Operation Repo (2009)

Recently, I casually flipped through the channels and came across one of those `Cops-type’ reality shows, this time focused on the lives of repo men. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was oddly captivating.

So, there was this dude who appeared to be a Latino gangster complete with do rag and shades who probably was driving ‘round LA with a guy named Matt. Matt seemed to model himself after the wrestling superstar, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Matt was bald and with a trim mustache resembling an greasy ‘outlaw’ biker or one of those guys from the gay pride parade, he was full of aggression. He was also a steroid junkie covered in hillbilly tattoos, and wearing a pair of overalls with no shirt.

These two men, who looked a lot like they were dressed up for an event, pulled into a driveway and began to attach a vehicle to the back of a tow truck. Out of nowhere, an enormous black man suddenly came out of nowhere and tackled Matt from behind. Everything from cameras to reporters on the scene started bleeding out profanities as the two wrestled on the lawn. The other Repo agent came to Matt’s aid, managing to chase off the attacker by threatening with pepper spray. Attacks and shouts around the scene began to ramp up with people starting to throw postures and start the frenzy.

From how Matt described, during the post scene interview, he remembered how his attacker was wearing a tagged ankle bracelet, which was a requirement for people under home confinement. Starting from the thick of things, reporters now watched as Matt began poking, trying to encourage his attacker to cross the line. The brute, now saying nothing grabbed a hose and began to blast the Repo men.

The event was particularly messy because it will never come to any kind of conclusion, and it remains a jumble that defies belief. I found it strange, but I merely registered how supid all of the participants in the encounter were, and gave up any additional thought to it.

In the following part, there was a new Repo that appeared called Sonia. She appeared to be a worn out old skater girl. At least 300 pounds heavier than when we first met, she had her hair artificially dyed and put into pigtails. Her scalp was adorned with a horrible collection of outsider style counter-culture tattoos. She was the kind of person you expect to find in a rundown bar, an Indie along with the rest of the world, or perhaps someone in the business of repossession.

Sonia drove up the driveway and spotted a pretty woman in a sundress sitting on her porch. Not to be rude, but she looked like an actress who was still trying to break out. I mean, we are in Los Angeles afterall. She didn’t really look like the type to be having her car seized. It seemed as if there was a soft-core adult video about to unfold and lo and behold, I was proven right when it came to light that the car that was about to be repossessed was not owned by his man but her lover, Pedro! She made an appeal to Sonia to be efficient in teh car repossession so that it was complete before her husband arrived, but in my opinion, she was already too late! There was no time left, as she was frozen in shock combined with rage just like her husband who was handsome, but not so much in the ill-fitted suit he wore. He came home after work and started to shout! All of this I realized was in reality horrible acting. I was utterly horrified and stunned at the same time at the show I had been subjected to.

“Operation Repo” was the name of the show, and it was included in the TruTV’s broadcast. This network Court TV previously used to broadcast is claimed to feature “exciting and dramatic first-person accounts” of “real-life stories,” which translates to fake accounts made to look real. ”Operation Repo” is in fact an American adaptation of a Spanglish show, “Operacio Repo,” that aired in Telemundo.

Its Latin roots remain in the American version, which centers on a fictional San Fernando Valley based repossession team performing scripted reenactments of repossessions. The show is basically a piece of soap opera infused with pro wrestling that has been mutilated to such an extent that we can classify it as reality TV.

The scripted nature of the show makes it so that from the very beginning the producers start manipulating everything to ensure that the audience views what is labeled as a traditional reality or unscripted television show. For them, this means they studio filmers and boom microphones not only have to be present, but they must also be visible in the vicinity. This sends the message that the world we are witnessing is so chaotic and overwhelming that the cameramen need to run for their lives too. While the camera shots of chaos unfold, almost as a form of relief, they also stylishly edit in interviews of Andrade’s brilliant marketing plan, the massive Luis, every I have seen interviews he has been wearing the Blue Tooth so he never misses an important Repo call.

You smirk at what you are watching and as bad as it may seem, it does not matter. There are more pressing issues at hand, such as how people who sit for 30 minutes are dazed and do not understand what they just saw. To some degree, understanding the show’s objective is near impossible. One moment the team is taking Go-Karts back, and in another, there is a fight happening next to a fortune teller. There is yelling from everyone along with cameras bouncing, not aiming or focused on one spot. The reality of is not important, because after understanding that it is all scripted, does it make a difference? ‘The intra-national globalization of reality television is the new messiah for international audiences and brings new challenges for content producers’.

The most irritating aspect of it all is that these types of reality shows are packaged and contributes to globalization. It is all cluttered with terrible performers who crave for such big attention, while acting out a bad version of a soap opera. I would like to believe that one commentator put it best when they said: ‘Operation Repo’ is insanely clever while simultaneously being painfully stupid. They took the template and further peeked the reality TV portion that most are embarrassed of and brought it, ‘cranked up the surrealism while pulling the ad off the kitsch’.

Here, “Operation Repo” has the upper hand, even if the audience doesn’t, as knowing what exactly it is. Let’s also face it, it is an outrageous exaggeration. Highlighting how reality television is marketed, there is always some degree of indescribable stupidity to pull an audience in, and this is where reality television excels.

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