This is in reaction to Franpei's "An-X-Phile...? you've got some explaning to do, tootsie". Now, I'm not exactly sure what it is she wanted explained, but it got me thinking, and then it got my typin...so here's a few -albeit long- explanations...1. At the ripe old age of 11, I was a pro at surfing the net, changing all my computer settings to x-files related themes (sounds/pictures/...my computer would say "they are shutting us down, scully" as Windows shut down), improved my typing skills...and many more. Hence,it honed my IT skills.
2. I read...a Lot. It doesn't matter that it was mainly XF- related material...the point is, I was a kid hooked to reading, and learning...yes, it made me a Geek, and how proud I am of that!
3. I learned self-censorship. Haha, yes, if any of you have checked out x-files fanfiction, you know there's lots of stuff 12 year olds shouldn't be reading. And having only myself to restrict what I was reading, I was careful not to read
things I thought I shouldn't. (Ok so basically, I stuck to UST and didn't venture into RST till I was in my later teen years).
4. I developed a deep attraction to clever, passionate guys. Unfortunately,they also tended to carry around alot of emotional baggage (which has made me worry about myself)...this is evident in that all my "fictional-character-crushes" tend to have a similar profile; brilliant, passionate, angst-heavy, emotionally scarred....; Mulder (duh), Dr. Carter (ER) Jack (Lost) & perhaps even House (ahem).
5. Clever women kick ass, and are damn sexy (have you met Scully?)(Btw, I'm the 'clever woman' in this. So spot the lesson?).
6. Where else would I have learned words like "syzgy", "prometheus" "autoerotic asphyxiation" and 'azygus_nexus' (my screen name on an XF board when i was 13)?
Why did the chicken cross the road? Cigarette Smoking Man :::blows puff of smoke::: There was no chicken.
Fox Mulder: No government agency has jurisdiction over the chicken. The chicken is out there, Scully, and we will find it.7. Developed a love for science...although I'd never grow to be good at it, TXF drummed into me a deep love for learning about science ; reading the real scientific explanations behind TXF episodes taught me ALOT.
8.Insight into Native American life; because of episodes like Anasazi and characters like Albert Hosteen, I learned about Navajo life, 'code-talkers' that were used in WWII, Native American religious practices & way of life...this would later lead me to do a project on NA-religions in Uni, a paper & presentation that turned out to be ass-kickingly good.
9. Humor - some of the funniest lines ever to be said on TV came from the x-files. I have no doubt that my sense of humor has been influenced by dialogue from TXF.
10. Research: As a kid, I didn't understand alot of what went on in TXF episodes, so, being an "X-Phile", as soon as the episode was over, I'd go online & read up as much as I could about the focus of that week's episode.
11. Fixing the VCR: I taped every episode of TXF, and became pretty much the only one who could figure out the VCR at home, hooking it up to the TV, changing the settings...(it sounds simple, but it is NOT when you are a kid!).
12. Cataloguing: Developed a system for organizing my XF tapes.
13. Saving money: I'd save money so that I'd have enough to buy blank tapes for my episodes...note: my allowance wasn't exactly huge.
14. Inspired my writing...when I was 10 I wrote a short story called "Beyond Comprehension", about alien abductions; when I was 16 we had to write an English essay that ended with the line "and together they accomplished it", my essay turned into a 3000-word story that involved the characters of Mulder & Scully on a case,
where the last line was meant to reflect their complex & absolutely fantastic partnership; In my last sem of university, my final paper for Psychophysiology/Perception was written as a part of a scene for TXF (no, it was Not plagiarized!).
15. XF-fanfic definitely formed my perceptions of love & romance. Some people have "Sweet Valley", others have Mills & Boons, I had writers like Leyla Harrison/Anne Haynes/ Sheryl Martin...sigh, good times.
16. It has made me a sucker for clever-subtle innuendo & witty comebacks.
17. Patience: Do you know what torture my soul went through knowing that the new
season of TXF would only be released in Malaysia one year after it's US release? Do you? Huh? DO YOU?!
18. An appreciation for private/in-jokes...ah, the bond that is the X-Phile community. The subtle comments, glances, every little detail nit picked, enjoyed and laughed/mused over...
19. Memory skills: Although I could never memorize anything relating to Kimia, or
whatever subject I loathed but had to learn, I could still easily memorize all episode & character names & details from every season.
20. Memories.
I'm sure there are a thousand other ways TXF inspired me, changed me, entertained me...and for all you skeptics out there who think its just another show, I want you to think about books that have affected you profoundly, music pieces, conversations, people...and think about the effect of that on someone at the age of 9, an effect
that 13 years later, is still so strong. Sure, it's crazy...but aih,
it's good-crazy, I say. -------------------------
How many X-Philes does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
- 23 to look at the bulb and get distracted because they realize it reminds them of a scene from The X-Files.
