[7.8/10] They’re not fondly remembered, but I was always intrigued by the early Batman: The Animated Series episodes that would try to tackle a major social issue. Apparently, this was due to the influence of a particular producer who demanded it, something the writers came to resent, but I like that the show tried to tap into the broader social forces that made Batman who he was, and even compromised him a little, rather than just letting things devolve into cops and robbers. The approach was largely dropped (outside of a few execrable issue episodes of Batman Beyond), but it was missed by yours truly.
That’s why I liked Static Shock picking up that torch in an episode like “Frozen Out” that covers homelessness. My favorite part is that it is, in large part, an episode without a villain. Permafrost, the young homeless woman with ice-powers, certainly causes some problems for Static and for the city, but the show never makes her the bad guy, just a human being suffering and experiencing a crisis. Maureen is someone who needs help, not someone who needs to be defeated, and the episode’s recognition of that is quietly revolutionary.
Granted, the episode can also get a little After School Special from time to time. The portions where Virgil’s dad and Reverend Anderson regurgitate homelessness statistics comes off a little too blunt for my tastes. That said, it’s one of those times I need to remember that this is a series meant to be friendly to young kids, who may require a little more handholding and education than crusty old curmudgeons like me rewatching these programs as an adult.
At the same time though, I appreciate that it takes Permafrost's psychological situation seriously. It flashes back to the Xmas where she lost her mom, watched her stepdad walk out on her, and felt cornered by the stranger from Child protective Services telling her that she needed to go with this woman she didn’t know. There’s an impressionistic bent to the flashback, one that heightens the childlike fear and sadness at play, symbolized the broken angel ornament that signifies the end of her comparatively peaceful childhood.
The show plays fair with the after effects of that. Static telling Mauren she news to come with him triggers her trauma from that night. Mauren never goes out of her way to hurt or attack anybody; she’s just facing her own psychological damage and responding to it. Hynden Welch (who I know best as Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time) does a great job not only of feeling real when Maureen mutters and mumbles, but of conveying her sense of loss, scaredness, and being generally out of sorts.
It’s also a good episode for Static growing up a bit, understanding these larger forces in a way that Batman was more expected to appreciate already. There’s an interesting throughline of Static feeling so overwhelmed with his responsibilities as both a hero and a regular teenager around the holidays, only to realize his obligation to people like Maureen, who doesn’t share the blessings he has.
Blessings is a good word, because this is a remarkably religious story to air on network television. Not only is Reverend Anderson the key ethical figure in the piece, but again, the episode culminates with a sermon that posits that all religions call on us to look after those most in need, as a moral obligation. There’s a commendable bit of multiculturalism at play here (I especially enjoyed the Chanukah interlude), and it makes this commitment a uniting principle, something that people of many faiths agree on as a fundamental responsibility.
That spirit gets through to Static and to yours truly. It’s reasonable to accuse “Frozen Out” of being a little preachy, and I wouldn’t necessarily want this type of episode every week. But especially in a holiday outing, it’s nice to see the show using its platform to tackle something real, underscoring that homeless people deserve to be seen and treated with empathy, and even arguing that caring for them goes beyond being a kindness but is instead something we’re all called upon to do as moral individuals.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-13T20:54:55Z
[7.8/10] They’re not fondly remembered, but I was always intrigued by the early Batman: The Animated Series episodes that would try to tackle a major social issue. Apparently, this was due to the influence of a particular producer who demanded it, something the writers came to resent, but I like that the show tried to tap into the broader social forces that made Batman who he was, and even compromised him a little, rather than just letting things devolve into cops and robbers. The approach was largely dropped (outside of a few execrable issue episodes of Batman Beyond), but it was missed by yours truly.
That’s why I liked Static Shock picking up that torch in an episode like “Frozen Out” that covers homelessness. My favorite part is that it is, in large part, an episode without a villain. Permafrost, the young homeless woman with ice-powers, certainly causes some problems for Static and for the city, but the show never makes her the bad guy, just a human being suffering and experiencing a crisis. Maureen is someone who needs help, not someone who needs to be defeated, and the episode’s recognition of that is quietly revolutionary.
Granted, the episode can also get a little After School Special from time to time. The portions where Virgil’s dad and Reverend Anderson regurgitate homelessness statistics comes off a little too blunt for my tastes. That said, it’s one of those times I need to remember that this is a series meant to be friendly to young kids, who may require a little more handholding and education than crusty old curmudgeons like me rewatching these programs as an adult.
At the same time though, I appreciate that it takes Permafrost's psychological situation seriously. It flashes back to the Xmas where she lost her mom, watched her stepdad walk out on her, and felt cornered by the stranger from Child protective Services telling her that she needed to go with this woman she didn’t know. There’s an impressionistic bent to the flashback, one that heightens the childlike fear and sadness at play, symbolized the broken angel ornament that signifies the end of her comparatively peaceful childhood.
The show plays fair with the after effects of that. Static telling Mauren she news to come with him triggers her trauma from that night. Mauren never goes out of her way to hurt or attack anybody; she’s just facing her own psychological damage and responding to it. Hynden Welch (who I know best as Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time) does a great job not only of feeling real when Maureen mutters and mumbles, but of conveying her sense of loss, scaredness, and being generally out of sorts.
It’s also a good episode for Static growing up a bit, understanding these larger forces in a way that Batman was more expected to appreciate already. There’s an interesting throughline of Static feeling so overwhelmed with his responsibilities as both a hero and a regular teenager around the holidays, only to realize his obligation to people like Maureen, who doesn’t share the blessings he has.
Blessings is a good word, because this is a remarkably religious story to air on network television. Not only is Reverend Anderson the key ethical figure in the piece, but again, the episode culminates with a sermon that posits that all religions call on us to look after those most in need, as a moral obligation. There’s a commendable bit of multiculturalism at play here (I especially enjoyed the Chanukah interlude), and it makes this commitment a uniting principle, something that people of many faiths agree on as a fundamental responsibility.
That spirit gets through to Static and to yours truly. It’s reasonable to accuse “Frozen Out” of being a little preachy, and I wouldn’t necessarily want this type of episode every week. But especially in a holiday outing, it’s nice to see the show using its platform to tackle something real, underscoring that homeless people deserve to be seen and treated with empathy, and even arguing that caring for them goes beyond being a kindness but is instead something we’re all called upon to do as moral individuals.