I was recently thinking about topics for the Juggler and I decided to rewatch an old episode of the X Files that I had remembered from the original air date.

Sanginarium originally aired in 1996, part of the 4th season of the show, which has often been regarded as their best season.  This episode is really overshadowed by the intensely disturbing and controversial episode “Home.”  However, at the time it was aired Sanguinarium was reviewed as being horrifying and overwhelmingly gory.  I remember watching it – I was in college at the time and my room mate and I considered the X Files “can’t miss” television, back before DVRs were invented much less commonplace.  We found ourselves huddled under blankets transfixed and sickened by the images on the screen.  I have an overactive imagination anyway and am prone to nightmares so needless to say, I didn’t sleep well for a few days.  (Notice the theme of “over-” here)
 
These are the memories I had in mind when we sat down with friends to rewatch it just a few weeks ago. 
 
This one off episode, not part of the mythology, begins with the brutal murder of a man scheduled for a scalp reduction.  Instead, he finds himself on the receiving end of a liposuction that is taken way too far.  I don’t even think I have the words to describe my feelings about this scene the first time I watched it.  The show continues as Mulder and Scully are brought in to investigate the murder and the unusual circumstances around it.  They begin to suspect witchcraft by tying together bits of rather flimsy evidence and trace it back to a nurse who appears to be a practicing witch.  However, before they are able to suspect her, she is murdered in another witchcraft-like incident.  The intrepid investigators don’t give up their theories, but rather determine they have been barking up the wrong broomstick. 
 
My intention upon rewatching this episode was to discuss the differences in the media’s treatment of witches between 1996 and today. I had planned to watch the recent witch-centric episode of Bones to do a compare and contrast.  For instance, I understand the Fox Television had received a number of letters after Sanginarium aired from Wiccans or other Pagans to let them know they were upset by how witchcraft had been portrayed.  To my knowledge, and limited googling, I don’t believe there was any similar outcry to the Bones storyline involving Wiccans. 
 
But when we rewatched Sanguinarium I learned something very different than I had expected.  Made nearly 15 years ago, that episode was considered along with its season-mate Home, to be incredibly cutting edge.  Reviewers everywhere indicated that it was one of the scariest and goriest hours on television to date.  And my memory of that liposuction scene affected me quite a bit after the initial viewing.  Sitting down to watch it again, 15 years later, I realized just how not stimulating it was.  There was nothing scary about the episode – except maybe some of the dialogue or really bad investigative conclusions that were drawn by the FBI team.  What happened in the last 15 years?  Did I mature or did I become desensitized to this type of imagery on television?  Are television shows continuing to push the envelope so far that it takes a lot more than a graphic murder-by-liposuction to get someone to jump out of their seat? 
 
I think of the television shows that I like now.  With the advent of premium cable channels making a lot of quality programming, the market is changing dramatically.  True Blood frequently features intense sexual situations punctuated with brutal murders by vampires spewing blood and guts and gore everywhere on set.  I’ve recently become acquainted with Deadwood, which is most notable for its language with the F word said 43 times in just the first hour of the show with the very intention to shock the audience. Even network television has raised the bar when it comes to what is and what isn’t expected on television. 
 
What started as a simple exploration into a 1996 X Files episode with themes of Witchcraft quickly morphed into a deeply internal dialogue about the evolution of graphic images on television. I realized that Paganism in Popular Culture really transcends both Paganism and Popular Culture.  Where are we as a society if we are craving such visual stimulation that a little suspense doesn’t cut it for us anymore.  I quickly forgot that I even cared that Sanguinarium had a witchcraft storyline at all and kind of begin to worry about myself as a human being.  I pondered the greater significance of violence in popular culture in my very first post here.  I haven’t come to any conclusions yet.  And I am not ready to stop enjoying television entertainment just because of some violence or gore.  It is just something to think about, really.