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Disclaimer! I love the X-Files, it’s my comfort show. It’s the perfect mix of monster-of-the-week, horror, wacky antics, and mutual pining that I want in my television. That doesn’t mean I can’t be critical of it. Through my several binge-watching sessions, I couldn’t help but notice its shortcomings, or times it completely misses the mark. Disclaimer 2! Essay writing was always my worst subject in school. I don’t know why I’m doing it now! Bear with me, please.

Topic 1: A White-Centric, Upper Middle-Class POV This comes as a surprise to nobody, but most of the characters are white and from affluent families. The show often revolves around issues that resonate with this demographic. When episodes do feature people of diverse ethnicities or religions, they tend to treat those individuals like characters. As a Mexican living in the United States, I was cringing out of my skin while watching the Chupacabra episode (Season 4, Episode 5). There is so much the show got wrong and made up that I wonder if they even consulted a single Latino during the episode’s production. Some quick thoughts:

• The chupacabra is originally Puerto Rican, not Mexican. • The chupacabra is a cryptid. No one would think a human is a chupacabra. • The Spanish was BAD. • What was that thing they kept saying about a feud between two brothers? That’s not a thing. We don’t let people kill their brothers for revenge in Mexico. I understand they tried to make a point about undocumented immigrants being ignored and abused by society, but their characterization was flat and cartoonish, and does more harm than good.

They lean a lot on indigenous culture, specifically Navajo, for many of their plots. They often fall into the “magical minority” stereotype, forgotten until they’re a useful plot device. I wonder how inaccurately they’re portrayed and how Navajo people feel about their representation here? “But Andrea, there ARE characters of color in the X-Files!” Oh really? Who?

Mr. X, an informant so mysterious that we know absolutely nothing about his backstory or motivation. He seems weirdly hostile towards Mulder, but it’s never explained why he decided to help him in the first place. He is later unceremoniously killed off and never mentioned again. Let’s contrast this to Deep Throat, whose character and motivations were well explored in the show. His death was brought up repeatedly, and in the reboot they even visit his gravestone. Director Kersh is often an antagonist, meant to make us realize how lenient and kind Skinner is. He is given no motivation of his own or any character growth, unlike other FBI agents in the series. Hell, The Cigarette Smoking Man is treated like a more sympathetic character than Kersh.

What about Monica Reyes, a Mexican immigrant who works for the FBI alongside Dana and Agent Doggett. She is a wonderfully complex character who I am very fond of (completely ignoring her gross mischaracterization in the reboot). The problem? She’s played by actress Annabeth Gish, a white woman of European descent. I have no problem with Gish or her portrayal of Agent Reyes. I think she did a great job, but maybe it’s a role that should’ve been given to a Mexican actress. Just a thought. Which brings me to my next point…

Topic 2: Fear of Aliens and White Anxieties. I can’t help but roll my eyes when the plot points about aliens show up. “Oh no, the Aliens want to create Human Alien hybrids!” “Aliens want to colonize Earth!” “Aliens want to enslave the human race!” Oh no, that’s terrible… where have I heard that before? White people are so afraid that someone will subject them to the same exploitation and domination that they have imposed on others. They blindly touch on the themes of colonization, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and slavery. The worst part is that it fails to realize this is what it’s doing or offer any critique on it. This narrow mindset also limits the show’s exploration of the topic, robbing it of any more themes and implications that could have appeared from a non-white perspective.

Topic 3: Female Competition We’re giving the X-Files half credit here, because Dana Scully was a groundbreaking character, and she did develop a friendship with Monica Reyes in later seasons. In the first 6 seasons of the X-Files, every time they introduce a new woman, Scully takes an immediate distaste towards her. Not in any sense that felt genuine to the character, but in a “the screen writers think women can’t be friends” kind of way. They are almost always poised as a romantic opponent of hers, and yet any time we meet someone meant to capture Dana’s interest, they are never pitted against Mulder in the same way. In season one, there’s Mulder’s British ex, Phoebe Green, and later Diana Fowley. Neither of these characters are given depth or clear motives for their actions, even though Diana’s story spanned over 1 season. They exist solely to put an obstacle between Mulder and Scully.

Topic 4: Adoption and Blood Relation? I don’t have much to say on this other than the way the X-Files touches on the topic of birth relation is weird? In the season 1 episode titled “Eve”, a mother learns that her daughter was part of a genetic experiment, and therefore is not biologically hers. It ends with the mother saying that the girl was “Never truly [her] daughter”. I originally thought this was regarding the daughter’s psychopathic tendencies. However, revisiting the episode, it sat with me wrong. In the following seasons, we learn of Scully’s infertility and her desire to have a child. She learns of a little girl who is biologically her daughter and part of a government experiment. Unfortunately, the child dies before Scully can adopt her. This is the only time Scully considers adoption. I always wondered why she didn’t try to adopt a child later on since she’d always wanted to be a mother? In later seasons, we learn Scully went through several IVF treatments to get pregnant, and finally had her son William. Unfortunately, she has to give her son up for adoption in order to keep him safe. All of this is well and good until the infamous reboot where we learn that Mulder and Scully have spent the last 17 years missing their child. Here’s a massive spoiler warning for the season finale: It was terrible.

We learn William wasn’t actually Mulder’s son, and that he was a part of the Cigarette Smoking Man’s plot all along. We watch William be shot and killed in front of them. The series closes with a very strange and ingenuine conversation between Mulder and Scully. To sum it up, it goes a little something like this: EXT. Harbor - Night MULDER They killed him, Scully. SCULLY It’s okay Mulder. He wasn’t your son. MULDER But he was your son. SCULLY (apparently heartless) No, I just carried him. But I wasn’t his mother. MULDER If I’m not a father, what am I? (This is such a weird thing to say, btw) SCULLY (Puts Mulder’s hand on her stomach) You are a father, Mulder. THE END

So, honestly, what were they thinking? Just because he’s not biologically their child, any emotional connection to him ceased to exist. Never mind the 17 years missing him, yearning for him, loving him from a distance, None of that matters. Forget the entire season spent in a desperate chase to find him. Blood is thicker than water, so fuck William. We have a little baby on the way, so everything is fine. It’s a gross mischaracterization of these characters, as they seem to lack tact and compassion. ... Turns out I did have a lot to say about this, actually... What a dumpster fire.

Topic 5: Copaganda? I watched a very insightful YouTube video, “Spooky Cops” by Skip Intro, that explains it very well, but here’s my rambling, incoherent version! The X-Files actually started off doing well in this area, then the reboot disappointed. Let’s look into it! The original X-Files run had a very a n t i - government stance. The very first lesson it teaches Mulder is “Trust No One,” a message from Deep Throat that he can’t trust anyone working in the FBI. Mulder’s informant from the inside, Mr. Deep Throat himself, is a blatant reference to the informant that helped uncover the Watergate Scandal. This reference is meant to show us that the government and systems of power aren’t meant to be trusted. The biggest failure of the X-Files is that it never criticizes law enforcement officers,

or questions Mulder and Scully’s roles upholding the status quo of the FBI. However, the show focuses a lot on uncovering corruption in government agencies. Mulder and Scully work as a unit against the corruption within the FBI, in the CIA, and in the Military. In fact, I would say the X-Files was originally very critical of the Military. Then 9/11 happened and the United States spiraled into pro-war, unquestioning patriotism. It was disheartening, as we watch America fall into the hands of fascism, that the X-Files would lose its critical view of the government. We no longer see Mulder and Scully fight institutional authorities, government coverups, or the misuse of the justice system. Instead, they’re fighting alongside the government against fringe 3rd party groups trying to take over. Possibly worst of all is their new ally, Tad O’Malley (played brilliantly by the charismatic Joel McHale) a Tucker Carlson spoof, whose fringe alt-right theories have some basis in truth. It almost feels as if the new X-Files reboot was a few steps away from falling into Q-Anon propaganda. Some Praise Because I really do

like the show, and it does a lot of things brilliantly. The Scully Effect: Dana Scully as a character is brilliant, and she is portrayed as a strong, intelligent, and capable scientist while also being kind, feminine, and religious. This contrast and complexity allowed people from many walks of life to see themselves in her and inspired a generation of women to pursue careers in STEM. It’s government criticism: it tackled the problem of government secrecy and covert operations, encouraging audiences to hold a healthy skepticism of authority. It questioned the status quo and promoted the importance of truth and justice above all else. (until they lost their backbone in the reboot)

Conclusion I love the X-Files, but I completely understand that it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. There are some episodes that I find myself having to skip because they dampen my enjoyment of the show, but the X-Files scratches an itch my brain in a way other shows can’t. Maybe it’s nostalgia, maybe it’s the overarching messages, maybe it’s Mulder and Scully’s dynamic, maybe it’s Maybelline. A Final note: My senior year AP English Language teacher once told me I’m especially bad at writing conclusions.

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