FEATURE
| Reclaiming the Nebbish | |
| Why we need him now — more than ever. | |
 by Peter Hyman, March 12, 2007
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Despite a long history of persecution, modern Jews have it pretty cushy today. We own the banks, obviously. We also control the media (as recently confirmed by Judith Regan), which supports our long-term goal of world domination, as does our ruthless manipulation of the cabal that secures us parking spaces close to good brunch spots.And, thanks to a holiday schedule rooted in Old Testament harvesting celebrations, we enjoy a suspicious number of days off from work every autumn.
The Jewish Cowboy: James CaanYet for all of this success, we seem to have squandered what was, in a more innocent era, one of our most treasured cultural resources: the nebbish, that klutzy, bespectacled mother-loving stereotype of the Jew, the nudnik with the big heart and two left feet who could never hang on to the girl. While we were busy buying khakis and correcting our vision with laser surgery, we let our guard down. We alienated the nebbish, pulling a Duddy Kravitz by looking to Jews who were distinctly anti-nebbish to hold up as role models. Anything that implicated us as fearful or non-confrontational came to seem outdated as Israel triumphed, tough Jews like James Caan kicked ass and the Beastie Boys fought for our right to party. We outgrew the nebbish narrative as a culture. Worse still, this banishment has allowed the gentiles to usurp our anti-hero, appropriating the old world power and counterintuitive charm of the nebbish to great cultural success.
Some might argue that the nebbish disappeared for a reason, that he is an unappealing character who nobody wants to see return. And they’d be partially correct. But only because over time, the term has been reduced to a set of annoying traits that has left us with a hollow caricature of what the nebbish truly is (picture Gilbert Gottfried or Paul Reiser). At a deeper level, the nebbish represents nothing less than a core aspect of the Jewish identity—a freedom from pretense and an obsessive nerdiness that combines book smarts with a lack of concern for social status. The nebbish in full bloom is lovable for his complete lack of material striving as well as his vulnerability. In a world where many of these traits have been abandoned in favor of McMansions, luxury SUVs and baby strollers that require a mortgage, we need the nebbish now more than ever. The nebbish must rise again.
Nothing comes between me and my Jewface: George CostanzaBut to get there, we first need to understand how we came to smother the poor, lovable nebbish so that we don’t repeat ourselves. Certainly one cannot discount the actions of the godfather of modern nebbishness, Woody Allen, who tarnished the breed’s image of timidity by boldly marrying his pseudo-daughter. Another contributing factor was the explosion of WASP-y Jew assimilation that began in the 1980s, thanks to the Bronx-bred Ralph Lipschitz (who changed his last name to Lauren when he started his fashion career). But the most troubling cause is one that is still with us—the popularity of Jew Cool. This is where our attention ought to be focused.
It’s understandable that a people who had been chronically uncool for 5760 or so years would gravitate toward Jewish hipsterism, growing Jewfros and cheekily referring to themselves as “Heebs.” Many jumped at the chance to shed the shlumpiness and the semi-exclusive pose that came with it. For others, there is still an inkling of meaning tied to this over-the-top self-effacement. The H-word is our version of the N-word, and embracing Jew Cool can help defang the anti-Semitism, so the argument goes. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see how suburban twenty-somethings dressed in ironic t-shirts are doing much to fight the power. The nebbish, with his Zionist summer camp reunions and his AIPAC petitions, was doing more for the cause. But we sent him packing because he wasn’t cool enough to get past the velvet ropes.Paving the way for his return will require us to dismantle Jew Cool, and the current backlash against hipsterism provides a good launching pad for this.
Murray Greshler never looked this good: A disturbingly studly Mo RoccaBut we face a second, more formidable challenge as well. This hurdle takes the form ofthe Gentilification of the Nebbish, which can be traced back to the black and white days of Barney Fife. Ironically, it was a pair of Jews who helped catalyze the modern advent of this movement, with the creation of Seinfeld’s George Costanza. While George may have been louder than the average nebbish, he nonetheless possessed several key neb hallmarks, including a penchant for complaint,deep neuroses (led by but not limited to a fear of death and failure)and a complete disregard for fashion. The fact that the producers made the stand-in for Larry David a vaguely ethnic non-Jew says a great deal about how detached the nebbish had become from its roots, even at that time. As much as anything, George served to neutralize the nebbish, robbing him of his humanity and further reducing him to a set of pestering traits.
In the wake of Costanza we find a pop cultural landscape littered with Goyified nebbishes, from movies—the current cinematic incarnation of Spiderman’s alter ego is a classic neb—to rock and roll, led by Rivers Cuomo, the celibate, Harvard-degreed front man for Weezer. When did it become cool for rock stars to kvetch (pull up your socks emo boys!)and wear sweater vests? Once they realized that in doing so they could steal our nebbish thunder and ride it to the top of the charts, a la Barry Manilow, that’s when.
Another hotbed for this sort of Goyification is The Daily Show. The Comedy Central staple has been a veritable breeding ground for gentile nebbishes, beginning with Mo Rocca, continuing with the recently departed Ed Helms, and culminating in a double dose of neb with Resident Expert John Hodgman and recent British import John Oliver. None of these men are Jews, yet all have, to some degree, borrowed from the nebbish archetype in shaping their personas. Why is this significant? For most of history, the nebbish was relegated to the sidelines of pop culture, a buffoonish sidekick content to make a token Semitic guest appearance in an otherwise Christian world. Think Murray Greshler, the cop from The Odd Couple, or Erwin “Skippy” Handleman, the court jester next-door on Family Ties. But today’s gentile nebbishes have moved to center stage and landed leading roles, bringing the neb into the spotlight.
IMDB calls him a "sturdy character actor": David PaymerAs it turns out, all this attention may actually be good, as it illustrates precisely why we need to bring the nebbish home again. Let’s not forget that part of our humanity as a people lies in our utterly nebbishy nebbishness, our ability to appreciate the parts of ourselves that are cowardly or bumbling, and our acceptance of the fact that we don’t quite fit in (and that we don’t really have to). As Jews, we needn’t project a macho or faux-cool persona to tell the world what we’re made of. And the nebbish helps remind us of this, keeping us humble and true to ourselves. Soshed the totems of Jew Cool and locate your inner neb. Throw out that “Shiksas are for practice” t-shirt. Embrace once again the sweaty-palmed neuroticism and desperate lustof Woody Allen and Philip Roth. Revel in the fact that you look more like David Paymer than you do Adrian Brody. Brag about your preference for the accrual method of accounting on your JDate profile.
The truth is, this call to arms can only get us so far, because nebbishness is a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is not a condition one can aspire to or purposely create (though someone ought to tell Zach Braff and Ben Stiller this). All we can do, in the end, is try to clear the way for the return of the nebbish. And hope he gets to keep the girl this time.
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Related in Jewcy: If you want to do your part to bring back the nebbish, don't just read Eli Valley's hipster madlib like a disaffected cool kid -- fill it out and post the results in the comments section.
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Peter Hyman is a contributing writer at Radar magazine and a regular contributor to The San Francisco Chronicle’s Book Review section and The Huffington Post's "Eat The Press." His journalism has appeared in dozens of national More... |
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Anonymous
George Costanza, not Jewish?!
George was Jewish dude--Mr. Constanza=Jerry Stiller, etc...come on man. Anyway, the nebishification of our world is best thing since Moses. About the only thing you said I agree with is that all this friggin Jewish hipster bullshit is out of control...
Michael Morlitz
George Costanza is not Jewish
He is Catholic and a short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man.
Anonymous
Costanza is a morrono, pun intended
think I think Larry David, et all just write half their characters as not jewish" as a cover even though they all obviously are. George may be "Catholic" but he secretly practices true Nebbishness, don't you think?
Michael Morlitz
George Costanza is not Jewish
He's based on Larry David (who is Jewish and v.nebbishy) but George Costanza is not Jewish.
Michael Weiss
Costanza
Italian Jew. Pretty sure of it.
Michael Morlitz
Maybe he's half-Jewish
Because his dad is not Jewish...he belongs to the Knights of Columbus and celebrated Festivus instead of Christmas. Maybe Estelle is a Jew.
Peter Hyman
Costanza.....
As far as my reporting indicated (and this includes some conversations with former writers of the show), George was not Jewish (nor was he half Jewish). In keeping with the "show about nothing" theme, religion was underplayed and kept vague. Jerry was Jewish, but mainly by virtue of the fact that the real Jerry Seinfeld is Jewish. Of course, all of the characters were "Jew-ish" in that classical, New York City sense, and that's precisely the point of this piece: to explore the gentifilication of a certain aspect of Jewishness. Not sure this helps clarify the commentary that has come before it, but I thought I'd offer it. At any rate, inspiring dialogue is the best thing an essay can do, so....press onward.
Michael Weiss
Albert Brooks on Seinfeld
"That's four Jews in an apartment in New York. How do you sell that?"
Anonymous
Reclaiming the Nebbish
Of course, George Constanza was Jewish. Frank and Estelle could have raised me, for Pete's sake. My Jewish aunts and their Italian husbands were warm, wonderful and quietly caring; on the other hand, my Jewish parents never spoke below a "geschrei" (yell) and the arguments could range from the most popular condiments before and after the war to the real name of Paul Muni (Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund won out over Muni Weisenfreund). And warm and wonderful was an on/off commodity.
I believe there is a real-life friend of Jerry or Larry named George Costanza, and they thought it would be nice or funny to name a character after him.
Jay Feldman
Anonymous
Great, Funny Essay
You guys seem to be getting caught up on a minor issue (Costanza), and you're missing the larger point of this funny, insightful essay. His main point, while jokey, is kind of spot on. As a female, I actually prefer nebbishy guys, so I hope more men take this essay to heart!!!
Anonymous
I blame Perry Farrell
Enough about Costanza but why not mention that Larry David has already come out from behind the mask to make "Curb Your Enthusiasm" a show that could just as easily be called "When nebbish attack!"
By the way, Ben Stiller is the friggin' apotheosis of the nebbish. Why not leave the goy the husk of the old nebbish archetype and take it to the next level? It's just dialectics man, Adorno said so.
Michael Morlitz
Hey Jay Feldman
You're thinking of Jerry Seinfeld's friend Michael Costanza. George Costanza is based on Larry David (eating eclairs out of the trash, quitting for no reason, etc.). Larry David is Jewish but George isn't.
Joey Kurtzman
The story of George
I thought Seinfeld was playing the Larry David character, and George was based on someone else.
As for George's Jewishness, I have to say I'm very skeptical about that. And there are many more half-Italian, half-Jews in this country than real Italian Jews, so if it were either, it would be the former, I think. I think he's just a deracinated Italian-American who's absorbed nebbishy Jewiness while living in New York. In fact, I'm certain of it.
Anonymous
Dear Michael Morlitz
Michael,
I believe you're right. Thanks.
Jay
Anonymous
Costanzagate
Jason Alexander is Jewish as are just about all the other actors in the show. Written by Jews, played by Jews, known as the "show about NYC Jews" but not about Jews? I don't think so.
Michael Morlitz
Re: Costanzagate
Seinfeld was always known as the show about "nothing", not the show about "Jews". That would be weird.
JewcyCraig
By their own admission
By their own admission, the network was worried the show was going to be too New York-y and also, yep, too Jew-y (according to my Seinfeld season 1 & 2 extras DVD). Turns out they were wrong. I don't think the rest of the world paid so much attention to the Jewiness OR the New Yorkiness of the show. They just took it for granted that this was the setting and these were the people.
Anonymous
pedestrians
Seriously, stop with the pedestrian Seinfeld Knowledge. Just because
Jason Alexander is Jewish does not mean the character he plays is
Jewish. That's why he is an actor. A neurotic upper westsider does not
necessarily=Jew....anti-Semites...get off of your stereotypes
Anonymous
regarding pedestrians
Just because Jason Alexander is Jewish, his character is a stand-in for Larry David, who is extremely Jewish, and his parents are the most recognizably Jewish caricatures ever does not mean we should assume he's Jewish...hmmm, okay fine. But naming him "Costanza" and never mentioning his religion on the show does not "the gentilification of the nebbish" make...
Michael Morlitz
Regarding Regarding Pedestrians
I always thought one of the funnier aspects of George's character was that he acted like a nebbishy Jew but was, in fact, a gentile.
JewcyCraig
I wish Dacon was here
He'd lay it down like it is.
Peter Hyman
Clarification
Wow....This one aspect of the essay (Costanza) has taken on a life of its own. The comment made by M. Morlitz above was, in fact, the point I was trying to make in the piece--that is to say, George was not Jewish (by both all external information we have been given and according to what writers on the show told me) yet he was a Nebbish. Yes, George was a stand-in for Larry David. Yes, the show was created by Jews, written (partly) by Jews and was "Jewish," but that is true of most shows on television (we own the media, remember), and it is certainly true of "The Daily Show." The point still stands that Costanza represented a non-Jewish Nebbish, and thus exemplified the "Gentilification" of that archetype. If somebody wants to disagree entirely with my premise, or suggest that my main argument is wrong, that's fine. But I feel pretty confident in saying that George's status is a non-Jew is not really up for debate.
Joey Kurtzman
On Costanzagate
I'm with you on the thesis about the gentilification of the nebbish. I'd like to hear Yuri Slezkine's take on it...in The Jewish Century he divides up humanity into "Mercurians" and "Appolonians," says the Jews are classic Mercurians, and that that over the course of the 20th century the gentile world got culturally Judaized, i.e. turned into Mercurians. But he says it way better. I'm going to e-mail him and ask for his take.
But as for George, according to this article at Jewish World Review, Larry David said he's "half-Jewish." Very surprised.
If you google "george costanza non-jew," this article is the number one hit. Food for thought.
Peter Hyman
Thanks Joey...
I'd like to read The Jewish Century. Certainly, Seinfeld led to a further "Judaification" of the great vast expanse that is America. By the late 90s you had cowboys in Wyoming order bagels with a "schmear of cream cheese." Seinfeld was Judaic in a New York City cultural sense, but I still stand by my take on Costanza. As for this being the number one hit for that google search: That's the beauty (and the danger) of the Internet--history is rewritten hour by hour, though too often the re-writing is accepted at face value.
Joey Kurtzman
The Nebbishy Century
We'll see if he responds. I asked him this:
Dr. Slezkine,
I'm interested in your take on "Reclaiming the Nebbish," a pop-culture-focused article (recently published in the online magazine Jewcy.com) that argues that Jews--wearied by millenia of being thought unmanly and "uncool"--have tried to banish the image of the hapless, bespectacled, overthinking "nebbish". The author (Peter Hyman) says that while we've rid ourselves of that hated archetype, something else has happened--what he calls "the gentilification of the nebbish". In other words, as the Jews have stopped being nebbishy, non-Jews have cornered the nebbish market. He says that the nebbish is a treasured cultural resource, and that Jews should reclaim it.
I read this, and couldn't help but think of your groundbreaking book The Jewish Century. What do you make of Hyman's article? Is there a correspondence here between Mercurians and nebbishes, and between Appolonians and non-nebbishes?
I'd love your thoughts on this,
Anonymous
damn, where's the update?
This thread was great...come on Slezkine!
Joey Kurtzman
Slezkine, Slezkine, lama sabachtani!
Sorry for using the lama sabachtani thing twice in two weeks, but I agree with you! And yet no response from Slezkine. I actually read the Jewish Century this weekend (before I'd only read sections) for an upcoming dialogue I'm doing with JTS macher Jack Wertheimer...perhaps I'll pester Slezkine a bit more. That book is a landmark, just brilliant. I said in the Derbyshire debate that I think Jews should read the Kevin MacDonald trilogy, and I do, but they should read this first. And Slezkine should tell us what he makes of the Reclaiming the Nebbish, dammit.
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