When it comes to the consumption of media, I have a particular habit of finding one song or series and digesting it over years while completely losing track of anything new. I admit that I may not be the best judge of media because of my narrow scope in entertainment. Though the contrary perspective is that I have my reasons for liking what I like, and my opinions may be curated on the fine details of those choices.
Recognize that my reasons for liking what I like are not the point here. I want to share what I've learned from binging the same series over and over again, in particular The X-Files which aired on Fox from 1993-2002, and again in 2018. The X-Files is about two FBI agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who's particular job is to investigate paranormal phenomena.
The two partners, Dana and Fox, have a dichotomy whereas Fox is completely obsessed with the paranormal while Dana is a devote scientist and medical doctor. Both are astute in their professions, with Mulder being an expert crime analyst and Scully the right person to keep the record straight. Some of the episodes are rather dull, meandering police work with certain mystery, while others are fantastical and often pretty spooky.
On the surface I enjoy the weird mundane happenings, it's great for homework because I can tune in and out for enjoyment while I focus. There are a few themes present in the series, but some of the episodes build the story line while others are just interesting with no particular point in the grand scheme of things. Looking deeper, The X-Files does a great job pacing between the main story, and random side quest. Despite the often spooky and serious tone ("tones"), there is an obvious effort to make light of the ideas they're exploring.
And there's the main reason I love watching The X-Files, you can tell they're having a good time on set. Whether it be complete parodies of UFO encounters, action packed dramas involving the deep state, criticizing conspiracy theories, or uncomfortably disturbing stories about death, the characters explore all territories of the human psyche with a certain grace. That grace seems to be the same grace that shows in a musicians attitude transferring through their music, understood in that if it feels good playing it, it will feel good for people who share in the experience.
As always,
Thanks for sharing the exploration of productive interest with me,
Anthony DeLuca