"Obsessed"- the A&E show, not the movie.

[Kitsa]

So A&E's new reality show, "Obsessed", premiered last night. It's supposed to be similar to "Intervention", except with OCD. Felt like I should watch it from that perspective, anyway.

Anyone seen it? What do you think?

[Zomboid]

I think it's pretty disgusting that people watch shows that essentially just showcase people at their worst.

[Kitsa]

I thought that when they showed the woman putting on the bloody outfit her father had died in, that it had pretty much disintegrated into freakpointing.

I dunno, I'll have to check another episode or two before passing judgment.

[Tadao]

I was never down with the whole Intervention style of show. Make a documentary, not a shocker. I don't think they do any good in the long run. Most people who watch those are usually watching to laugh at the loser.

[Kitsa]

I still remember the Allison ep of Intervention. My god. And then someone tracked her down working at some Hot Topic in California and publicized that.



The only good thing I can think of is that the show must be paying for this rehab/therapy, and is helping people get shit done. But it is a tad exploitative.

[Tadao]

Let's treat the addiction and not the reason! IN GOD WE TRUST!

But yeah, I have no faith that the OCD one is there to help. Which is sad because shows like Clean Sweep show that some shows can help people with disorders without abusing them.

[Zomboid]

That's the thing; I'm all for people getting help, but this shit is nothing but exploitation. That it's on A&E isn't very surprising, either. Remember that fucking awful show about those guido Gotti kids? The Gene Simmons show?

It seems like there was a time, years ago, that that channel had some (somewhat) quality programming. That must've been ages ago.

I remember one time being really hungover and my friend's girlfriend changed the channel to Intervention, and my friend and I both just got really uncomfortable watching it. Something about being in pain from the hangover made us realize that maybe watching a show that showcases people at their absolute lowest leaves you feeling even worse.

It's weird, because I genuinely enjoy laughing at people and mocking the stupid, but when people are exploited like that under the guise of being "helped," it makes me fucking sick. Fake sincerity is probably my biggest pet peeve.

[Kitsa]

That's what always gets me about talk shows.

Anyway, I'm kind of dreading what they do with the woman with trichotillomania. I have it, and I'm sure that immediately there'll be a ton of shit on Television Without Pity and Youtube about HA HA SHE PULLS HER HAIR OUT.

I'm convinced, from personal experience with OCD triggers, that 90% of it is just a frustrated response to stress. No freakpointing necessary.

[Ant10708]

Kitsa is against intervention but links to youtube clips of it....

Your seriously uncomfortable about drug addicts being 'exploited' on intervention?

I havn't seen the ocd show so I won't comment on that but Intervention is a great show that shows the average person who may not be exposed to it the very real situation that many people and their families find themselves in when it comes to drug addiction. I'm pretty sure most of these addicts have already been exploited on the streets far worse than any tv show will and that their families were at a desperate point and turned to a show that might really provide some help for the people. Intervention isn't about freakpointing in my opinion, it seems more like a documentary style show in my view and from what I understand it has actually helped quite a few addicts to recover.

I have a feeling that if you saw bum fights you'd have a very different idea of what exploting people is all about.

[Tadao]

[Dimnos]

Originally Posted by Ant10708

I havn't seen the ocd show so I won't comment on that but Intervention is a great show that shows the average person who may not be exposed to it the very real situation that many people and their families find themselves in when it comes to drug addiction. I'm pretty sure most of these addicts have already been exploited on the streets far worse than any tv show will and that their families were at a desperate point and turned to a show that might really provide some help for the people. Intervention isn't about freakpointing in my opinion, it seems more like a documentary style show in my view and from what I understand it has actually helped quite a few addicts to recover.

I have a feeling that if you saw bum fights you'd have a very different idea of what exploting people is all about.

Intervention does in fact exploit people for a shock value while under the guise of "oh we are here to help". Its little more than candied camera Jerry Springer. They hardly have to show people shooting up in their bathrooms to get them help. They throw this kind of shit in for freakpointing without a doubt. My wife watches this show rather regularly ever since it came on, and I can tell you they gone to showing more and more of the "bad stuff". How can you honestly say you are there to help someone then sit around and video tape them for a week while they continue to fuck up their life? Bum Fights is different in two ways. First they never made the implication that they were there to help the bums in any way. Second it was never commercially marketed on a cable network.

[Tadao]

It's not just that, they are showcasing the worst cases, and anyone who knows anything about those cases, knows that rehab is a waste of time. Drug abuse is what is keeping these people alive, their problem goes way deeper and this just scares "the average person who may not be exposed to it" into over reacting and alienating their loved ones, because Pot is a gateway drug. This is in no way "drug education".

[Kitsa]

Wait till the trich one and I can tell you in a second if it's exploitative or not, based on what they show.

You only show up for the "YOUR AN IDIOT" shit, Ant.

[Ant10708]

Actual you are wrong about bum fights. The creator frequently made claims that he was helping the homeless, he was their friend etc. and even attempted to make an appearance to justify the dvd on the dr. phil show(hilarious clip by the way)

I've only seen episodes from the first season of intervention so maybe its changed alot but I never got the impression that they claimed pot was the gateway drug leading to these people's drug problems. If that's the case then fuck the show for keeping a very dated myth alive about my beloved mary jane. And just to play devil's adovacte, if a show is centered on someone who shoots up drugs and their struggle with thew drug how is it explotative to show them shooting up drugs? Its a reality show about drug use, do you expect them to censor all the bad things such as the drug use? And I'd say you Tadeo is wrong about rehab from someone who has seen it work on family members(maybe your personal experiences are different or maybe my uncle wasnt one fo the worse cases but it seemed pretty grim especially for my elderly grandma from my NY viewpoint). My uncle became addicted to crack after being addicted to meds for awhile and falling into the wrong crowd and he basically sold everything he owned, let his house and car be used by his dealers and left my eldery grandma who he was living with to fend for herself and rehab(as a result of an intrvention by our family) is the only reason he is still alive and or not smoking crack on the corner of irvington NJ

I for one love exploitative TV anyways, I mean why else would you watch anything "reality" related and clearly you people who are oppsed to it have seen even more episodes then I have so maybe you should umm stop supporting the show by continuing to watch it which is how it maintains its prescense on the air.


I don't know if you (kitsa) are calling me an idiot or saying I was calling others but thats not what I meant to do. I'd just had a different opinion and since I am bored at work I figured I'd type it out and share it. I'm sorry if i ruined your thread where everyone agrees with you. And like I said I never seen the OCD one and never made a claim that show wasn't exploitative. I'd imagine it would atleast be good for the public to better understand what you and others who suffer from OCD go through but I guess there is a thin line between showing the issue at hand on tv weather it be drug use or mental illness and exploiting it for commerical gain.

[Tadao]

They have never said Pot is a gateway drug. What I'm saying is that is what most of America believes still.

I think they tell people that they are gonna be on a documentary about (whatever) all the while knowing that it is going to be an Intervention. They are just jumping up and down waiting for the big WHAM and pray to god someone freaks out on their family so they can LOOK AT HOW OUT OF CONTROL YOU ARE! Playing Devils advocate on this doesn't get me excited. I can't prove how much damage they may have caused to families (who should have gone to a counselor instead) as that film will never see the light of day.

As for rehab, I'm very happy when it works, but from the statistics I've seen, that is a rare occasion. I've grown to see thing in a holistic way. I believe that there is an underlining issue that draws people to life threatening drugs. I know what mine was, and I wasn't able to get clean until I dealt with my life problem.

IDK, I'm using my life experience and it is a total biased opinion. Glad I wasn't ever tricked into being on that show.

[Dimnos]

I had never heard of the Bum Fight guy saying he was helping the bum or about him going on Dr. Phil. However he was probably only saying / doing that to try and help his court case.

You can make a fully informative documentary about drug use without following someone into the bathroom to watch them shoot up. You dont have to see a guy snort coke to see how it is affecting his life or the lives of his family.

Personally my only issue with Intervention is the fact that they say they are there to help but then stand back and record all this going on for a week or two before the intervention.

[Kitsa]

I meant I hardly ever hear from you when you aren't calling me out on something. I don't care who agrees with me or not, it's a discussion forum.

Anyway, there are certain ugly aspects to OCD that don't need to be shown and aren't well-known at all, so if they go right for those I'll know it's exploitative. And I agree with Dimnos that they need to figure out whether they're a "hands-off" documentary or a "hands-on" help show. What happens if someone OD's before the big intervention climax?

[kahljorn]

pointing and laughing is the quickest way to make people realize that they are crazy and should change :O
they're helping!

[Angryhydralisk]

And apparently, not the band either.

But they're a bunch of heroin addicts anyways, so it balances out.

[Kitsa]

Well, I watched the second episode and wasn't impressed. All a non-ocd viewer would take from it is that OCD people sure are assholes.

[Tadao]

Well now that makes me want to see it.

[Tadao]

It's on and about germaphobes. I have 30 mins to dedicate to it.

[Tadao]

Oh and YAY for them opening with a women in tears about her problem.

[Tadao]

OK, 7 mins in and some lady with her kids in the back seat is driving by a bus and truck. She has issue with this and they keep dubbing in her kids saying "Mommy what's wrong?" and then the frantic violin music starts and then they replay the kid dub and flash more trucks! OMG NOEES WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!

This show is exactly what we expected it to be. I'm not gonna hang out for the full show cause they are not reporting, they are dramatizing.