In a secluded schoolyard deep within the heart of the Appalachian countryside, Amish schoolchildren have grown accustomed to running for cover at the sight of approaching tourists. Characterizing the view of the majority of the Amish community, the children desire nothing more from the outside world than to be left alone.
As the United Paramount Network, or UPN, prepares for a reality show focusing on the religious sect, interest about the simplistic people and their traditional colonial lifestyle remains high, as does speculation and condemnation of the project.
Network officials for Viacom, which owns both CBS and UPN, recently began searching for Amish youth willing to be filmed while experiencing conveniences in a modern American metropolis.
This past Sunday, several individuals representing themselves as members of the production crew attended Amish religious services in Holmes County, Ohio, according to The Budget, the international Amish newspaper published in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
To have people who don't have television walk down Rodeo Drive and be freaked out by what they see
I think that will be interesting television CBS chairman Leslie Moonves told the Associated Press.
Directly following the UPN announcement, different reactions spread throughout the nation.
The concept I find to be spurious at best when a producer would try to organize that sort of production. It's highly artificial highly suspect in terms of reality
said Paul Miller, executive director of the Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center.
Spearheading efforts to dismantle the concept before production begins, Dee Davis, president of the Center for Rural Strategies, has battled against corporate television in the past. When CBS attempted a similar project entitled The Real Beverly Hillbillies
in which an Appalachian family was to be transplanted to Hollywood, outcry fueled by Davis' organization halted plans.
It would be great if we could get more from the networks than programs that make fun of people because they have a different value system. For Viacom to make its money by tempting rural kids from their religion seems like that's crossing the line of good faith
Davis said.
Although UPN wrote in a news release that the producers intend to treat the Amish
their beliefs and their heritage with the utmost respect and decency
intense speculation exists within the Amish community of Holmes County, Ohio.
This is something we absolutely do not want to be involved with. It is disgusting to think that they want to come in and take advantage of us and make us look like a bunch of simpletons
said a New Order bishop from Holmes County, who wished to remain anonymous because of religious reasons. We don't ask for that kind of publicity. Let us live our lives and not be confronted in anything like this.
The producers of the show, tentatively slated as Amish in the City
wish to capitalize on what is commonly referred to as rumspringa, Pennsylvania Dutch for the running around years. Upon reaching the age of 15, Amish youth are permitted greater freedom in their decisions before joining the church.
Carrie Smith, a Geauga county native who grew up in an Amish community, said although districts vary, UPN likely will have trouble finding Amish youth willing to leave home in accordance with rumspringa.
It happens pretty regularly that Amish parents let the reins loose because they're afraid their children may decide not to join the church - but it's not a formal procedure. It can get pretty bad - a lot of kids smoke
drink and do a lot of the more serious drugs
