Hello, my name is Suzanne and I have a broken blender at the back of my cupboard. In fact, more than one. And an old kettle that could be useful for someone, surely? My friend – who, like me, is totally normal – has stopped herself buying a fifth sewing machine; a neighbour has racks of clothes she has not worn for 20 years. Vintage, right? We are just waste not, want not. Not like those people on programmes such as The Hoarder Next Door, for these people are unwell. They have a mental illness, OCD, anxiety or depression.
Currently, there is a glut of TV programmes about these sad, compulsive people who have to tunnel through their own junk. Why would anyone live like that? And why would we watch them? Because although hoarders are the latest freaks in the freak show, every conversation I have had about this has not been about how deranged they are but how many of us are on the verge … of hoarding.
Britain's Biggest Hoarders - Series 1 Episode 2 BBC
Watch the first 15 - 20 minutes of the video and complete the questions below:
1. What do the following numbers represent in the video?
- All my life
- 1 in 20
- 20 years
- 42 days
- 25 years
2. The following words/expressions will help you understand the programme. What do they mean?
- dual personality
- bang on the door
- burden
- vacuuming
- barely scraped the surface
- putting up with me
- conceal
3. Answer the following questions using information from the video.
- What does this programme tell us about the dark side of consumerism?
- How do hoarders feel about their situation?
- How would you define this type of extreme hoarding: a problem? Controllable? A mental illness? A disorder? Part of human behaviour? Why?
- What problems do these hoarders face as a result of the extreme behaviour? For example, in society, daily activities etc
- How do hoarders affect those around them?
- What strategies does Jasmine adopt to help cure Geoff of his hoarding?
- What approach(es) does society take to help these sufferers (if any?)
- What can society do to help these sufferers?
Dylan Moran on consumerism:
What do the following vocabulary items mean?
- fill the void
- broke (adj)
- purple furry cube
- plough through
- 4 by 4s
- roar around
- dopey (adj)
- sunflowers
- sneering
- homicide
- dysentery
- jaded (adj)
1. What are the names of the perfumes he mentions?
2. Why does he mention dysentery?
3. summarize the video in one paragraph using the above vocabulary and the vocabulary and phrasal verbs we have studied this week.
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