THE AMISH

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THE AMISH

• A gentle people living a simple life

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Who are the Amish?

• They are members of a particular Christian
  denomination.
• They are best known for their simple living,
  plain dress and for resisting modern conveniences
  like technology.
• Amish communities are usually entirely
  self-sufficient and deliberately separated from
  the outside world.
• The Amish way of life originated in Switzerland,
  but these days exists only in the U.S. (mainly
  Pennsylvania) and some parts of Canada.

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Parts of North America that contain Amish
communities
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Typical Amish clothing/dress
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The Amish churchs rules

• The rules of the Amish church, which is called
  the Ordnung, are quite strict and must be obeyed
  by all.
• These rules cover most aspects of day-to-day
  living.
• Those who do not follow the rules, and will not
  repent for having done so, can be
  excommunicated/shunned from the church/community.

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These rules include

• No powerline electricity
• Limiting the use of phones
• Not owning or using motor vehicles
• Wearing a specific style of dress
• Not buying insurance
• Not receiving any form of government welfare
• Not serving in the military
• Marrying partners from within their own community
• Only being schooled up until Year 8
• Using corporal punishment to discipline children
• Practising manual labour, mostly in rural chores

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Amish forms of transportation
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The clash of cultures between the Amish and the
outside world can make for some unusual
observations.
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The Amish have learned how to get by without
technology very effectively
An Amish sewing machine
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An Amish farmer at work
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The Amish in popular culture

• Several films, TV programs, books, plays and
  songs have revolved around Amish themes.
• Perhaps the most commonly known of these is the
  film Witness, which will be the focus of our film
  study this term.
• It is about a police investigation into a murder
  which an Amish boy witnessed, and the clash of
  cultures which ensues between the detective and
  the boys community.
• The film won an Oscar for its screenplay in 1985.

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Other films

• Another movie based in an Amish community is For
  Richer or Poorer, starring Tim Allen and Kirstie
  Alley.
• It is a comedy about a rich city couple who hide
  out amongst an Amish community after being
  caught by the government cheating on their taxes.
• They unsurprisingly struggle with the adjustments
  that this more simple life requires.

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Amish in the City

• In 2004, a reality TV show called Amish in the
  City was produced.
• In this show, five Amish teenagers were placed in
  a house with six mainstream American teens, and
  their lives were filmed.
• This played on the traditional Amish phase of
  Rumspringa (which means running around), which
  allows certain short-term freedoms to Amish
  teens.
• This period precedes the time when young Amish
  people must decide whether or not they wish to
  join the Amish church (Amish people are generally
  not baptised until the age of 18).

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Devils Playground

• In 2002, a documentary called Devils Playground
  was made.
• It was about Amish teenagers going through their
  phase of Rumspringa, and focussed on their
  experiences in sampling the English (non-Amish)
  world, which is referred to as the devils
  playground.
• In the film, many of the teens drive cars, get
  jobs, have romantic/sexual relationships, and
  experiment with alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
• Most of the teens return to their community,
  although one girl is later shunned after
  leaving the church.

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Amish Paradise

• Weird Al Yankovic released a song in 1996
  called Amish Paradise, which was a parody of the
  rap hit Gangstas Paradise.
• In the song, the narrator praises his plain,
  uncomplicated existence.
• As you will come to see, some of the scenes in
  the music video are references to the movie
  Witness.

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Tragedy in 2006

• An Amish community made world headlines recently
  when a shooting took place in its one-classroom
  school.
• It rocked the community of Nickel Mines in
  Pennsylvania to its core.
• During the incident, the shooter (Charles Roberts
  IV, pictured right) took the students and their
  teacher hostage before killing five young girls
  and then himself.

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Forgiveness.

• Following the shooting, the Amish community
  shocked many by immediately and notably
  expressing forgiveness for the killer, who
  himself was married and had three young children.
• To many, it perfectly encapsulated the gentle
  nature of the Amish people, and their willingness
  to carry out Gods will.

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Quotes from the community

• We must not think evil of this man.
• He had a mother and a wife and a soul and now
  he's standing before a just God.
• I don't think there's anybody here that wants to
  do anything but forgive and not only reach out to
  those who have suffered a loss in that way but to
  reach out to the family of the man who committed
  these acts.

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Further acts of forgiveness

• A Roberts family spokesman said an Amish
  neighbour comforted the Roberts family just hours
  after the shooting and extended forgiveness to
  them.
• Amish community members visited and comforted
  Robertss widow, parents, and parents-in-law. One
  Amish man held Robertss sobbing father in his
  arms, reportedly for as long as an hour, to
  comfort him.
• The Amish have also set up a charitable fund for
  the family of the shooter.
• About 30 members of the Amish community attended
  Robertss funeral, and Marie Roberts, the widow
  of the killer, was one of the few outsiders
  invited to the funeral of one of the victims.

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A private people unwillingly thrust into the
worlds spotlight

• Here is a video which contains images of the
  events that occurred on the day of, and the days
  that followed, the shooting.
• The community has since demolished the school and
  built a new one, which was deliberately and
  decidedly different to the original.
• It was renamed the New Hope School.