong” had become anathema; dusty relics of an antiquated, Victorian era. The decline of the 1960′s, with its free love, anti-establishment message, also carried into the ’70′s an absence of philosophical foundation with which the next generation could build upon. Thus the MTV generation was a similarly lost and ethereal one, predicated upon the notion of post-modern relativity. This valueless system gave way quickly to the tragedies and scandals of the 1980′s. Without a base of philosophic support to help understand the very real deceptions and horrors played upon the peoples of the nation and the world, po-mo thought fell victim to its own powerlessness. This ushered in the 1990′s, a decade ripe for answers with an absoluteness that would erase the stain of relative knowledge and truth. Proposing that “The Truth Is Out There”, “The X-Files” was perfectly situated to speak to a lost generation that sought absolute answers to the questions its parents could not, and did not answer. Yet the truth was “out there”, waiting to be found by entrepreneurs and enterprising young bloods and the politically savvy. Aided by new technological advances like the Internet, the truth could not be hidden from a populace that had lost faith in its government and its leaders. And the fact that such a subversive show was so popular by the middle of its first season meant that the Revolution had once again taken a new group into its fold.
Persistent fears of government control and reduction of liberties has always been an ever-present condition in the minds of Americans, even since before the War of Independence. Safeguards against the abuses of government against the people were built into the Constitution-innoculations, as it were, into the lifeblood of the nation. As these fears have always been, so have the methods by which society protects against those evils of totalitarianism and fascism. “The X-Files” was a prescient series that set every expectation of the post-MTV generation into narrow focus, and proved without a doubt that the truth could always be found, even if it often came out looking differently than expected.