Hoarding, according to A&E’s docu-series Hoarders, is “a mental disorder marked by an obsessive need to collect things, even if the items are worthless, hazardous or unsanitary.” Hoarders takes a look at those people who have so completely let themselves and their living standards go that their houses are glorified junkyards, each room its own little cesspool. This is the kind of show that seems, with each new episode, to top itself in terms of horror, disgust, and drama. So time may prove me wrong, but Augustine, the sole focus of the series’ second season premiere (up to now, every episode has been split between two subjects), has got to be the worst hoarder they’ve ever had.
A “God Bless This Mess” sign hanging from anyone else’s house might be a cutesy triviality, but hanging from Augustine’s, it’s like some sort of grand ironic gesture. According to a “hoarding psychologist,” Augustine is a Category 5 hoarder, and the inside of her house looks like it’s been ravaged by a Category 5 hurricane. The junk and clutter are so apocalyptic it’s hard to believe the house is capable of sustaining human life.
From portraits that are shown from the 1950s and 1960s, we can tell that Augustine was once very pretty, but that’s a thing of the past. The elaborate hairdos and make-up have eroded entirely, and now Augustine is old and in poor health. She has two children, now adults, Susan and Jason. Fourteen years ago, when Jason was 14 years old, their living environment was so unfit that Child Protective Services were forced to remove him from the house and place him in the grown-up Susan’s custody. Jason has grown up resentful and ashamed, claiming that he no longer has any emotional attachment to his mother, only a moral obligation to make sure that her house isn’t condemned by the local government.
Susan is a different story. She performs Herculean feats of effort to help her mother, but Augustine simply isn’t willing to accept them, and is convinced that Susan doesn’t love her. Augustine has allowed 8,000 pounds of garbage to accumulate inside her house — 8,000 pounds! — yet remains convinced that it couldn’t possibly be her fault. At one point, Susan says that she and Jason were raised by two different people: Susan by the loving, normal Augustine, and Jason by the vindictive, crazed Augustine.
Article comments
1 - Matt Paprocki
My biggest issue is that the show rarely tries to get them any real help. When they did this on Obsessed, they sent in a psychologist. Here they usually send in an organizer. That doesn't help the condition itself, it just cleans things up. Once the camera is off, the problem begins anew.
2 - missy
Augustine is such a horrid, ungreatful person.I really wish the people that she treats so badly that keep helping her would stop and she would become homeless and die alone,cold on the street in her own filth she created and by filth i dont just mean literally...
3 - April
Augustine was by far, the least sympathetic profle so far. She's so full of self-pity, I actually felt quite angry at her.
4 - Disgusted
This episode just strengthens my opinion that hoarders should be involuntarily committed and forbidden from keeping any personal belongings.
5 - Shiner
Whatever its production failings (and I don't think they are obvious to the casual observer), this show remains one of the more interesting programs on TV. Compared to the fake "reality" shows and overbearing pundits or celeb wannabes that litter the airwaves, this is a breath of fresh air.
I've only seen a handful of episodes, but they do sometimes bring a therapist in. And maybe they regularly offer counseling, who knows? But if the person doesn't want to accept it, you can't make them.
6 - Linda
Some of the previous comments have been pretty harsh. People fail to realize that this is a mental illness and needs professional treatment. You only need to look at Augustine's face to see that she has totally disconnected from reality. However, very often, you cannot legally force someone to get the help they need. Childhood trauma can remain dormant for decades and then seem to suddenly take over. I feel so sorry for her daughter because she remembers what her mother used to be like and knows there's nothing she can do to help her now. If you hadn't guessed by now, I was raised by someone who gradually became a bitter, angry hoarder. It destroys relationships. I began to believe that she cared more about the things than she did about me. Only later did I realize that she literally had no control. I had to deal with the debris after she passed away.
Once a year I go through my house and if I haven't used an item in the past year, it goes to charity or the trash.
7 - Scott Davis
Not since 'To Catch a Predator' has the viewing public been served up such a lush exploitation of tragic lives for their viewing pleasure. Therapists make their obligatory appearance to give the illusion that something life changing is happening, but the real guts of the show lay somewhere in Carnival land, where people pay to see geeks bite the heads off of chickens. These people have extremely serious mental conditions and are put on public display so that people can cluck their tongues and revel in the fact that they are not the people on the show.
Shame on A&E for broadcasting this filth. There is nothing entertaining, enlightening or uplifting about this series, unless of course you are 1-800-GOT-JUNK and get free advertising every week.
So unlike 'To Catch A Predator', they don't lure unsuspecting pedophiles into being arrested for our viewing pleasure, instead they let the children of these very unfortunate mentally ill people call the show to have them 'help' their parent by publicly humiliating them and renting 1-800-GOT-JUNK to come shovel out their homes.
This kind of problem is not TV entertainment, it's real life tragedy and quite simply, none of our business. Does anyone think that these poor sick people are in any kind of mental state to sign off on being on a TV show? I hope one of these people does get some serious help, recovers and then sues A&E for every dime they ever made off of this show.
Exploitation of the mentally ill is disgusting.
Disgusting.
8 - Monica
So, Scott Davis, it's better that these people wallow in their filth rather than get *FREE* help in exchange for being on TV?
Of course A&E benefits from the ratings, but in some of these cases (like Augustine's) their relations are in no financial position to hire people to clean out 8000 lbs of toxic trash before they lose the house.
9 - Freedom
Yes, I too, find it absurd that anyone has a problem with a show that educates and exposes the public to a common disorder/disease. The fact that a show makes you uncomfortable is not a reason to judge it so harshly. Just don't watch it. Allow the rest of us to continue to gain knowledge and perspective while you stay away from discomfort/stress.
Shame on those who are too distracted by their own emotions to appreciate a network and program that has the guts to take on what most of society prefers to ignore. Here's hoping for several more seasons of Hoarders.
10 - S&P
There's no exploitation here. This isn't guerilla filmmaking...people signed the dotted line. Get over it.
11 - Amanda
Im sorry, I just couldn't get over the dead cats, I cried my self to sleep.