One of TV's most offensive characters...is on a children's show?

August 9th 2009 23:51

Meet Nevel Papperman, a truly offensive character on a kid's show

Before I begin, I would like anyone who reads this to take a look at the picture above...just take a moment.

The person featured in the picture is a character named Nevel Papperman who is featured on the popular Nickelodeon program iCarly. From what I have seen of the show itself, iCarly is a seemingly harmless show aimed at tweens about a teenage girl and her friends that put together a webcast, while going through the challenges of teenage life.

Normally, I wouldn't bother poking and prodding a seemingly harmless show, but there is one aspect of the show that bothered me a great deal...the afore mentioned character pictured above...Nevel Papperman.

Nevel is a frequent character who represents the shows chief villain as he runs his own website and ambitiously craves to bring the website of iCarly down...seems simple enough, but it is the actual characterization of Nevel Papperman that gives me pause.

Nevel is a twelve or thirteen year old boy who dresses properly and is overly polite. Also he speaks with a very feminine drawl...a drawl that is so intense that he almost sounds like a woman. He also has a mild lisp and stands in overtly feminine postures...in fact in one episode in order to mock the character of Carly, Nevel donned a long black wig and pretended he was a girl.

He uses phrases like "you will rue the day," and "you are ruining my joy," and will occasionally break into song. Whenever confronted, Nevel shrieks like a girl and in a recent episode is beaten up by three girls his own age in a scene that is played for laughs.

He also dreams of one day opening a haberdashery which would sell men's fashion accessories.

After reading this description...I think you know where I am going with this.

NEVEL IS GAY!!!

Now don't get me wrong, unspoken gay characters have existed in children's programming for years (Snagglepuss anyone?), but what makes Nevel Papperman stand out is that he is portrayed to be the villain and we are supposed to get enjoyment out of him being beaten up, or him acting in an overly feminine way. He is portrayed as a weird guy because he is more feminine then even the female characters on the show.

Here is a brief seven second clip of Nevel on iCarly:

Really Long Link

Now what makes this such a concern to me is that this show is being marketed to children at a very impressionable age. This could have a direct influence on them as they would interact with someone that has similar speaking or physical patterns as Nevel...and as Nevel is portrayed as someone who its ok to beat up or mock because he is supposed to be evil and weak. That could potentially have ramifications down the line when it comes to how kids would deal with issues like homosexuality or femininity as a whole.

I think that Nickelodeon has a responsibility to address this issue as iCarly is their most successful program, it is even more successful than everything from the Disney factory.

The primary reason I wrote this post is that I was a bit stunned to see that Nickelodeon would let something this offensive grace their airways...but the bottom line is that any stereotype as well as any ramification is ok to infringe upon in the name of the almighty dollar.

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Posted By: Robin Pottratz - Category: No Category

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Comments

18 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Anonymous

August 11th 2009 03:29

you're overreacting and misreading the scenes. Neville's weird because he's really polite, into really obscure things that most kids his age aren't into, and he's diabolically evil, not because he's feminine or 'gay' as you say. You say he's gay despite the fact that the original source of his rivalry with Carly is that she wouldn't kiss him, he liked her. So he's either straight or bisexual, but I honestly don't tend to read that much into a thirteen year old character and don't know anyone who normally does outside of Law and Order SVU. And the reason he's disliked is that he's tried to ruin the website the main characters run in more than a half dozen ways. And the recent movie where he gets beat up by three girls, he doesn't get beat up because he's feminine or 'gay'. He gets beat up because he lied about what Carly and Sam said, He modified a video to make one of the girls turn on the other one in an effort to get a trained fighter to beat the crap out of Carly, someone he doesn't like. When what he did is exposed, Carly, her best friend Sam, both of whom storngly dislike Neville not because he's a strange person, but because he tries to destroy their website and their own repuations on a regular basis, and Shelby who he lied to and turned against Carly all want to teach him a lesson. He wanted to get carly beat up so they beat him up. It had nothing to do with him being 'weird' or 'gay' as you put it. IT's because he's a vicious little twit who tries to routinely ruin the main characters's lives. If it's a show of anything it's not that it's OK to beat up 'gay' or 'feminine' boys, but to beat up jersk who lie, fore things to get people in trouble, and set you up to ruin your reputation.

Comment by Anonymous

August 11th 2009 03:30

Comment by Anonymous

August 20th 2009 20:53

All I can say is I hope the actor playing Neville (A fellow named Reed Alexander as I take it) isn't queer so that people ,or the young girls watch "Carly" don't think he is. I mean this is a role that anybody would do one's mightest to live down. It isn't like people will congratulate RA for playing Neville. I am sure he isn't making a whole lot of jack doing this show.

Comment by Anonymous

December 12th 2009 02:08

I absolutely LOVE Nevel and so does my daughter. I don't care if he's straight, gay or bisexual, I also don't think that's the point! Who cares!! I don't see a blog about the girls being heterosexual and those stereotypes. I don't see anyone commenting on the two main characters being "too girlie" or Sam being "too butch". Please, let kids be kids and people be people. Nevel is the best character, I love everything about him. Personally, i think he's just a misunderstood genius.

Comment by Anonymous

December 17th 2009 23:42

Neville is a HERO! I hope Nickelodeon should give him his own show! He is the only reason I watch the show, because he is hilarius! I in no way hate him, or think of him as The villan, In fact I see it as it is. . .He's a little boy who fancies Carly and is mean to her cuz she doesnt like him back. He doesnt speak well, but in an overly pompus accent which is meant to sound kinda fake to show he thinks he's the bomb! xD WHICH HE SO IS! absolute Ledgend, Him and Spencer are the only good things about that show. The actor, Reed Alexander, should win an oscar for his role. As I said, absolute hero.

Comment by Anonymous

March 26th 2010 11:50

Nevel spends his first few appearances on the show trying to get Carly to kiss him. So he's not portrayed as gay. If the only episode you've seen, and are basing all your comments on, is iFight, then he's gone past the kissing and is all about revenge, and you've missed his backstory in previous episodes.

I prefer to think he's based on the archetypal very intelligent villain. Cultured, educated, well dressed. Instead of a white persian to stroke, he has a pet porcupine. Perhaps compare his behaviour to Frasier and Niles, neither of whom are villains obviously, but also neither of whom are portrayed as gay, and you'll see similarities.

It will be interesting to see how Nevel is portrayed once the actor's voice breaks.

Comment by Anonymous

April 18th 2010 17:21

as a gay man i am more offeneded by tnis article. first off just vuz he is feminine does not make him gay, your the one stereotyping, some boys just act that way gay or str8. obviously he is written to be that way, however some of that is actually the way he acts because ive seen him act "gay" in other shows

Comment by Anonymous

August 29th 2010 18:56

"I'm spinning in a celebratory fashion."

Comment by Anonymous

November 3rd 2010 01:09

Hurray you are today's winner of Bigot of the Day. Way to spread hate and intolerance, that's much better than a fictional gay character!

Ya jack wagon

Comment by Anonymous

November 4th 2010 23:03

to be honest, i know his character isn't gay but the boy does act overly feminine in a more than metrosexual way. he does act the way stereotypical thought of a gay male would act with his movements and such. well it's enough for me to google whether he is or not (in real life...duh not on the show).

Comment by Anonymous

November 24th 2010 00:18

i just don't like the whole show it has a gayish kid the consent disses on Wisconsin, all the bulling and the one guy who called people hobbknockers, do you know what that means? its not setting a good example for kids at all.
iam sick of icarly

Comment by Bikid

January 4th 2011 03:09

Your text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes herei personally think hes gay and evil but dont hate him for that!!!

Comment by Anonymous

March 17th 2011 21:02

wow. you're the craziest individual I've seen in a long time!

fascinating.

Comment by Gruffalo

May 1st 2011 14:37

This is one of the most ignorant, bigoted, pieces I have read.

Nevel, as pointed out, is not gay. Neville has a crush on Carly. If you had done your research, like a professional. not a bigot attempting to prop up your ignorance, you would have seen this.

You also missed the show's other regular villains, such as Lewbert and Chuck, and one appearance villains like Nora Dirshlitt, who has a crush on Freddie and locks the iCarly crew in her house in the episode entitled iPsycho. There are others too, such as Missy Robinson, Joccelyn, and more.

Watch the television show and know what you are writing about, before removing all doubt that you are a hack.

Comment by Anonymous

July 11th 2011 20:51

inb4 author is gay

Comment by I Am Right

October 1st 2011 23:52

Your text goes here Reed Alexander, the kid who plays Neville, is actually just like that. Take a look at his interviews. It's not an act, it's how he is.

Oh, & "BOO HOO!"

Comment by Anonymous

November 15th 2011 23:34

Uh... If I remember one of the episodes correctly, he says he wants a kiss from Carly to "prove to his mother....." And he trails off there. I don't know that any of it matters - I don't think it's teaching kids anything negative really (I have a FAR bigger problem with Sam and her nastiness, hitting, and aggressiveness and what THAT teaches kids, especially the younger ones), but for all the people insisting that Nevel asking Carly for a kiss means he likes her in a boyfriend/girlfriend way.... uh... I don't think that's how the writers meant it.

Comment by Anonymous

December 11th 2011 21:02

Wow, really? I do not see this in anyway as an approval to pick on, harrass, beat-up or torture gay people. He is a creepy bloke and when villains are jerks, the audience wants to see them get their comeuppance.

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