This is soooo hard! Damn X-Files for being so interesting. ;-)

Honestly? I wouldn't know what to choose either! That's why I'm letting you guys do it. :p

Uhm... all of them? ;)

The first one would be great, but I think that's also the one where you'd have to do the most research. It'd probably be easier to concentrate on only one topic?

Maybe the Black Oil thing is interesting, because that's something most people can relate to? I know the swine flu new flu isn't the Black Oil, but viruses breaking out, being a threat to humanity, that's something that people can actually imagine happening, that's something that's in the news, you know what I mean?

I'll go with the third option for now, but I find them all interesting.

Definitely, and also: finding the most interesting ones and cutting them down to a good mix and decent number.

Again, definitely. :P Virology is one of my fave subjects anyway, so I think I'd have a blast coming up with theories and stuff for that.

It's really a tough choice!

I voted for The X-Files: I Want To Believe: Medical aspects of the latest adventure with Mulder and Scully. because I think that movie should be discussed in some shape or for at the con. And not just in terms of 'did you like it' or 'why weren't you in it?'.

And before you know it, you'll be a con regular who holds panels... :-p

It doesn't seem very popular though. :p

Haha, panels? I don't think so.

>>It doesn't seem very popular though. :p
That's exactly why I think it should be represented.

Same with Star Trek Nemesis, so much depended on the fanreception of this movie. And if it hadn't been for JJ Abrams being s Trek fan, there would be no new movie.

XF2 didn't blow the fandom away, makes me worry if there ever will be another movie. That's why I chose this topic. Make people think, make them get engaged again.

>>Haha, panels? I don't think so.
That's what the professors from fedcon said two now all of them have 2 panels of their own each year :-p

That's a tough choice. I voted for #3, but #4 runs a very close second.

Edited at 2009-07-11 03:02 pm (UTC)

I'm more torn between #1 and #3 now, but #4 seems to be making the race. :)

Edited at 2009-07-11 04:50 pm (UTC)

I voted for the first but the 4th sounds awesome too. I can't decide. :)

I *wish* I could go. :(

Well, they're all great, so. :)

I wish you could come too. :( I've heard flights to Berlin are pretty cheap from the States though. Might worth checking out!

I think the first topic provides a range of different scenarios, and you can quickly lecture on each one, and move on. I think the virus/vaccine topic might be a little too specific (and may be boring to non-science people), but that would be my second choice!

Edited at 2009-07-11 06:13 pm (UTC)

Yeah, it may be a little specific...but it really depends on how detailed you want to talk about it. And, after all, some non-science people suggested it- if they hadn't, I wouldn't even have included it in the poll because of the same worries. :)

Looks like I'll have to wade through the 200+ episodes now trying to find the top 5 conditions. :p

Just pick your favorite episodes. I'm SURE there's at least one medical condition in every single episode.

Hmm, nah, I think I will just go through a list of episodes, and write down the ones that would work and then cut that list down to the best/weirdest/funniest/easiest to research. :p Shouldn't take too long!

It was very hard to decide -- I voted for the first one, but I also like the "Stem Cells, Cloning and Hybrids" idea. Now that I think about it, maybe I should have voted for that one instead...

It wouldn't make a difference right now, but your second thoughts are noted. :)

A different kind of fanmix: Compilation of medical conditions on The X-Files and their relations to real life.

in one (or two or three) particular episode(s).

The con is such a great idea. I wish I could attend. You guys will have a blast! I know I did when writing my two X-Files-related academic papers for two of my classes this last semester.

I think I will pick five episodes with one condition each and see how that works out. :)

Why can you not? Ooh, what are you studying/what kind of classes and what were the topics?

Well, seeing as how I don't live in Germany... :P

I major in American Studies and I specialize in American literature and literary theory, specifically in African-American, Feminist and cyberpunk literature and contemporary literary theory. "The X-Files", especially the episodes "Kill Switch" and "First-Person Shooter", co-written by William Gibson and Tom Maddox, figure perfectly into the theoretical framework of both cyberpunk and feminism, which is why I used both those episodes as the basis for my two term papers last semester.

I wrote a postfeminist paper on the subversive potential of a particular mythical version of femininity (represented by Maitreya) in "First-Person Shooter", which in actuality turns out to be a projection conforming to the prevailing pop-culture-esque understanding of femininity. And in the other paper I analyzed "Kill Switch" from the perspective of cyberpunk and cultural theory, and I argued with some of the philosophical assumptions in the episode (eg. the mind/body problem and the like).

The show is such a gold mine of topics for academic essays when you're burnt out by some of the more "demanding" seminars. Not that it is a less "serious" subject, but of course you have more motivation when you write on a show you love, as opposed to conducing yet another Marxist analysis of "Neuromancer". It's just more fun for you and you have a blast doing it, which is what writing about literature in general, and about TV shows understood as cultural texts, should be like in my opinion. :)

We do have planes landing here, you know. ;)

Wow, that's what I call an explanation! I wish I could do those kind of things in medicine. I'm always jealous of all the lit students using TXF to write papers and stuff. I mean, I tried to bring XF into everything at school, but those days are long gone.

Oh well. I'll have to settle for the things that remind me of the show instead. They stick to the brain better, that's for sure.

See, I don't purposefully try to to squeeze any references to the show into everything I write, but somehow I always end up doing just that. ;) :D

It seems to me that the show is a rich field of study for all the med students because of all the forensic pathology-related topics on the show.

Not really. Forensic pathology is a very specialized, tiny field of medicine. And it doesn't help my grades if I study the medical aspects on the show...apart from the fact I don't even have the time to watch it anymore.