The fictional Dana Scully established such a unique connection with viewers over the years that she contributed to the future career choices of real female viewers. “The Scully Effect,”once thought to be anecdotal, has been shown to be a real phenomenon that illustrates how media can be one of our most powerful tools to influence culture, especially when it comes to women and girls considering careers in math and science fields.
21st Century Fox, the parent company of the Fox broadcast network, partnered with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to analyze the actual effect that the character Dana Scully had on viewers. Liba Rubenstein, Senior Vice President of Social Impact for 21st Century Fox, initiated the research because Dana Scully provided such a unique opportunity for the company to track the 25-year impact of an iconic character. (The series completed its initial run in 2002; returning in 2017 and again this year. The franchise also includes two theatrical films, The X-Files, released in 1998, and The X-Files: I Want to Believe, released in 2008.)
“Having The X-Files back on Fox after premiering in 1993 gave us a unique chance to celebrate the legacy of the character that Chris Carter and Gillian Anderson created together,” Rubenstein explained. “It was the ideal time to capture and quantify what Agent Scully has meant to a generation of fans.”
Apropos for Women’s History Month, here are the findings from the 21st Century Fox/Geena Davis Institute examination of The Scully Effect via a third-party online survey conducted from February 15-20, 2018, with