Paranoia and Overcoats

Thanks to Michael Ventura for his effort on “The X-Files” (“The Truth Is Out There. Somewhere. Maybe.” Sept 10). I have three misgivings, however.

(1) Ventura mistakes non-acting for subtle craft. (2) He asks rhetorically if we have not all imagined a lover to be a vampire or alien. (Not me, Kemo Sabe.) (3) He missed altogether the true significance of the popularity of “The X Files,” that being the general floating paranoia of our times. Black helicopters, JFK-assassination conspiracies, evil aliens (the extraterrestrial kind), government cover-up artists and evil terrestrial aliens are the manifestations of a collective uneasiness, the connective tissue that enables fans to identify with the beleaguered and frustrated Mulder and Scully.

Jim Roberts

Long Beach, California

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I’m a big fan of “The X-Files” and a longtime admirer of Ventura, but there was one element of the show that he didn’t address: why, in every episode, Mulder and Scully constantly wear overcoats, even indoors.

Evelyn Levine

West Hollywood