Frozen
Notes on the Production
by Cory Elizabeth Nelson
Serial killing and the media
Serial killers, defined simply, are criminals who murder multiple victims (at least three to four people) over a period of time. How long that period of time is, who the victims are, and what the killers themselves do is all subject to debate. Some researchers believe that to be a serial killer, a criminal must fit a narrow profile: he must be male, must prey on strangers (usually girls or women), and must be sexually motivated. Others argue that any criminal who kills systematically for any reason should be classified as a serial murderer – including, for example, “black widows” who murder their wealthy husbands or “angels of death” who work in hospitals, preying on the sick and weak. Usually, however, serial murderers choose the same type of victim repeatedly and kill according to a certain pattern.
One of the most common stereotypes surrounding serial killers is that they are of above-average intelligence – many of them, in fact, possessing a genius I.Q. In truth, few serial killers exhibit extraordinary intelligence, and in an interview with Playbill, Bryony Lavery explains that she wrote Frozen partly to counteract that assumption: “I'd been listening to Silence of the Lambs and all those things about 'brilliant serial killers,' and I thought, 'You know, I don't think they are brilliant. I think they're stupid. It's the least creative act in the world.' So that's when I decided that that was what I should pursue as a play.”
Regardless of how the crime is defined, the fact remains that serial murders are extremely rare. Nevertheless, the subject commands a tremendous amount of attention in the media and the public imagination. The frenzy began with the infamous crimes of Jack the Ripper, perhaps the most famous serial killer of all time. The still-unsolved murders in Victorian London have inspired countless newspaper stories, memoirs, cultural histories, novels, plays, and doctoral dissertations. The interest continues through the twentieth century, from Ted Bundy in the 1970s to Jeffrey Dahmer in the 1990s.
Bryony Lavery’s play is not the first artistic endeavor to approach this painful, yet magnetic, topic. Lavery herself cites Silence of the Lambs as an influence; other significant films include Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, and (to some degree) Quentin Tarantino’s pop culture lynchpin, Pulp Fiction. The extraordinary success of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones also attests to the public’s abiding fascination with the topic. Sebold’s novel, published in 2002, tells the story of Susie, a young girl who falls victim to a serial killer. From the afterlife, Susie observes her family struggling to overcome their devastation as they, like Lavery’s characters, contemplate the torturous complexities of forgiveness. The Lovely Bones sold nearly five million copies in the U.S. alone and spent sixty-six weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.
Reconciliation and support
The confrontation among the characters in Frozen, as well as the play’s meditation on the possibilities of forgiveness, have several real-life counterparts. In 1976, Marie Deans founded the non-profit organization Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation, which works to abolish the death penalty. Comprised of people who have lost loved ones to murder or execution, MVFR offers publications that tell the stories of its members, while advocating for social change.
Another organization, the Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program, allows victims of violent crime to confront their offenders and ask them questions. From this experience, victims often reclaim a sense of control or meaning in their lives. Frequently, criminals offer their apologies; sometimes, forgiveness is achieved.
Beyond victim-criminal mediation programs, many support networks exist to assist families with lost or missing children. Team HOPE (Help Offering Parents Empowerment), a volunteer organization, consists of members who have all experienced the nightmare of a missing child; HOPE members contact the families of newly-missing children to offer counseling, support, and resources. A U.K.-based organization, MAMAA (Mothers Against Murder and Aggression), also works to connect the families of murder victims, allowing them to share their experiences and helping them to navigate the criminal justice system. One of the best-known support organizations in the United States is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Founded in 1984, NCMEC provides such vital services as a CyberTipline, where individuals can report Internet-related exploitation of children, and age-progression technology. NCMEC’s recovery rate of missing children is currently 94%.
Neuropsychiatry
The United States Congress dubbed the 1990s the “brain decade,” due to huge advances made in neurological research during those years. Though a tremendous amount has been learned about brain function during the past ten years, many questions remain unanswered, due to the human brain’s enormous complexity.
Broadly speaking, the brain can be divided into three sections: the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. The hindbrain (connected to the spinal cord) controls the heartbeat, breathing, and other essential life functions. The midbrain controls reflex actions, such as eye movement, as well as voluntary movement. The forebrain, including the cerebrum, regulates human behavior. The cerebrum allows humans to remember, plan, speak, and imagine. Neuropsychiatry, the branch of science Agnetha pursues, explores the link between biological brain disorders and psychiatric illness.
In some cases, psychiatric disease – such as schizophrenia – can cause an individual to be more likely to engage in asocial or criminal activities. In other cases, physical damage to the brain can interfere with behavior – causing, for example, a lack of impulse control or impaired judgment. Poverty, social isolation, or substance abuse can also aggravate existing psychiatric conditions. Forensic psychiatrists frequently assist in the evaluation of defendants in criminal cases, helping to determine their competency to stand trial and, when appropriate, recommending lesser charges or sentences.
Sources consulted in the development of these program notes include:
http://www.mvfr.org/ (Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation)
http://www.vorp.com/ (Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program)
http://www.teamhope.org/ (Team Hope)
http://www.mamaa.org/ (Mothers Against Murder and Aggression)
http://www.missingkids.com/ (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/know_your_brain.htm
http://www.forensic-psych.com/articles/artAskexp01.html
http://www.playbill.com/features/article/86001.html
http://www.serialhomicide.com/serial-killers.htm