NCR impulse palpable in 'The X-Files.' - National Catholic Reporter - Column

National Catholic Reporter, Dec 19, 1997 by John L Allen, Jr.

Jeff Goldblum's character hit the nail on the head in "The Big Chill," I think, when he said that rationalizations are more important than sex because it's impossible to go more than a week without a rationalization. In that spirit, here's a juicy one: I watch "The X-Files" -- Fox's drama about two FBI agents tracking down reports of UFOs and paranormal phenomena -- not because it's 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 doesn't hurt that Gillian Anderson (Agent Dana Scully) is a babe. That's fair of me to say, since my wife has announced on several occasions that Anderson's costar David Duchovny (Agent Fox Mulder) is "hot" -- though when I'm around she usually has the good taste to note You're nice too."

If you're inclined to look down your nose at anything on prime time, it's easy to dismiss the show's success. Besides the sexy lead characters, there's 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, ifs 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 I'm 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 Scully's 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 can't 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 NCR's universe of discourse, you'll 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 don't 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.