By Dr. Michael Robinson | Communications Studies Professor
Frosty the Snowman (IMDb)
By: Dr. Michael Robinson
As of this writing, I finally gotten most of this vicious and tenacious ice off of my driveway. Just a reminder for context– the snow started falling here on January 24th. I cannot claim any kind of Arctic heritage. I grew up in Maryland, where a quarter-inch of snow closed schools for a few days. But I did about a decade of graduate study in Indiana and Northwest Ohio, places that would bring brutal cold, punishing winds, and snow that just would not leave. In that time, I’ve only seen one meaner ice event than what happened here.
So I am genuinely happy to see this thaw. As always, though, popular culture suggests a mixed record on thawing. Caution is advised. As always, we should be careful what we wish for.
The Thing
The standard for zero-degree menace is, of course, the Thing. This threat first appeared in John Campbell Jr.’s “Who Goes There?” (1938) and was later adapted into three films: The Thing from Another World (1951), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and The Thing (2011). What these adaptations share is a supreme sense of paranoia. The discovery of an ancient spaceship beneath the ice by a polar expedition team turns into a struggle to survive when its lone inhabitant begins to thaw. In most versions, the creature is a shapeshifter bent on replacing humanity (budget restrictions kept the 1950s version as a brutal, intelligent plant). Another kind of thaw becomes the greatest danger. When the cold begins to wane, the Thing will be free to move on.
A Caveman
Scooby-Doo ruled Saturday mornings. The show combined good scares, healthy skepticism, and running around chasing things/being chased by them, all set to generic pop music, into an unbeatable blend of entertainment. While the program always had a sense of safe scare about it, the darker aesthetics and moody settings of the first series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (1969-1970), could produce some chilling moments. In “Scooby’s Night with a Frozen Fright” (1970), the Scooby Gang ends up at an aquarium with a caveman who was frozen in a block of ice. Of course, it’s always a guy in a mask running an unnecessarily complicated plan, but the early shots of that supposed caveman were unsettling.
Cybermen, Ice Warriors, and Krynoids
Classic Doctor Who loves a base under siege. Trapping a set of characters in a confined situation created a particular sense of isolation and danger while also allowing the old school series to keep its budget down. The show would sometimes use frozen menaces to slow-burn the suspense of the plot. Waiting around for Cybermen or Ice Warriors to thaw out was creepy. Of course, Doctor Who also borrowed a bit from the Thing when it gave us the Krynoids in “The Seeds of Doom” (1976). This time, it’s seed pods found frozen in the Antarctic ice. When thawed, those creatures want to infect and consume the human form, resulting in a monstrous plant creature bent on, you guessed it, devouring the world. Of course, the really chilling element of this story is the rich madman Harrison Chase, who seems to care not at all about what happens to his fellow humans.
Frosty the Snowman
What’s that you say? Is Frosty a happy story? Sorry. Frosty the Snowman (1969) is a tale of existential terror and the fragility of happiness. Created by the loving but capricious whims of children and enlivened by the magic in an old silk hat those children found, Frosty is a snow golem whose kind and fun-loving nature hides the vulnerabilities of his life. In some sense of the word, Frosty dies whenever his hat is removed. And as if that is not enough terror, Frosty also faces the rising temperatures that will surely kill him.
Captain America
Finally, a happy thaw. Fans of the MCU know the rough outlines of Captain America’s time on ice and how SHIELD finds him frozen under the seas. In the comics, though, Cap’s time as a human popsicle runs a bit differently. In Avengers #4 (1963), the good captain is shown encased in ice, a figure that carries some strange religious resonance for a local group of polar inhabitants. Accidentally stumbling upon a reverential moment, the often-angry Namor the Submariner pitches the block of ice into the ocean. Eventually, it drifts south and is miraculously discovered by the Avengers. Quickly thawed out, Cap joins the team and becomes one of its mainstays for decades.
