From: Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Date: Mon Jun 15 1998 - 20:42:24 MDT
Kathryn Aegis wrote:
> On the topic of "Why the X-Files is Scary", William Gibson had this to say:
>
> 'What we are afraid of is that we are becoming posthuman, that Earth is the
> alien planet and that we are the aliens...'
>
> I don't sound, it sounded fairly glib when he said it. Is this really what
> scares people?
Well, look at it, those episodes which are not directly related to the central
'alien invasion/gov't conspiracy plot are almost always about people who are
changed in some extreme way, from the ability to control lightning, feral
humans, mutated individuals like Mutato, the Monkey Boy, telepaths,
telekinetics, swamp things, clones, etc. it feeds on the natural xenophobia that
most everyone has to one degree or another. Because the rate of technological,
cultural, and economic change has become so obviously rapid in the past decade,
some people are beginning to fear what we are obviously becoming, and feel
powerless to stop. Only a complete idiot can't see that we are in for even more
rapid changes in the near future. Given most peoples natural fear of change,
along with their natural xenophobia, it is no wonder fear the future, and get
such a visceral kick out of scaring themselves by watching the X-files.
A beneficial thing about the X-files is that, like violent programs desensitize
people to violence in their everyday lives, the X-files is desensitizing people
to change, to the 'alien' among us, and the 'alien' in ourselves. Hopefully,
with enough programming such as this, change and difference will be seen by
reactionary types as rather run of the mill by the time things really start to
get interesting.
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------ How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?
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