Deny All Knowledge: Reading the X-Files

Television and Popular Culture

by David Lavery (Editor), Angela Hague (Editor), Marla Cartwright (Editor)

The X-Files was one of the most subversive and longest-running science fiction series in US television history. Yet very little serious work has been done to examine the hit series. Deny All Knowledge examines topics such - Why is the series such a hit worldwide? - Why is The X-Files so popular online, generating dozens of websites and chat groups daily? - How does The X-Files ' Conspiracy Theory compares to shows from the 1950s? - Can The X-Files be considered a modern-day myth? - What does The X-Files tell us about gender roles today?

Genres: Nonfiction

246 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

Reviews

[dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was OK. I read it after binge watching the X-Files for the first time on NetFlix. If I had read it after watching only the first three seasons, I might have liked it more. The characters and the "unknown" changed so much from season 3 to season 8 that some of the chapters seemed well, wrong.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

scholars can get sloppy and silly when they're writing about their own cult obsession.

[Hope Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an age of not 3, not 9, but 11 seasons of the X Files, some of this book is pretty outdated. However! It is very informative for people who weren’t alive for the original run (myself) and kind of filling in the gaps of the kind of discourse that was surrounding txf at that time. So, useful, if not entirely relevant.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of academic essays on The X-Files, albeit one that is necessarily limited because, at the time of publication, only three seasons had been aired. This does lead to some cross-over between the essays, with the same examples (and quotes) turning up again and again. That being said, it's still an interesting read (my favourite was the chapter by Leslie Jones on the mythological X-Files).

Unfortunately, in most chapters the turgid nature of the prose suffocates the main points of interest. Academic writing can be painful to read, and it's a shame the editors didn't get their contributors to tone down the worst of the excesses here.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wandered into a bookstore that we never frequent and happened upon this gem. While never a believer in conspiracy theories (except for a brief period in Japan when each new bicycle I bought would mysteriously disappear), I have always loved the X-Files. Even more pleased to discover that the TV show was a worthy subject matter for academics.