Journal - "iCarly and Abuse"

[leskuh]

Trigger Warning! - Some talk beneath the cut and in the comments might end up being potentially triggering.




Okay, so I have been having a conversation on and off all day over at 5_4_3_2 (more specifically on THIS POST) about the way that iCarly presents and handles abuse.

I do like iCarly as a show, but I'll be the first to say that it has some problems.

There is a CONSTANT stream of violence in the show. Some of it is kind of funny - I love Sam and Freddie's 'Slap Slap Kiss' behavior. However, despite how much I love Sam, I do think she goes TOO far now and then. iMeet Fred is probably the best example, when Sam takes Freddie off stage and presumably beats the shit out of him. A lot of times, I let Sam's violence slide, because I kind of think Freddie's into it? And there are definitely times when he plays along and matches her blow-for-blow. But uh, yeah, sometimes it's TOO MUCH and painful to watch.

Also, Nevel as a character will never stop bothering me. He is still on this pseudo-sexual conquest of Carly and should have been dropped or had his motivations altered a LONG time ago. If Nevel was against iCarly as a whole without any weird strings attached to Carly specifically and it was really just the two websites pitted against one another and not about Nevel manipulating or using coercion to 'beat' Carly and get her to kiss him even though SHE DOESN'T WANT TO, then I could actually like Nevel. But the Nevel on the show is completely guided by his desire to triumph over CARLY and force her into an act that she repeatedly says 'NO' to.

Those scenes are, of course, ALWAYS played for laughs, which is also one of the main problems. Nevel stealing a kiss and being inappropriate ISN'T funny. So, I'm sorry, but I can't like Nevel.

Carly, for her part, is awesome in the ways she handles Nevel and I LOOOOOVE that there's no question that she'll always win.

Now, Saturday's episode about Lewbert, was... an okay episode. I HATE Lewbert and think that generally TV shouldn't make episodes centering around unlikable characters, but whatever. However, just because I dislike Lewbert, doesn't mean that he deserves to be held down, beaten and have his hair forcibly cut by an ex-girlfriend that he is terrified of/hates.

Yes, the kids realize that it's NOT GOOD and they need to do something, but the show CONTINUES to play the abuse scene to a laugh track. You're supposed to find it kind of funny that Lewbert is being attacked like that, but uhhh... NO. It isn't funny! It SHOULDN'T be funny.

The show also has a habit of putting Spencer in some terrible situations where he is abused or attacked. :\

So, I don't know. Talk to me about some thoughts you have on how iCarly handles itself. Am I getting my panties in a twist over nothing or does the show have some serious problems? Feel free to add/agree/disagree/yell at me/WHATEVER.

DISCUSS!

Comments

[elphieee.livejournal.com]

It definitely has issues with violence. My biggest problem is that it is always played for laughs, especially Nevel. They should just cut him out as a character already since they clearly are not going to change him into a) a less Carly-kiss-obsessed villian or b) do ANYTHING different everytime he pops up.

Yes, the kids realize that it's NOT GOOD and they need to do something, but the show CONTINUES to play the abuse scene to a laugh track.

To be fair too, iCarly abuses the laugh track in general. Mostly with Carly's lines, which are always the least funny to me.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I agree with cutting out Nevel. I find it really annoying that he's the main reoccurring "villain" of the series.

And yeah, I think half the problem is the laugh track. It cues us to laugh at scenes that, sometimes, just aren't funny and actually kind of disturbing. :\

[cecilegrey.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen this show, but it's good to see people noticing these things and voicing opinions. I sometimes notice problems like this with my shows and wonder to myself, "...am I the only one who thinks this is not okay?"

Re: the laugh track thing, ughh, shows with laugh tracks almost always bug me. They pretend everything is funny when too much of it isn't. :/

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I think discussion is a good thing. There's a lot of fandoms where I don't really get into stuff like this because other people have voiced the things I want to say already and done a much better job of it, but for the most part the iCarly fandom seems to be fairly fond of Nevel and not really give much thought to how he is ICKY.

I don't always really notice the laugh tracks, but I think iCarly uses them WAY TOO MUCH. They also get used at inappropriate times now and then. :\

[poisonivory.livejournal.com]

YES. THIS. I actually wrote almost exactly what you did about Nevel after his first episode. Carly's behavior is fine and right and she doesn't let him get away with his bullshit, and Nevel is a villain, full stop, but THAT DOESN'T MAKE SEXUAL HARASSMENT FUNNY. I've also always found that Freddie's crush on Carly crosses that line fairly frequently, and it enrages me even more, because Freddie's a good guy so we're supposed to believe that his behavior is okay. AND IT'S NOT.

I am really, really behind on the show so I can't speak to the violence in general, since my impression is that it's gotten worse as it's gone on, but lots of slapstick violence and shifty morality from the main characters has certainly been a recurring theme in Dan's work for years. One of the problems with iCarly, I think, is that the characters can't all give as good as they get - like, when Drake and Josh fought, they fought each other, but if Sam wants to beat the crap out of someone, no one in that universe seems to be capable of stopping her (physically, that is, because Carly has her wrapped around her little finger).

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

Hee, I read that entry back before I was really watching iCarly. Like, I saw an episode here and there because I have younger siblings and that's what they'd be watching, but I didn't have many opinions on it. So, I definitely found your post interesting and ended up watching that episode sometime and saw what you were saying and soon realized that Nevel was a REOCCURING character and UGH.

Freddie actually gets a lot better as the series goes on. Their interaction is much more about them being BFFs with a few nods to Freddie's crush here and there. But it's much less stalkery and a lot more of a playful banter between them? Like, you get the feeling that Freddie doesn't actually mean it anymore and that it has more to do with how they've grown to interact with one another? IDK.

I am pretty okay with slapstick, but like you said, it's not exactly an equal violence in the show.

I mean, I LOOOOOVE that Sam is the ultimate muscle on iCarly. I love that she's the one they turn to when things are about to get heated. But it's okay with just Carly and Sam, because Sam would NEVER lay a hand on Carly (and generally lays off of Spencer), but the way she treats Freddie is just... awful at times. I mean, I do love Sam/Freddie, but I think Sam crosses the line sometimes.

[obsessive0514.livejournal.com]

You already know that I agree with you on most or all of this.

I'm watching "iGive Away A Car" right now, (I love the part where Carly bites Nevel's finger XD) and though it hasn't gotten to this part yet, I do remember a scene where... Hold on, I'll just wait for it to get to that scene. Here we go. The scene where Carly's taking a shower because, according to Spencer, she takes really long showers when she's depressed, adding that this time she took a chair with her. When Sam tells her to get out, she shouts "no".

Just pointing this out because, despite how strong and awesome Carly is when dealing with Nevel, here's an example of Nevel getting to her, or as dramatic as this may sound for a kid's show, breaking her down, which is his ultimate goal (or part of it, at least.) Of course, in the end she wins by giving him an X-Wing knock-off knock-off turned into a car which he then crashes into a building, and then completely ignoring the fact that he could be dead of seriously hurt. (The least logically thing in the whole episode: Couldn't they have just refused giving Nevel a car based on the fact that he can't drive?)

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

:( Carly. <333333

Ugh. I hate Nevel. The worst is that, I could have loved him if it weren't for the continuous harassment plots that help define him. So I basically feel like they've sort of wasted a potentially hilarious and awesome character. :\

Well, did they say anything about needing to drive when they put out the contest? Because, if not, then I don't think they could just throw in that clause at the end. Though there may have been real world rules about giving away a car that the show just ignored.

[obsessive0514.livejournal.com]

Just bringing this up because:

http://www.icarly.com/

Look at this week's poll, "What should we send Nevel for Christmas this year?"

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

I voted for the restraining order, but I'm pleased that the bees are the ones winning.