the truth is
out there ... NCR impulse palpable in The X-Files
By JOHN L. ALLEN
JR.
Jeff Goldblums character hit the nail on the head in
The Big Chill, I think, when he said that rationalizations are more
important than sex because its impossible to go more than a week without
a rationalization. In that spirit, heres a juicy one: I watch The
X-Files -- Foxs drama about two FBI agents tracking down reports of
UFOs and paranormal phenomena -- not because its sleek, trendy escapism,
but because it has the potential to redeem our culture.
OK, I am rationalizing a bit -- I admit to enjoying the spooky
stories, the ethereal music, and it doesnt hurt that Gillian Anderson
(Agent Dana Scully) is a babe. Thats fair of me to say, since my wife has
announced on several occasions that Andersons costar David Duchovny
(Agent Fox Mulder) is hot -- though when Im around she
usually has the good taste to note Youre nice too.
If youre inclined to look down your nose at anything on
prime time, its easy to dismiss the shows success. Besides the sexy
lead characters, theres the other obvious ploys: The X-Files
deftly combines elements from the sci-fi and horror genres; it appeals to a
post-Watergate, post-Iran/contra American cynicism about authority; it uses
innovative photography and scene-setting that appeals to younger viewers. And,
of course, its been marketed to death.
Moreover, The X-Files has come in for some serious
criticism. Richard Dawkins, the famed Oxford biologist, lambasted it for
promoting an epidemic of paranormal propaganda and diminishing
public respect for real science. Others believe The X-Files
undercuts faith in democratic government, feeding wild conspiracy theories and
treating every official statement as a potential lie. There are also television
critics who think the show is getting stale and predictable.
But Im here to tell you that despite all the concessions to
style, despite the loony plot lines about extraterrestrials and genetic mutants
capable of regenerating limbs, the show at its best is intelligent, provocative
drama. More than that, I believe The X-Files pulsates with what I
can only call an NCR impulse. I think viewers -- some, at
least -- find Mulder and Scullys crusade against the
military/industrial/national security complex compelling on the same basis that
leads a (lamentably smaller) number of people to the pages of this
newspaper.
What is this impulse? I cant say definitively, but I think
it involves the following: a thirst for justice; a suspicion of the
concentration of power; an instinctive sympathy for the marginalized and
ridiculed; a will to believe despite the persistent tug of doubt; an
indefatigable desire to see the truth come out; and a need to find meaning amid
apparent chaos.
Anyone who watches the show will recognize these themes. If you
can forget for a moment the narrative framework on which they are hung and
apply them to NCRs universe of discourse, youll recognize
the similarity.
Take as an example a subplot that turned up in the first season of
The X-Files, and again in season four: the fate of a character
named Max Fenig. In season one, we meet Max -- a weird-looking little guy
obsessed with UFOs. Max is seriously ill, takes powerful antipsychotic
medication and lives in an Airstream RV littered with photos of crop circles.
No one takes Max seriously, but Mulder listens, and through him makes some
critical discoveries about government cover-ups. Max then disappears, but in
season four we see him again, this time aboard a plane that mysteriously
crashes. Out of loyalty to Max, Mulder takes up the case, and doggedly pursues
the truth about what happened. I see Mulder exhibiting qualities here --
willingness to listen to neglected voices, compassion, loyalty to friends, and
determination to find the truth -- that are also at the core of what NCR
is about.
I dont mean thereby to trivialize NCR. We work in the
real world, and in the stories we cover, real people get hurt when the powerful
strike down the lowly. But I am claiming that in Agents Scully and Mulder,
NCR folk can recognize kindred, albeit make-believe, spirits. Even those
viewers who tune in just to see Duchovny and Anderson strut their stuff end up
rooting for characters who have exercised a preferential option for
those at the margins.
Therein lies my broader point. Rather than bashing popular
culture, those of us who hope for a better world need to utilize the resources
it offers us. There are too many religious people today who see television,
rock music and in general any lifestyle that deviates from their own as evil.
Others, though less censorially inclined, look down upon those who seek succor
from the TV or the boom box, essentially dismissing pop culture as a poor
substitute for authentic spiritual or intellectual wisdom.
I understand those reactions, but I see things differently. I
think phenomena such as The X-Files present teaching moments. We
can learn from its success, be heartened that the values of truth, meaning and
justice still play in prime time. Our task is to figure out how to help
X-Files viewers navigate the difference between make-believe
applications of those values (UFOs, aliens and paranormal events) and the real
world (government policies that injure the vulnerable, corporate greed, the
self-serving intransigence of the rich and powerful). I think viewers of shows
such as The X-Files represent a natural constituency for
progressive change, if only we knew how to channel that NCR
impulse they share with us into concrete action rather than speculation
over Roswell or telekinesis.
While I dont yet have a blueprint for pulling that off, I do
know that taking popular culture seriously in this way -- listening critically
but receptively -- is the proper stance for a church seeking partnership with
the world. And while the name of this column is a reference to The
X-Files, at a deeper level, the truth is out there expresses
the sacramental theology that is at the heart of a Catholic response to
culture. I believe God is not confined to any religious ghetto; God is out
there in the world, working through the hearts and minds of all people to lead
them toward beauty and meaning. Even The X-Files, in its own weird
way, can help build Gods reign.
The truth is out there. Stay tuned.
John L. Allen Jr. is NCR opinion editor. This new column
on popular culture will appear monthly.
National Catholic Reporter, December 19,
1997
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