On September 10, 1993, The X-Files made its first appearance on TV. Fast forward thirty years, on the same date, I found myself in a convention center in Minneapolis, joining 500 other enthusiastic fans and the show’s creator, Chris Carter, to celebrate the show’s legacy.
Although The X-Files is often touted as a show about aliens, it quickly embedded itself in pop culture and continues to be a significant part of it even today. A big chunk of its success can be credited to the on-screen chemistry between David Duchovny, who portrayed FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder, and Gillian Anderson, who played FBI Special Agent Dana Scully. In fact, the fandom of The X-Files is where the term “shipping” originated, which means rooting for characters to become romantically involved.
In my new book, “The Truth Is Still Out There: Thirty Years of The X-Files,” I argue that what truly propelled the series to success was its knack for tapping into the cultural conversations of the time and urging viewers to ponder over the world we are living in.
When the series first aired in 1993, America was still dealing with the aftermath of events like Watergate and the Vietnam War. There were also growing concerns about the upcoming millennium and socio-economic disparities within the country. It all coincided with Bill Clinton’s presidency, marking a shift from over a decade of Republican rule.
Not surprisingly, issues like immigration, globalization, national identity, and technology surfaced and were often mirrored—or even predicted—by The X-Files’ writers. Many episodes in the first nine seasons touch on artificial technology. Take, for example, the first season’s episode Eve, which revolves around clones and came out four years before Dolly the Sheep was cloned.
In 1994, critical theorist Douglas Kellner remarked that The X-Files incited distrust in established authority by portraying government institutions as deeply flawed and sometimes complicit in heinous crimes. I would argue, however, that the show didn’t create this distrust but rather harnessed the increasing reports of governmental secrecy to spin its tales.
As public awareness grew regarding the government’s surveillance and involvement in everyday life, The X-Files explored how technology could be wielded as a tool for control. In the season three episode Wetwired, a device is attached to a telephone pole, emitting signals that prey on people’s paranoid delusions, driving them to murder. Likewise, in the season six episode SR 819, a character’s circulatory system collapses due to nanotechnology controlled remotely by a shadow government, echoing the fears of technological manipulation.
These storylines highlighted concerns about government agencies using tech for surveillance and control. My research, conducted with fans after a revival was announced in 2015, underscored how The X-Files remains embedded in cultural dialogue. One fan noted, “Conspiracy theories’ cultural context has evolved since The X-Files began. Nowadays, every pseudoscience documentary mimics its signature soundtrack and narrative style.”
While the series didn’t invent conspiracy theories, Jim Wong, one of its writers, observed that it touched upon something that was somewhat hidden at the time. The renewed focus on the alt-right, disinformation, and fake news in seasons 10 and 11 took an apt angle given the changing cultural landscape the revival entered. Carter and his team delved into what Guardian critic Mark Lawson described as “a new era of governmental paranoia and public scepticism,” spurred by factors like the 2008 financial meltdown and political scandals.
Season 10 featured a right-wing internet talk show host who insists 9/11 was a “false flag operation” and that the liberal media misleads Americans about core values. The resemblance to conspiracy figureheads like Alex Jones and Glenn Beck was quite clear.
Carter’s inclusion of topics like surveillance and government overreach firmly placed seasons 10 and 11 in today’s world. This is perhaps most blatant in the season 11 episode, The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat, which tackles Trump-era disinformation directly. In it, the character Dr. They tells Mulder, “nobody can tell the difference anymore between what’s real and what’s fake.”
While The X-Files of the 90s might have pursued truth as a philosophical quest, in today’s context, it’s more about how emotions and beliefs can outweigh objective facts.
Revisiting the show for my book reminded me that it often feels dated due to the absence of modern technology, rather than the concepts it discusses. In season two’s Ascension, Mulder relies on a phone book to find Scully —something easily accomplished with Google today. Yet, in many ways, The X-Files is as relevant now as it was then, prompting us to question faith, authority, and the nature of truth.
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