Dear Chris Carter, From Your Biggest (Trans) Fan
Dear Mr. Carter,
At a time in my life when I struggled with a burgeoning queer identity, and an unknown-to-me gender identity — not to mention the struggles of adolescence — I found great solace in the weekly respite of The X-Files. It was a show that was unlike any other that came before it; one of those shows that hit the right nerve at the right time with impeccable writing and unparalleled chemistry.
I always found Dana Scully to be a dynamic and substantial female character. I even dressed as her for Halloween a time or two. But as a young transgender kid who lacked any media representation, it was Fox Mulder who drew my attention the most. He felt simply like what a man should be. His masculinity was comfortable and easy, something I aspired to without knowing why. I saw myself in his sensitivity, his loyalty, his open-mindedness. Both my transition and age have taught me that masculinity comes in many forms, but at a time when I reached for something I did not know I needed, Fox Mulder became my guiding light.
As a lifelong fan, an awarded screenwriter and a transgender man, I want to believe that the recently announced return of The X-Files for a Season 11 is an opportunity to right the wrongs of Season 10 and to return the show to its days of glory.
My home office is dedicated to my X-Files fandom, where only a fraction of my memorabilia resides, so when I heard the news that there would be a Season 10, I was beyond ecstatic. For months I waited impatiently, I planned a viewing party complete with costumes and themed drinks. I happily wondered where my favorite characters would find themselves after such an extended absence. The excitement of my youth had returned in full force.
And then came the fateful reboot. Three episodes in and Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster. It had a poorly thought-out transgender character, who was not only a painful cliché of a character but was also played by a cisgender man. The character and her transgender identity served only as an off-putting joke in an otherwise funny episode. When transgender women of color are being targeted and murdered an at an unprecedented rate, this felt so off the mark it was hard to believe something I loved so fully could be so tone deaf.
It was as if my longest relationship had suddenly betrayed me, had cut me at my very core and diminished my identity. And it felt like no one who saw the script, or read the lines, or edited the episode, was in touch with the current climate or state of trans rights in our country.
As if that weren’t enough, five episodes into the season, Babylon presented more stereotypes of Muslim radicals, conflating radical terrorists with Muslims the world over, and adding to the limited representation of non-white, non-Christian clichés in the media.
After the latest announcement of yet another season, I once again find myself cautiously excited about seeing my favorite characters on screen. I am hoping for the very best, but expecting more of the worst.
I have thought of writing to you on more than one occasion in the 20 years since I stumbled upon the X-Files and my life was changed forever. I have to write to you now.
I want to believe that it can be better, that the entire team can do better this time around, that changes have been made and you’ve realized that transphobic and xenophobic rhetoric have no place in 2017. I want to believe you understand that reducing someone else’s identity to a deadly joke will not fly with the fans of today.
Most of all, I want to believe again.
Sincerely,
Emmett J. Lundberg
Creator of BROTHERS / On the web
