Publication (142 pages).

About A&E’s Hoarders voice
One of the interesting facets of
Hoarders and the dissemination
of a moral claim is the tone that
the show portrays. Since the
show was originally intended as
a legitimate medical exploration
of hoarding behaviour, the tone
was established as one of aid
and assistance. The hoarders all
require help, not because they
are horrible people but because
they are experiencing
a problem.
All professionals
interact
with
the hoarders
in passive
ways:
“Since the show
was originally
intended as a
legitimate medical
exploration of
hoarding behaviour,
the tone
was established
as one of aid and
assistance.”
they ask
often how
the hoarder
is feeling or if they need some
extra time before dealing with
another room to clean. While
this comes off to an audience
as being nice, it also signals a
relationship of passivity: the
hoarders are weak people who
require strong professionals to
assist them. The hoarders are
not dealt with aggressively because
of the medical approach
and the coaxing of a therapist
to get them to ‘admit’ they are hoarders and
start the ‘healing’ process. This journey requires
a passive patient who is not resistant to
new ideologies; however it also suggests that all
hoarders are passive wrongdoers that are incapable
of helping themselves and thus require
outside assistance. This tone conveys a claim
that hoarders are weak and society should feel
sorry for them. This type of tone goes against
what many would consider a frequent approach
of reality television: aggression. Many
people watch television to see dominance and
fighting, which can clue an audience member
into who is being presented as right or wrong.
Ton
One of the interesting facets of Ho
a moral claim is the tone
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