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The X-Files trivia

Bruce G. Marcot


X-Files Mottos

These have variously appeared during the opening credits or have been repeated by different characters:


(These mottos are redolent of Terry Gilliam's brilliant, Brave New World-ish 1985 film "Brazil" in which a sign briefly appears in the background reading "Suspicion Breeds Confidence.")

* This phrase is Navajo, meaning roughly "the truth is out there."

Appearing in place of the usual “The Truth Is Out There” on one X-Files show during the opening credits was “E Pur Si Muove”.  Wende Morgaine (School of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University, Oregon) reminded me that this is the famous phrase uttered by Galileo (thanks, Wende).  It means "It still moves" or "It does move."

Wende recounted the following historic timeline (from a now-defunct astronomy Web page from Ohio State University) behind this famous utterance:
  

1616: The Church declares that the heliocentric theory is ``philosophically false and at least an erroneous belief''. Galileo, after a chat with a cardinal, agrees to stop teaching and defending the Copernican model in public.

1632: Galileo gives in to temptation and publishes a book entitled ``Dialog on the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican''. It is a very cleverly written work, and ably defends the Copernican model against the attacks of the followers of Ptolemy.

1633: The Church, alarmed by the best-selling status of Galileo's book, puts Galileo on trial. Threatened with torture, Galileo recants his support of Copernicus, and spends the rest of his life under house arrest. Tradition has it that after his recantation, Galileo walked away muttering `E pur si muove' (`It DOES move.')

1992: The Church officially reverses the verdict in the Galileo case, clearing Galileo of all charges.

I like Wende's suggestion, too, that "I found it to be a very Mulder thing to say ... under his breath and in defiance of authority."

As a coincidence, in English "E Pur Si Muove" is an anagram for “pursue movie” (this episode was aired shortly before the movie “The X-Files: Fight the Future” came out!).

  

  
In another episode, replacing “The Truth Is Out There” was “Die Wahrheit Ist Irgendwoda Draußen”)... German for "The Truth is Out There," as this episode was the one in which Mulder finds the Queen Anne adrift in the Devil’s Triangle, is taken aboard her, and discovers World War II Nazis.

  

  
In the episode "Gethsemane," in the opening credits it says “Believe The Lie” instead of “The Truth is Out There.”

  

  
In the episode constituting Part II of the Fall 1999 season opening, airing 14 November 1999, "The Truth is Out There" was replaced with "Amor Fati," Italian for "fatal love" or, more correctly, "love of destiny."

  

  
The episode on the Amber Lynn kidnapping opens showing the father watching a TV program.  He remarks "This is great!" and later says something like "I was watching some show on TV.  It was really good" when questioned by the FBI.  The brief scene shown on the TV screen clearly is from an episode of the ill-fated actual TV series "Harsh Realm," which was written by X-Files writer Chris Carter.

  

  
The opening line "Nothing Important Happened Today" apparently has a historic origin, at least according to one of the episode characters (Kersh) who said that on July 4th, 1776 King George III wrote in his diary "Nothing Important Happened Today."  Of course, that was the day that United States of America declared independence from the British Crown.

  

  
In the final season, the episode with Burt Reynolds playing a sort of guardian angel began with the phrase "Dio Ti Ama" instead of "The Truth is Out There."  The phrase is Italian for "God Loves You."
   


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