The Independence Day Easter Egg In The X-Files Movie Explained
By Witney Seibold/Jan. 21, 2022 11:39 am EST
It’s curious that “The X-Files” has retained any level of popularity as late as 2022, as few pieces of pop media are more deeply rooted in the ethos of the 1990s. “The X-Files,” which debuted in September of 1993, took place in an America living through the end of the Cold War and the collapse of “worldwide Communism” as a go-to boogeyman for the U.S. government. Bill Clinton was overseeing an economic boom, and the populace … became suspicious. A lot of media in the 1990s became very self-aware at this time. None of the old sitcom tropes of nuclear families, nor the old action movie tropes of endless American military might, were functioning any longer, and a lot of films and TV shows began to deconstruct everything. “The Simpsons” and “Married… with Children,” which both debuted in the late ’80s, were dark mirrors of the typical American sitcom, while action films were occasionally dark or skewed; remember the dank and kinky “Batman Returns?”
Into this world came Chris Carter’s “The X-Files,” a TV show about how American mistrust — previously reserved for America’s perceived enemies — had turned inward. Now it was the American government itself that could not be trusted, as they were keeping secrets about … well, space aliens, abductions, and other supernatural creatures carefully hidden from the public eye. The conspiracies were no longer in the hands of The Other, but in our own hands, and only Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) could solve the problem. “The X-Files” was popular almost right away, and by 1998, while the show was rounding out its fifth season, a feature film was released in theaters. This was an oddity in cinema as the “X-Files” film, also just called “The X-Files,” was meant to fit into the broader story arc of the show before it was to return the following season. It was a massive, cross-media effort long before the MCU was a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye.
Into this world came Chris Carter’s “The X-Files,” a TV show about how American mistrust — previously reserved for America’s perceived enemies — had turned inward. Now it was the American government itself that could not be trusted, as they were keeping secrets about … well, space aliens, abductions, and other supernatural creatures carefully hidden from the public eye. The conspiracies were no longer in the hands of The Other, but in our own hands, and only Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) could solve the problem.
“The X-Files” was popular almost right away, and by 1998, while the show was rounding out its fifth season, a feature film was released in theaters. This was an oddity in cinema as the “X-Files” film, also just called “The X-Files,” was meant to fit into the broader story arc of the show before it was to return the following season. It was a massive, cross-media effort long before the MCU was a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s eye.
Independence Day Was Loved and Hated
So even while enormous crowds flocked to “Independence Day,” just as many people saw it as a clunky, soulless commercial entertainment. And when you could get any number of interesting indie or prestige flicks playing the same year (“Hard Eight,” “Hamlet,” “Fargo,” “Emma,” “Bottle Rocket,” “Trainspotting,” “Secrets & Lies,” “Irma Vep,” “Lone Star,” “Schizopolis,” “Bound,” and “Waiting for Guffman”) it was easy to turn your back on mainstream garbage.
But, y’know, we still went to see it multiple times anyway.
Chris Carter’s Opinion
Neither Roland Emmerich nor Dean Devlin, the producer of “Independence Day” commented on the matter.
However diplomatic Carter was in 1998, we know the truth. The truth is out there.
