Cultural Perception 2: The Amish

 It is not bewildering that the Amish would be single storied, due to their secluded nature. Because they live private lives of peace and simplicity, many people do not have much exposure to knowledge about the Amish people. This is not the problem in itself. Rather, the issue comes when the media dives in and preys on the “mystery” of the Amish for their own profit.

Lately, there has been a visible influx of television shows directed towards using the unfamiliar Amish for their own exploitation. Some networks in the media are disgracefully “single-storying” the Amish as a shadowy, repressive, dogmatic culture whose communities hold a frightening complexity beneath their seemingly simple way of living. There has got to be more than meets the eye, the media tells us. Never mind that the circumstances portrayed are edited, sensationalized or simply fabricated. These people are different from the rest of us, and you must fear them. See them as oddities, see them as misguided, see them as anything but relatable, because you will keep watching if you feel curiously magnetized to the story we’re spinning.

The media is filling the minds of their audience with inaccuracy for the sake of entertainment and ultimately, profit. I wonder what viewers perceive of the Amish if the majority of their knowledge comes from these highly exaggerated shows. Do they think they understand what it’s like to be Amish? Will they consider that the Amish can enjoy their lives just as much as everyone else? Can they fathom why the large majority of Amish youth choose to return to the community after going away on their Rumspringa? Could it be that they continue to live as they do because, perhaps, they feel a loyal devotion to their religion and each other? I don’t know, maybe that might seem far-fetched.