Many people overlook the harm caused by the Discovery Channel鈥檚 television show Amish Mafia, perhaps assuming it鈥檚 similar in nature to previous Amish-themed 鈥渞eality鈥� programs 鈥� distasteful, but nothing to get worked up about. Or they dismiss it as mostly fake. Or, more sadly, whether Amish or non-Amish, they simply have come to take as given the regular parade of TV shows degrading Amish聽identity.
The time for these shows to stop was years ago. But Amish Mafia enters new territory. And the difference lies in what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 fake. While the show portrays the obviously fake and clownish criminal antics of its Amish and Mennonite actors, it despicably makes use of the real-life Nickel Mines school massacre and recent violent attacks on Amish families by an Ohio cult to supplement the聽entertainment.
With these tragic elements of reality woven into the plot, the show鈥檚 actors, speaking in Pennsylvania Dutch and wearing Amish garb, do everything from smash up their enemies鈥� cars and buggies to provide viewers a glimpse of a 鈥渢ypical鈥� Amish home with a three-person toilet for when 鈥渢he ladies need to go at the same聽time.鈥�
In an episode of the show in which they 鈥渟peak out鈥� against claims of the show being fake 鈥� that there is no Amish mafia 鈥� the actors use as evidence the presence of their names in the genealogy book Descendants of Christian Fisher (the 鈥淔isher book鈥� as it鈥檚 commonly known to many Amish and Mennonites interested in their ancestry). If nothing else, this scene makes clear that the show is a bigoted attack on Amish identity 鈥� one that has the audacity to use recent tragic episodes of Amish victimization while making its Amish participants look like聽buffoons.
More commentaries:
David George discusses how Amish Mafia exploits the Nickel Mines shooting as entertainment:
Brett Hambright exposes Amish Mafia as a fraudulent portrayal of the Amish:
Michael Shank exposes Amish Mafia as a shameful and unrealistic portrayal of the Amish:
David Weaver-Zercher examines the phenomenon of Amish-themed reality television:
Lisa Miller reviews Amish Mafia in the context of what its popularity says about society:
David George explores what mistreatment towards the Amish says about larger society:
David George expresses his views on Amish Mafia for Lancaster County readers:
Donald Kraybill is quoted in this piece,
[Editor’s note: The article above appears here courtesy of聽 Mennonite World Review, where it was first published on Jan. 24, 2013. The author, David George, is a 1998 graduate of 黑料正能量 who also holds an MBA from Yale University, earned in 2005. Under “more commentaries,” two of the commentators are also 黑料正能量 alumni: Michael Shank, who earned an MA in conflict transformation in 2005, and Donald Kraybill, a 1967 graduate.]