Does the high prevalence of obesity in TruTV’s towing and repo shows reflect America’s growing obesity epidemic, or does it have to do more with all the staged brawling that goes on in these shows?
I find it rather amusing that being fat or hefty runs rampant in “Operation Repo,” “Lizard Lick Towing,” “Bear Swamp Recovery” and “South Beach Tow.” Why are just about all the people, who are involved in these staged operations, so big? This includes charming dispatcher Christie Ashenoff of “South Beach Tow.
There are a few exceptions, but by and large (no pun intended), these reality shows are comprised of some pretty big people, including the women (“Big Juicy” from “Lizard Lick,” anyone?)
You can tell that a few of the men lift weights, but even they carry some excess blubber, and the remaining crew is just plain fat. Now, I suppose this has a lot to do with the fights and other physicalities that break out.
Some people believe that some of the crew members are actors, and big people are selected for these roles. It’s also possible that TruTV execs have sought out only crew teams who are composed mostly of fat individuals. And why? Because this makes for better entertainment.
For example, there was an episode of “South Beach Tow” in which a full-figured woman driver named Bernice went out on her first assignment for that company. She did something that wouldn’t have come off as believable if it had been done by a average-size woman: A man angrily touched her and she stepped right up to him, bumping her chest into his and knocking him back a little. Then she swatted him in the face, sending him to the ground.
There have been at least two episodes of “Operation Repo” in which the considerably obese Sonya Pizarro puts somebody (including a man) in a chokehold from behind. Though these fracases are obviously staged, the chokeholds wouldn’t quite work if Sonya Pizzaro weighed only 140 pounds.
The men in these towing and repo shows are just plain huge. Most of it is fat. This makes many of the brawling scenes more amusing, because it’s more entertaining to see fat and hefty people in a fight than normal-sized people. The assumption is that big people are better fighters.
The number of fat people, whose vehicles must be repossessed or towed, is disproportionate, meaning, big actors are hired over thinner ones to make scenes more amusing. That’s not to say that normal-sized actors aren’t involved; many times they are, but it just seems like there are a heck of a lot of fat people involved in repossessions and illegal parking.
This is why scenes often involve some big guy from “Repo,” “South Beach Tow,” “Lizard Lick” and “Bear Swamp” getting into the face of an equally huge guy. The viewer wants to see the Sumo match that ensues, rather than watching two skinny guys square off at each other. “Bear Swamp” has been cancelled-maybe because too much emphasis was on the obese crew members’ eating habits?
I’ve also noticed that in “Hardcore Pawn,” quite a few of the hostile customers are fat. There’s something going on with TruTV’s reality shows and the staging of fat men and women for nasty scenes.
