Though most of the articles online show the negative effects of reality TV, for every two negative articles I found, I found one positive one. Hoarding shows getting people to admit they have a problem, "Biggest Loser" fighting obesity in America, promoting healthy living and even opening up serious conversations about bulimia and anorexia. But how helpful can a scripted television program masquerading as an ever so popular makeover style entertainment actually be?
The Biggest Loser has been around since 2005, taking in overweight contestants and training with them to lose weight, the winner of the show being the one who loses the most, hence the name "Biggest Loser". This show is controversial, to say the least. While it shows the positive effects on the television show ( the weight loss and promotion of healthy living) but what they don't show is how hard they work their contestants. From the moment their audition tape is accepted, contenders must sign a contract that gives away their rights to their own storylines and forbids them from speaking badly of the show. Members of the show would sometimes have their phones or laptops being taken for over 24 hours. After this many have suspected that they had been bugged, noticing that lights on webcams would remain on even after being turned off. An anonymous contestant recalls this by comparing it to the George Orwell Novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four", saying that "...It was like Big Brother was always watching you...". They'd train for five to eight hours of times, people recalling bleeding through their shoes and being worked to the point of vomiting or passing out. And it didn't stop once the show was over. The dramatic weight loss caused eating disorders, exercise addictions, and permanent metabolism damage. So from at home, it may seem like these people are being helped to start a new life and start living healthy, but the reality is, they had to give up a lot just for a good hour of entertainment (Callahan).
And it's not always the people on the shows that have been shown to benefit. Heather Havrilesky is a regular contributor to an advice column in The New York Times. When her dad passed away she was put in charge of taking care of his belongings. She found herself wanting to keep everything. Old newspaper clippings, drivers licenses, and clothing that had long since gone out of style had found its way into her home because they were more than just stuff to her. Not long after her father's death, she began to watch shows about hoarding. Every time she saw the mounds and piles of useless junk these people kept around, collecting dust, attracting bugs, it made her sick to her stomach. "It sends me into this cleaning frenzy, rifling through my closet and driving big bags of old stuff to Goodwill," says Havrilesky. In no time she had turned her life around, before letting it get bad enough to get her a spot on "Hoarding: Buried Alive", and all because of what she saw on that very same show (Havrilesky).
The story of Heather Havrilesky is touching, but it's only one end of the spectrum. Hoarding can be a part of serious mental illnesses, and these TLC and A&E shows are exploiting people who have genuine problems. This profiteering roots from the producers of these broadcasts making it seem like it's an easy fix. Like sending in a cleaning crew and throwing away all the junk the hoarder has stocked away will help a psychological problem. Hoarding is a symptom of OCD and PTSD, and is not to be taken as lightly as it is on television programs like "Hoarders: Family Secrets" (Almendrala).
The Biggest Loser has been around since 2005, taking in overweight contestants and training with them to lose weight, the winner of the show being the one who loses the most, hence the name "Biggest Loser". This show is controversial, to say the least. While it shows the positive effects on the television show ( the weight loss and promotion of healthy living) but what they don't show is how hard they work their contestants. From the moment their audition tape is accepted, contenders must sign a contract that gives away their rights to their own storylines and forbids them from speaking badly of the show. Members of the show would sometimes have their phones or laptops being taken for over 24 hours. After this many have suspected that they had been bugged, noticing that lights on webcams would remain on even after being turned off. An anonymous contestant recalls this by comparing it to the George Orwell Novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four", saying that "...It was like Big Brother was always watching you...". They'd train for five to eight hours of times, people recalling bleeding through their shoes and being worked to the point of vomiting or passing out. And it didn't stop once the show was over. The dramatic weight loss caused eating disorders, exercise addictions, and permanent metabolism damage. So from at home, it may seem like these people are being helped to start a new life and start living healthy, but the reality is, they had to give up a lot just for a good hour of entertainment (Callahan).
And it's not always the people on the shows that have been shown to benefit. Heather Havrilesky is a regular contributor to an advice column in The New York Times. When her dad passed away she was put in charge of taking care of his belongings. She found herself wanting to keep everything. Old newspaper clippings, drivers licenses, and clothing that had long since gone out of style had found its way into her home because they were more than just stuff to her. Not long after her father's death, she began to watch shows about hoarding. Every time she saw the mounds and piles of useless junk these people kept around, collecting dust, attracting bugs, it made her sick to her stomach. "It sends me into this cleaning frenzy, rifling through my closet and driving big bags of old stuff to Goodwill," says Havrilesky. In no time she had turned her life around, before letting it get bad enough to get her a spot on "Hoarding: Buried Alive", and all because of what she saw on that very same show (Havrilesky).
The story of Heather Havrilesky is touching, but it's only one end of the spectrum. Hoarding can be a part of serious mental illnesses, and these TLC and A&E shows are exploiting people who have genuine problems. This profiteering roots from the producers of these broadcasts making it seem like it's an easy fix. Like sending in a cleaning crew and throwing away all the junk the hoarder has stocked away will help a psychological problem. Hoarding is a symptom of OCD and PTSD, and is not to be taken as lightly as it is on television programs like "Hoarders: Family Secrets" (Almendrala).
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