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Play That Part Back Again - Slowly (Part One)
Chris Carter "Had For Lunch"
at
The First World Skeptics Congress
Note: CSICOP finally published this in their January '97 ish of SI. How much did they keep in? Get a back-issue copy and see!
CARTER: [INDISTINCT]... ...repeat the question. The question was, Agent Scully represents the skeptical point of view, but she in fact was abducted herself and now, he's asking, how can she maintain the skeptical point of view? If you're a regular watcher of the show you'll know that Agent Scully was in fact abducted by - not abducted by aliens. In fact [INDISTINCT]... ...explain who she was abducted by [INDISTINCT]... ...the show know that in fact we took away that very thing and actually explained away [INDISTINCT]... ...I believe is absolutely true. Yes - [INDISTINCT]... ...is, why is it that even though we present things for the skeptical point of view the paranormal always seems to outweigh the skepticism. And my intention was when I first got to do this show was to do a more balanced kind of [INDISTINCT]... ...rational and ultimately mundane answers for these things turned out to be kind of disappointing kind of storylines to be honest. And I think that's maybe where people had the most problems with the show, certainly this group I believe, but it's [INDISTINCT]... ... we do [INDISTINCT]... ...all I want to do in a very smart way is scare the pants off of people every Friday night, and that's really the job they pay me for and that's the thing I'm supposed to do [INDISTINCT]... ...Yes - [tape stopped] Thank you very much. I tell everyone I resisted the label science fiction in the beginning because I felt that - I never liked science fiction as a kid. I never read it. I can honestly admit to you I never watched a single episode of Star Trek. [INDISTINCT]... ...Yes - [INDISTINCT]... ... [tape stopped] [INDISTINCT]... ...Yes - [tape stopped] [INDISTINCT]... ... mongerer of the paranormal and am I in fact by telling these stories leading people to believe [INDISTINCT]... ...by aliens and any of the other paranormal [INDISTINCT]... ...I think your question is really not dissimilar to the one about violence too: "Is violence on television promoting violence in society?" I think it's a bogus argument to be honest and I've had it. I believe - thank you - and I believe that... I don't believe people are empty vessels and they can be filled with kooky ideas and going around and acting on them. I believe that most people are smart and reasonable; and that people who are going to be influenced by these things will be influenced by them and I can't be responsible for them. That's not my responsibility. I try to present a fair and intelligent [INDISTINCT]... ...and entertaining approach on these things. I think that [INDISTINCT]... ...responsibilities [INDISTINCT]... Oliver Stone and John Grisham ...Several people have actually killed others and themselves after watching the movie Natural Born Killers. The question John Grisham has is - actually it's more than a question it's kind of a - to be placing the blame on Oliver Stone for creating a product which promotes a certain type of behavior. I think that it's a very dangerous suggestion. [INDISTINCT]... ...If in fact I've led people to believe they've been abducted by aliens, I'm truly sorry, except unless they *have* been abducted by aliens. [tape stopped] [INDISTINCT]... ... "Is there a disclaimer on the back of my show or should there be a disclaimer saying that this is not real or shouldn't be perceived as real?" It's a valid question, I don't really know how to answer. I can tell you that when you create entertainment and you don't put it forward as the truth that it is not your responsibility at the end of the show to do anything other than say, "This is not a record of actual events or anyone as individuals." [INDISTINCT]... ...my responsibility to say that, I've just created a fiction that it is a fiction. [INDISTINCT]... ...[tape stopped] [INDISTINCT]... ...Way in the back.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: You made the point that yours is an entertainment versus some of the other shows that purport to be documentary science which really pervert the meaning of the science. I think that's an important issue, that it's these documentaries or so-called documentaries that should have the disclaimers on them. Whereas your show is entertainment and a halfway intelligent person will realize this.
[INDISTINCT]... ...
AUSTRALIAN AUDIENCE MEMBER: [INDISTINCT]... ...that issue.
[INDISTINCT]... ...
OTHER AUDIENCE MEMBER: [INDISTINCT]... ...You first said that you have storytellers, it's important to have these sort of abstract elements in it, and no one will argue that point. Especially the point that the history of literature in the world [INDISTINCT]... ...all the richer for it. So if this is the way you approach storytelling, no one will argue that. That's one thing. [INDISTINCT]... ...I don't know the number but I can say that every one of my [INDISTINCT]... ...thinks your show is documentary. And they cite it as evidence for their beliefs. [THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE] [INDISTINCT]... ...sense of your wanting to tell the story as the deliverer, and the receiver [INDISTINCT]... ...and if you are correct than as many people should receive it as fiction as would want to receive it as fiction, but I don't believe that's happening. [INDISTINCT]... ...to make that then happen would perhaps require [INDISTINCT]... ...I don't know what the answer is, but I don't think you should delude yourself into thinking that your whole audience is viewing it simply as just storytelling the way you intended it. [MORE THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE]
CARTER: [INDISTINCT]... ...and it doesn't force them to [INDISTINCT]... ...then you have to do *your* job. [HOWLS OF DISAPPROVAL]
AUDIENCE MEMBER: By profession I'm an astrophysicist. My friend who thinks the show is real actually has the advantage of me being their friend because they call me up and say, "Could this really happen, this has really happened." But I think most people in the United States don't have an astrophysicist as their best friend. [MORE THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE]
CARTER: [INDISTINCT]... ... [LAUGHTER].
A SUSPECT AUDIENCE MEMBER: [INDISTINCT]... ...[HOOTING]
NEARBY WOMAN: I've been trying [INDISTINCT]... ...all week.
MY AIDE: [INDISTINCT]... ...lucky - I met him at the airport. He was bending my ear with his theory before I'd even arrived!
ANOTHER AUDIENCE MEMBER: [INDISTINCT]... ...
CARTER: [INDISTINCT]... ...I feel that a show is only scary if it appears to be believable. [INDISTINCT].
[There's a question apparently about War of the Worlds and if Welles' joke would work on a current media audience.]
FEMALE AUDIENCE MEMBER: [INDISTINCT]
CARTER: Her comment was that Agent Scully, who's a scientist and a medical doctor, is a great female role model. And I'm very proud of that because I think there aren't a lot of good female role models on TV. Casting her was - I was very selective because I wanted someone who actually wasn't a sex-kittenish TV bimbo type. And I was really up against it because the people who hired me pay me money. They were very concerned about Gillian Anderson - the woman who plays Agent Scully - I think how she might look in a bathing suit was what they were concerned about. It was very hard to convince them that in fact she wasn't going to be wearing any. [LAUGHTER] Thank you. OK, three more questions.
[There's a question about demographics of the show's viewership.]
[There's a comment about critical thinking skills followed by applause.]
[INDISTINCT]...
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