My friend's 19 year-old niece named Dana had never heard of Dana Scully. The X-Files is now a dated cultural reference 😭

I met someone who had never heard of Jurassic Park.

This person's job was to sell amber with mosquitos trapped inside.

only thing i know about X-Files is the meme music

But at least you're aware of it.
- early 20s :(
- early 20s :(
obligatory "pure moods" commercial
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That'd be like a 90s teen knowing about Dragnet if you're just going in terms of years. But at the same time, there isn't as large a gap in culture/aesthetics between the 90s and modern day as there was between the 50s and the 90s.

It's very weird to me that people consider things dated. Like, if you turn on 10 Things I hate About you and then go to the mall in 2024 teenagers dress the same lol. I saw some girl at Aldi the other day that made me do a triple take because she was dressed so Y2K that she looked like she had accidentally entered a rift in space/time on her way to a warehouse rave in 1999.

That's kind of because the Y2K aesthetic is a current trend
- Yeah, but fashion hasn't evolved much because she didn't look out of place (I was just surprised to see it) among everyone else; plenty of people still rock baggier fits. Whereas you'd stick out like a sore thumb if you dressed like that in the 50s. You could warp your average person back to 1996 and nobody would notice. And if you warped someone from 1996 to the future they'd probably be surprised and disappointed how everything is the fucking same in contrast to the future of the 2000s that we were promised through media. Nobody in the present would peg them as a time traveler. That's for sure.
  Everything that exists now has either not changed much, or is just sleeker, more powerful, or higher fidelity; From fashion, to cars, to televisions, to video games, to computers, to movies and tv shows. Most of the same brands still exist. Nothing has changed that drastically that should cause any person to consider shit from the 90s to be 'dated' other than some cultural attitudes.

You know how there are good TV shows sometimes? X-Files was the second good TV show. The first was called Twin Peaks.
- I would even argue that the X-Files was a direct result of Twin Peaks. David Duchovny just couldn't get enough.
- I never finished “The Return” It got way to David Lynch for me. Loved the original seasons tho.
- Star Trek TNG predates Twin Peaks, but yeah it didn't change the medium like Twin Peaks did.
It's confirmed then.
As a 23 year old same. But Ill prob give it watch….some day
Edit: I just realized she said she never heard of it that’s actually pretty wild

Before Youtube, Twitch and TikTok you had no choice but to watch reruns of old shows on TV

The average person would prob rather stream friends a million times before getting to X Files
- If that is true then i must regretfully stop staning the human species.
  I recall x-files being very popular with normal people. David and Gillian were considered two of the most beautiful people alive, the show mixed up stale police procedurals with light horror and supernatural elements. I think it had a good time slot.

Is NOW? lmao, it's been dated for like 10 years

Well, Breaking Bad is dated, but people know of it. This is a step further.

I mean yeah it stopped airing 22 years ago

Firstly: Stahp it!
Second: akshyuallyy they created a two-season revival that ended only 6 years ago.

I have literally never seen an episode of the x-files. I'm late in my college years at this point. It is simply before my time tbh. Granted I know vaguely what it is but I wouldn't be able to recognize character names thats for sure

If the show came out today it would be denounced as a woke, anti-american commie monstrosity by all of mainstream media
The second episode alone would've created a firestorm about "anti-US military" narratives being pushed on "our children"
Shit half the "left" would deride it as "qanon for tankies" considering all the pro-NAFO and pro-state department takes being pushed around these days
I envy you, I wish I could watch it a first time again
- Legit frightening how much more radically right-wing us society has become in some very important ways.
It would likely seem dated in many respects. After Twin Peaks it was one of the very first shows to have season long narrative arcs and a meta-plot that stretched from season to season. Since there was no real way to re-watch episodes you missed most shows prior to the 90s were self contained monster of the week things with very limited if any ongoing plot. Twin Peaks and X-files were some of the first shows to break with that and start telling a story that built up over the course of the series. If you missed an episode you could ask your coworkers what happened the next day, or you could read a summary in an actual magazine made from real dead trees, but that was pretty much it. So having a show where you really did have to watch every episode was a really radical development in tv story telling.

This is how I'm learning Scully from the X-Files was called Dana. All I know about X-Files is the spooky theme tune and Scully never believes anything Mulder says

Sometimes they mix it up with a religious episode where Mulder never believes anything Scully says

I'm nearly 30 and I didn't watch the X-files until I was nearly done with college. A lot of episodes just aren't that interesting for a kid/teen. But it sorta makes it more special when your brain is ready for it and you just go down the deep end.

I'm nearly 37 and I didn't watch them until two months ago. Our dad wouldn't let us watch it on TV because he was against "conspiracy theories" (even fictional ones). I was very aware that the show existed, however, because I'd see the previews right after the Simpsons aired.
Coming up on an all new X-Files! It's fuckin' ALIENS!

All I know about X-Files is from "cultural osmosis" and that classic Simpsons episode:

Still holds up really well. Also Gillian Anderson was my first TV crush and she still got it.

Too bad she's a fuckin TERF but I can fix her.

This is how I'm learning Scully from the X-Files was called Dana. All I know about X-Files is the spooky theme tune and Scully never believes anything Mulder says

Cool username, I like how you've called yourself after a character feom The I.T. Crowd

x files was wild for its time. I watched it as it aired, when I was in high school. both sets of long divorced parents also watched it, despite loathing each other's cultural tastes in everything else. I remember even on family road trips, we would have to be off the road and checked into a motel before a new episode was coming on. otherwise, somebody would have to "tape it for us" lol.

I watched a few episodes of "the return" but it didn't grab me. guess I forgot my emotional investment after 20 years.

if you want to know what was "shocking" about it, check out the episode "Home". it aired a few seasons in and is a stand alone / monster of the week episode. people thought they knew what they were in for, but after it aired they got so many upset and angry calls it never aired again and is only available on DVDs and streaming. I forgot a lot of stuff from that show, but I am never forgetting that one lmao.

What about Dana Walsh from 24 who famously (or not idk) ::: spoiler spoiler murdered Stephen Root and then shoved his body into an air conditioning vent ::: then we never had any follow up whatsoever about that plot point

Oh, neat! I didn't know Starbuck was in that show.
Oh, no! She killed the poor stapler man?
- someone made a pretty dope AMV of her https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKB8GwScRIY
  edit for cw watched it again and she goes through a lot

I can understand not knowing the characters, but never having heard of it? I've heard too many people older than me referencing it to ignore

I'm well aware i'm out of touch with the zeitgeist, it keeps going forward and i fall further behind. But, the least i can do is show my nieces and nephews media from my time. X-Files is one of them that they actually do enjoy to watch. Maybe they'll it show to their friends? Maybe not? I've done my part.

x files was a dated reference when i was in high school 10 years ago

All I know about X-Files is from "cultural osmosis" and that classic Simpsons episode:

I'm nearly 30 and I didn't watch the X-files until I was nearly done with college. A lot of episodes just aren't that interesting for a kid/teen. But it sorta makes it more special when your brain is ready for it and you just go down the deep end.