Reality show fakes and junk junkies voyeurism

Imagine the pitch. Let’s make a television show about buying other people’s unwanted stuff. . . but even better let’s make it about people who buy abandoned storage containers.

Unfortunately somebody made that pitch and worse still the series got made. Yes, that’s Storage Wars on one of those obscure channels and if you haven’t seen it, I don’t think you’re missing much as it’s hard to believe that anyone would find this entertaining.

There’s no way I could sit through one full episode, not even in the interest of research but I have seen enough snatches of various episodes to know that it certainly isn’t my cup of tea.

Much about storage is sad. It reminds me of how much emphasis people put on stuff, on assets and on so many things that are superfluous to our enjoyment of life.

But of course this series is set in the United States, where people have far too much time and money to spend on things they don’t need and if you ever had any doubt about that, watch Storage Wars on one of the many channels that appear to be devoted to watching how other people live.

The things people buy and hold on to for years is beyond me. And why people would want to bid for other people’s junk is also beyond me. I just don’t get it.

I feel guilty enough about the clutter in my own house though it’s nothing compared to what’s on this programme.

But if viewers were sucked in into believing the show, only last week it emerged that the producers often plant certain items in with the lots to make it more interesting. Surely then, this is not a reality show. It is a fake.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.