The X-Files

In 1993 the “X-Files” premiered on the Fox television network. It took little time for the show to achieve cult status, and soon became a cultural phenomenon. The show follows two FBI special agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, as they uncover everything from demons to a massive alien conspiracy conducted by the American government. The success and cult like following of the show is reminiscent to that of “Star Trek” and its loyal fans. However, the X-Files, is a show that was able to transcend shows like “Star Trek” in that it was popular to the mainstream as well as niche groups. The “X-Files” was able to address fundamental concerns that address everyday people, from social issues facing women to fear of control and technology.

The narrative of “X-Files” acts as a commentary on American culture, specifically the early 1990’s. This paper will discuss these concerns and their relevance to the time period in which the show was on television (not just syndication). The paper will discuss the political economy, as well as use a textual analysis of the show in order to confirm the various points of cultural influence, specifically those that affect women, both from and on the show.

The political economy approach illustrates how the production as well as distribution of a show depends on the specific economic system that the show is produced in. In other words what is the world or country like at the time the show is produced? What are the problems that face people and what are they concerned with. “…The textual analysis of cultural studies combines formalist analysis with critique of how cultural meanings convey specific ideologies of gender, race, class, sexuality, nation, and other ideological dimensions.”(Dorsey)

The “X-Files” is a show that was able to discreetly tap into the consciousness of a culture. The show used a mix of genres in order to touch on a number of themes including fear of the government and more importantly social issues that were faced at the beginning of the 1990’s and through-out the run of the show. At the start of the 1990’s some the prevalent issues that faced American’s included distrust of the government, as well as other important issues facing women more specifically including single motherhood, and the spread of infectious and incurable disease. The “X-Files” used story lines as well as character development in order to convey these concerns. The “X-Files” was different in that the messages were discreet or underlying in the story. (Dorsey) John Ellis describes broadcast TV as having “developed distinctive aesthetic forms to suit the circumstances within which it is used. These forms are distinct to broadcast TV as a phenomenon, rather than to video as a phenomenon. They have as much to do with the fact that broadcasting presents a continuous set of signals that either received or missed by their potential audience.”(Ellis, 111)

The premise of the “X-Files” is two FBI agents investigate unexplained occurrences. One of the FBI agents is Fox Mulder, who as a boy witnessed the abduction of his younger sister by “aliens,” is a true believer in the unexplained phenomenon. His partner Dana Scully, however, is a forensics expert “grounded in science.” Scully is put with Mulder in order to debunk these unexplained occurrences and find a scientific explanation for the answers. The premise of the show itself is “…marked by a theme of “skepticism and existential doubt that has elevated the series far beyond the realm of entertainment and given it a place in the national consciousness.”(Lowry/Blythe)

Dana Scully, the lead female character, is a perfect example of the concerns that faced women in the 1990’s. In the article “Stories for [Boys] Girls: Female Fans Read the X-Files” the author Rhiannon Bury argues that “female participants” worked to gain shared pleasures from texts produced predominantly by men for men.” Bury also examines how these “Female participants” were able to identify with female characters through storylines.

In Carolyn C. Rogers report for the Fourth U.N. World Conference of Women, many trends for women from the 1980’s to the mid 1990’s are discussed. Rogers indicates that in fact many changes were taking place in this time frame for women. The biggest changes that she notes are that of the work place. Rogers reveals that much economic progress had been made for women “reflected in the smaller earnings gap with men.” (Rogers) The report also illuminates problem that faced these women age 24-34, and they included young women who are poor, single mothers, as well as increased number of high school dropouts. The information in this report helps us to see some of the concerns that faced these women. These concerns were portrayed by many television characters most notably Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully.

Scully’s character was a hard line scientist, who was a smart attractive single female in her early 30’s. Through-out the series Scully has been through everything from alien abduction to getting messages from ghosts. Scully has also faced everything from cancer to single motherhood.

The plot of the show has Scully abducted by aliens and supposedly impregnated by these aliens. This story line was able to develop her character into a single mother facing the same situation or problems many other women were dealing with at the time. Besides the alien abduction according to Bury the number of single mothers was on the rise at the time. Her job is another good example, during the 1990’s many woman were working “white collar” jobs as well as taking care of children at the same time.

During the series Scully was also diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. While Ovarian Cancer was not new in the 1990’s it was more becoming more common in society. According to Barks and Shcmitte the number of cases of ovarian cancer grew dramatically during the 1990’s. As per the plot of the show much advancement had been made in the fight against this particular kind of cancer during this time. The “X-Files” was able to use both an interesting story line as well as include an issue prevalent for women in society.

Dana Scully was depicted as a smart independent woman dedicated to her job. Through-out the series she is single and shows no indication of a relationship. Her character works closely along side a male counterpart and yet her sexuality remains ambiguous. Sexuality was another concern that faced both men and women at the start of the 1990’s. Mulder on the other hand often referred to dates, or woman he found attractive or wanted to sleep with.

The “X-Files” is a show that was able to convey a message about the state of the culture at the time. The shows rich story lines as well as character development enabled the show to reach a wider audience than many shows. If you watched the show now it is easy to see what concerns faced Americans in the 1990’s, especially women. Dana Scully serves as an example of what women in that time frame were facing, single motherhood, cancer, as well as question of sexuality. Just watching the show you would not immediately catch the cultural references those are best observed by analyzing the series as a whole.