The way Max and Duane represent opposite poles of the same trauma is really well observed here. One thing that stood out to me is how the show uses sci-fi as a lens for disability without flattening either experience into metaphor. Max's line about wanting to be believed (not just to beleive) cuts deeper than most X-Files mythology stuff because it's fundamentally about being seen as credible when people have already decided they know better than you about your own body. I had a family member with a seizure disorder and watching them navigate doctors who dismissed symptoms as psychosomatic was its own kind of hell. The comparison to black boxes holding unknow information is perfect because both the brain and UFO phenomena demand we sit with uncertainty, which we're collectively terrible at doing.
These are such good insights. You’re so right about x-files being good about not flattening disability. I had never thought about it exactly in those terms but that probably has a lot to do with why I fell in love with it in the first place. They really make it part of a character in a way that doesn’t simply label them and push them side, but gives them depth and pathos and adds a richness, or a different texture, to how they see the world. I’ve spent over half my life defending myself to doctors, trying to make myself seen and believed, and it’s a nightmare. I hate that your family member went through all that. It really is hell when the people whose job it is to help you dismiss you at every turn, but you have no choice but to rely on them.
The way Max and Duane represent opposite poles of the same trauma is really well observed here. One thing that stood out to me is how the show uses sci-fi as a lens for disability without flattening either experience into metaphor. Max's line about wanting to be believed (not just to beleive) cuts deeper than most X-Files mythology stuff because it's fundamentally about being seen as credible when people have already decided they know better than you about your own body. I had a family member with a seizure disorder and watching them navigate doctors who dismissed symptoms as psychosomatic was its own kind of hell. The comparison to black boxes holding unknow information is perfect because both the brain and UFO phenomena demand we sit with uncertainty, which we're collectively terrible at doing.
These are such good insights. You’re so right about x-files being good about not flattening disability. I had never thought about it exactly in those terms but that probably has a lot to do with why I fell in love with it in the first place. They really make it part of a character in a way that doesn’t simply label them and push them side, but gives them depth and pathos and adds a richness, or a different texture, to how they see the world. I’ve spent over half my life defending myself to doctors, trying to make myself seen and believed, and it’s a nightmare. I hate that your family member went through all that. It really is hell when the people whose job it is to help you dismiss you at every turn, but you have no choice but to rely on them.
Woman, you rock. I know before even reading this that I’m going to love it.
Going through some stuff right now, but I’m coming back when my brain is ready to appreciate reading again.
I so appreciate your support. I hope things are better soon! Feeling too shitty or stressed to read is the worst.