The Scully Effect

The X-files debuted in 1993 and still influences television today. One of the main characters, Special Agent Dana Scully, M.D., played by twenty-four-year-old Gillian Anderson, was one of the first of her kind. She was a strong, courageous, rational, and intelligent. She was highly educated. Scully was medical doctor with an undergraduate degree in physics. She had a strong Catholic faith that was constantly tested with the unexplained nature of the cases she and her partner, Mulder, encountered. With her medical degree, she works as a field pathologist often. She made digging around in dead bodies graceful, and thus inspired an entire generation of women to pursue S.T.E.M. degrees. After the X-files premiered there was a boost of women in S.T.E.M. fields everywhere. This is The Scully Effect. The Scully Effect proves representation in the media is important, and giving young girls smart, strong, and independent female characters to look up influences them. Young kids are extremely influenced by what they see. Everyone picks and chooses role models from a young age. Since kids are so influences, it is important not to have them looking up to the ‘wrong kinds’ of role models. Young girls, especially, need to grow up seeing that they could be anything they want, doctors, …show more content…
Studies prove it influences how people see themselves. Their mental perceptions can become very distorted causing eating disorders and other risky behavior, as they try to measure up to the nearly impossible standards set by the media. People seem to forget that even the people in the magazines and movies, that they idolize, do not actually look like that. Using Photoshop and other editing tools, they can appear flawless. All humans have their imperfections, even the ones that seem perfect. It is important for people not to measure themselves up to the unrealistic standards set by the