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Constructive Criticism:
THE XX AND XY FILES
Written by
Melanie Anne Phillips
Based on the Dramatica theory of story
originally developed by Melanie Anne Phillips
and Chris Huntley
What is it about The X-Files that has attracted such a following?
Is it the blend of New Age philosophy and hard science fiction? Could it be the taboo
subjects or government conspiracies? How about the flashy production values and high-tech
special effects?
Naturally, all of these contribute to the phenomenal success of the show, but they don't
fully explain the unusual "feel" of the program. Anyone who has seen the series
knows what we mean. There is a strange emotional aura experienced by the viewing audience
that is almost metaphysical itself. In fact, tracking down the source of this strange
atmosphere could be a case right out of The X-Files themselves.
Fortunately, as the opening credits assert: "The truth is out there." In this
case, Dramatica can help illuminate it.
To begin our investigation, let's look to our intrepid agents, Mulder and Scully. Who are
they? FBI agents, of course. But we asked who they were, notwhat. For our inquiry,
we are more interested in their natures than their functions. It is not that they unravel
the tangled, clarify the obscure, and defeat the random. Oh, they do all of that all
right, but that's just plot. We are more interested in how they accomplish these
ultra-human feats, not their methodology but their mentality.
Who are theyinside? What makes them tick? What do Mulder and Scully have in common
that makes them uncommon? The answer lies in the Dramatica concept called Mental Sex .
Mental Sex has two options: male or female. It has nothing to do with anatomical sex,
gender identity, or sexual preference. Mental Sex refers to the mind of a character as
being either spatially (space) or temporally (time) biased. Space is where our sense of
logistics comes from. Time is where our intuition comes from. Male Mental Sex sees
logistics clearly, but is a little fuzzy on the intuition. Female Mental Sex is intuitive,
but not as clear on the logistics.
Of course, males can be intuitive and females logical, but it requires a little extra
work. Also, intuition is not inexact. It seems so to men, because it is a fuzzy logic to
them. But to women, intuition is perfectly clear: a form of holistic logic of its own that
deals with problems by the "inter-influences" of the many parts, rather than
trying to find a direct path from problem to solution.
For the most part, authors create characters who have the same Mental Sex as their
anatomical sex. Occasionally, through intent or feel, these two get mixed up. For example,
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the original Alien was a male mental sex
character. The part was actually written for a man; all they changed were the gender
references. Her manner of approaching a problem was male right down the line. In contrast,
Tom Wingo (Nick Nolte) in The Prince of Tides is a female mental sex
character who tries to bring his life into balance: a holistic technique.
Just because a physically male character has a female mental sex does not mean they will
be feminine. An example is Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) in The Hunt For Red October.
Notice how his problem solving technique is quite different than that of all the generals
and soldiers he is competing against, yet he is unquestionably masculine.
The difference in Jack Ryan's manner is easily recognized in his meeting with the chiefs
of staff near the beginning of the story. While they are concentrating on how to respond
to the threat, Ryan is feeling the influence of many bits of information. Though this data
seems unrelated, its overall impact on his mind allows him to surmise that the wayward
Russian captain is not attacking but defecting. Only a female mental sex character would
arrive at that kind of solution from that kind of data.
So...what is the strange attraction of Mulder and Scully in The X-Files?
Mulder is a man with a female mental sex; Scully is a woman with a male mental sex. While
Mulder is getting a feeling or being intuitive, Scully demands facts, measurements, and a
linear theory without gaps. In most episodes, both methods are required to uncover the
mystery. Though this is not uncommon in real life, switching mental sexes is atypical of
most television fare.
The charm of the show is partly because the kinds of problems that occur could not be
solved by either one of them alone, but truly needs both views to triangulate. Mulder gets
a sense of what's going on; Scully describes it. Scully projects where things are leading,
Mulder determines what it means. Since we are talking about a series rather than one
specific story, things do change.
In some episodes, Scully is also made female mental sex. In these programs, Scully becomes
a simple skeptic instead of an alternate problem solving perspective. This weakens Scully
and Mulder's relationship. Mulder is still female mental sex, but he cannot explore that
perspective since he has to spend all his time trying to overcome Scully's skepticism.
Scully keeps demanding proof instead of working out a theory. Under these conditions the
show still has its conspiracies, new-age sci-fi, and special effects, but the heart stops
beating. That special something is clearly missing, but in episodes where Scully returns
to male mental sex, the charm is back.
It is unlikely that the creators of the series were aware of this phenomenon. Still, they
engendered it by feel and were inspired to do so. Each of us, male and female, sees the
world from a mental sex direction. This gives us a clear perspective on some things and a
fuzzy perspective on others. By working together, we can solve problems neither of us
could handle alone. That is the real attraction of The X-Files, made all
the more apparent (yet obscured) by clothing each mental sex in the unexpected body.
Copyright 1995 Screenplay Systems Inc.
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Index of Dramatica Theory
Materials
Storymind.com is pleased to present this collection of materials about the Dramatica
Theory of Story. We hope you find it both useful and through-provoking.
This information is divided into three sections:
The Dramatica Theory
A complete exploration of the theory in every detail
Historic Documents
The development of Dramatica from the beginning
Speculations
Dramatica applied to psychology, physics, religion and more
The
Dramatica Theory
Dramatica
Theory Book Online
Free online edition of the 400+ page book, Dramatica: A
New theory of Story, in which Melanie Anne Phillips & Chris Huntley
originally
documented their work.
Dramatica
Dictionary
Official definitions of all terms in the
Dramatica theory and software.
Dramatica
Writing Tips
Useful and informative articles on how to
approach and employ both the Dramatica Theory and Software.
Constructive
Criticisms
Practical illustrations of how applying the
Dramatica theory could have made some well-known successful story's
even better!
Dramatica
Q & A
Answers to questions from users of the Dramatica
Theory and Software.
Instant
Dramatica
Even more directly practical essays on using
Dramatica for real-world writing situations and problems provided by
noted screenwriter Armando Saldaņa Mora.
Historic
Documents
Dramatica
- The Lost Theory Book
Early attempts to document the theory, including
many unfinished conjectures and false starts.
Dramatica
Development Archives
Early documents created during the development
of the foundations of Dramatica. Often later discarded, they
show the roots of the thinking that ultimately evolved into the theory
as it stands today.
Speculations
Deep
Theory
Transcript of a class on the outer fringes of
Dramatica Theory I taught as part of a now-defunct Dramatica
Certification course.
Dramatica
Math
A mathematician takes a stab at describing the
Dramatica model in terms of dimensional distortions.
Mental
Relativity
An exploration of the theory of psychology
modeling which grew out of the development of Dramatica.
Dramatica
I Ching
Several of our users have noticed a similarity
between the character grid in Dramatica and the elements of the
traditional I Ching. Though unintentional, perhaps all models
that look deeply into the mind will resemble each other.
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