The Only Kind of Wars I Like

“Storage Wars,” one of A&E’s most well-known television series is on its fourth season and is high ranked in the reality television show world. The show consists of four main buyers that try to bid out one another on abandoned storage units through various areas of California. The show focuses on Barry, Darrell, Brandi and Jarrod. Each episode is set up the same way; first, they introduce the characters with the famous theme song, “Money Owns This Town,” which was made for the television show and was written by Alabama 3. Then, a preview of the episode you are about to experience plays for a brief moment. There are two parts to the show; the first part is the “friendly” competition component. The storage units are dramatically unveiled and the buyers only have five minutes to look at the unit. The rules for the unit is that they cannot touch anything or go inside of it. This heightens the tension of the buyers because they are dying to know if the unit is worth it to gain profit. The action of bidding begins and the intensity starts to build. With Dan, the auctioneer spewing out numbers and the camera panning back and forth between the players, the footage keeps you on the edge of your seat. The music becomes faster and finally someone wins the unit. The second portion shows the buyers, what they find in their units and seeing if they can make a profit from their discoveries. They always find an item in the unit that needs to be checked out by an expert and that is always near the end of the episode. The episode wraps up with what the profits were for the units the contestants bought.

The contestants are what make the show engaging. Each player has a nickname associated to them and that is how they are introduced in the show. Barry Weiss is known as “The Collector” and he is the older buyer with a sarcastic personality. Darrell Sheets is known as “The Gambler” and he is very enthusiastic, loud and usually brings his son along with him to the storage auctions. Jarrod Schulz and Brandi Passante are married and they act like it with all the bickering and arguing they do. Jarrod is nicknamed “The Young Gun” because he is young and always wants to jump the gun on buying a unit. Brandi keeps him in line and reinstates that they don’t have the money to buy every storage unit. They own a second hand store and put the valuable items from the auctions in their shop. The players all have distinct characteristics that allow the audience to create a relationship with each one, whether they love them or hate them. 

“Storage Wars” reveals how the competitive nature works in our society. In some cases, the competitiveness comes off as greed. People are obsessed with monetary gain and when anything has to do with wealth and money, people become competitive and will do anything in their power to essentially “win.” These matters occur constantly on “Storage Wars.” All of the contestants will do anything to get the unit they want; whether it be mocking the other contestants and playing mind games, or having a cocky attitude and thinking they are the best. When people succeed at being competitive, it only fuels their greed to want more and more. If you win something once, you will become more arrogant and selfish. When competition comes into play, you see the person’s true colors.  In one of the episodes in the fourth season, Barry runs up the bidding on a unit that he doesn’t even want just so his competitor will end up with spending more money and he has more opportunities to find out which units are better; his just proves that everyone is working for themselves. As humans, we love competition; we love participating in it, watching it, and starting it. Television shows that portray our cultures interests will instantly grab the viewer.

People do become greedy when competition gets extreme. We are all aware of the viscous “Black Friday”; this day shows how our society really thinks. People dispute for hours on materialistic items that they want on this day and physical fights even break out. It seems excessive when people are fighting for something that will probably end up in one of these storage units. Hopefully, when viewers watch this show, they can realize how silly it is to compete this much over a used item. However, this is what makes it a great show because people can relate to it. The show is relatable to our culture, even if some of our cultural views are skewed.

Storage Wars also reflects our buying culture in America. On the show, they cannot even see most of the items in the storage unit, but they buy them on a whim hoping that it will satisfy their every want and need. This is how we buy things; we blindly know what we are getting. Many times we buy things on impulse, especially things we don’t need. However, the buyers on Storage Wars usually know which units have potential and which units don’t. This show is more than just getting drunk on the Jersey Shore; it’s about knowing what you are about to purchase. It’s about knowing how to make a smart decision and maybe letting a unit go to someone else once in a while. These people have to be knowledgeable; that is what is so great about this show. The audience is not just watching incompetent people buy used items, they are watching people that know how to buy unwanted items because they have educated themselves on what is worth something. There are times that they don’t make the right buying decision, but let’s face it; they are human. They know what items could have potential after going through the new unit and they take it to an expert to clarify if they made a good buying decision. As Americans, we pay for things we don’t need. People buy these storage units to hoard the items they will never use again. Sadly, individuals are paying a pricey fee every month to store this junk. The buyers on this show are making the smart move when the person that owned the unit was not.

Reality television comes with having cheesy one-liners. This is when you have to draw the line between reality and reality television. The audience needs to ask themselves, “Is it scripted?” When the characters are having their one-on-ones with the camera man, I am sure that they are given certain lines to say because one person cannot be that cliché. In one of the episodes, Darrell comes across an item that is used to teach students about the solar system. He took the gadget to a planetarium society and was in search to find out the value. In the “confessional” he says, “I’m hoping the value is astronomy sized (with emphasis on astronomy).” This is just one example where the contestant says a cheesy line. Aside from silly one-liners, the show is very real. They are regular people that do this as a hobby or as a living. After watching this show, viewers can see themselves doing this as a hobby or a way to make a profit. If the stars on the show can do it, anyone can do it. The audience realizes this and that’s why people watch it. It is easy to relate to the characters and we can do what the stars are doing.

This addictive television show does wonders on the mind. It motivates the audience to want to sift through their own items and see what they have of value just like the “Storage Wars” stars. It creates a new mindset in the average consumer’s mind. It may make them want to spend less and focus their attention on what they already have instead of buying without thinking.

The viewers can make this a family activity just like Brandi and Jarrod do as well as Darrell and his son. It can create stronger bonds between family and friends. You can start making storage auctions a tradition. Eventually, the present of seeking out storage units will become a fun memory that you shared with the loved ones in your life.

This show will motivate you, make you laugh, and have you on the edge of your seat with the suspenseful music, the outlandish characters, and the shockingly valuable items. It will educate you on items that you would never know were priceless. It will teach you how to identify the relationships with your own items. The personalities will keep you guessing and you won’t know what is to be expected next. The best part about the show is they have traits that we can all relate to. They are not billionaires, they are the “average joe” type that is just trying to make money like everyone else. After watching this show and becoming addicted to it, it even motivated me to look for used items that can have a large profit. I am very into photography and anything having to do with it; lenses, flashes, and camera bodies. I have a lot of knowledge around photography just like the “Storage Wars” stars have around many different items. Last summer, I was with my family at a multi-family tag sale and spotted a Nikon Speedlight Flash that was brand new. Immediately, I asked how much it was and bought it for $20. After posting it on Ebay and watching the bids skyrocket, the winning bid taking it home for $418 and I was thrilled. After experiencing the same feeling that the Storage Wars stars experience, I could relate to them even more as well as the show itself. Bidding on storage units is what makes them happy. It’s exciting to watch a television show where they are doing something not only for the profit because they love doing it.