I saw the new X-Files movie, I Want to Believe, this weekend. That’s what diehard fans do.
Because we’ve been waiting a long, long time.
I love the X-Files for many reasons. It’s smart. It’s funny. There is mystery. It involves the F.B.I. And it stars David Duchovney.
But, it also stars Gillian Anderson, who plays one of the best female sci-fi characters ever invented. And possibly, the best.
She is smart. She sticks by her principles and ideals, and doesn’t get swayed by the madness around her, even when her very good looking partner tries everything possible to get her to change her mind.
And best of all, she’s a geek. I mean, a real geek. She’s a doctor. And more prone to be wearing a lab coat than heels, and far more concerned with scientific integrity than getting her hair just right.
Yes, she is a geek in the coolest sense of the word.
Feministing perhaps says it best, with their Ode to Scully.
And what better timing for her to make a comeback, as we’re learning that, in fact, girls aren’t science and math shy. They’re hanging right up there with the boys, says the journal Science.
An article on the research in the Washington Post describes how common misperceptions have led girls and their parents to expect less from them in these fields. Such as Barbie exclaiming, "Math class is tough!" The article concludes with a description of Barbie, saying, "So far, while her current career choices include baby doctor and veterinarian and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, too, Barbie has not branched out into technology or engineering."
Lucky for us, Scully has.
Helping us believe that girls can do and be anything they want. A truth that isn’t so out there, after all.
