amish reality show
 

I wanted to watch the Amish reality show tonight and I just found out that they are not showing it in my area. What pissed me off more is that I live in Central pa, and see Amish almost everyday, but the owner of the local UPN affiliate is worried about "exploitation", HELLO I see the Amish all the time how can I or anyone else in this area exploit them, if anything they should be worried about people in other areas seeing this show and having them exploit the Amish lifestyle by making them a bigger tourist attractions then they already are. What I heard is that "local leaders" are going to view the show and they will decide if it?s ok for me to watch this show. Also I think that some people in this area are worried about offending the Amish, but HELLO if they are true Amish they will not watch the show because they do not own a TV or even have the electric in their house that is needed to run a TV.
Another point I want to make is that the people that are so worried about exploiting the Amish are the same people that have raised the property tax so high that the Amish can no longer afford to own farms in the Lancaster area, these same people have bought up all available farm land and turned it into housing developments, which not only limit the lands available to farm but also creates so much pollution that eventually all the natural streams will be so polluted that farmers will not be able to used this water for irrigation, or their animals. Sorry I am rambling but I am so pissed at the censorship and the double standard that is occurring in this country.

Hi illusion,
While I have no interest in any Reality show, I was concerned also that this would be one of those cheesy exploitations on television.
But I read about it and saw some news people discussing it. This is sort of what they said...
"usually, those who choose to participate in the Amish rumspringa -(where the teens go out and act like every other teen in the US & venture only a few miles from home) .. For "Amish in the City," premiering next Wednesday at 8, five young adults from across the country are transported from their Amish communities to a "Real World"-style apartment in Los Angeles, where they live with six city kids. "
So it sounds like the Amish community that you see where you live, is not going to be seen/featured in this..that the Amish elders and parents are aware and agree with this being shown on television.
Personally, that is what surprises me, that the Amish agreed to this.
But I think it might be a few terribly PC and nervous executives who want to keep it off the air.
It is being shown back to back and I do not think there is a long series of shows planned.

The entire Amish community did not agree/consent to the development of the show. The individual Amish teens who are featured obviously agreed, but this doesn't mean the community necessarily agreed with their decision or with UPN's decision to produce the show in the first place. I'd guess most in the Amish community are not particularly happy about it.

I also have seen reviews over the last few days and, interestingly enough, the consensus (among reviewers) seems to be that it's not nearly as exploitative or poorly done as many had feared. If anything, it sounds like it's the urban teens who come off looking poorly. Nonetheless, it doesn't surprise me that there are boycotts by affiliates in heavily Amish areas. Many in these communities (Amish and non-Amish alike) have expressed concerns about the concept and the high potential for exploitation. I don't necessarily agree with the affiliate's decision not to broadcast, but it doesn't surprise me.

I guess i am just upset because I live in amish country, but the local tv station is not showing it because of fears of exploiting the amish, but the people who live in this area have a greater understanding of the amish then most of the people who will watch the show, and we are more likely to realize that this is not the way the amish community is, and less likly to exploit them. We are not the ones taking photos and video of the amish, we do not drive our cars into the farm land just to see how they live. Also i am surprised that politicans are taking an interest in this becasue as far as i know hte amish do not vote

I really hate to disallusion any of you, but this is a TV show. Even though they call it a Reality show, does not make it real. My sister-in-law works for the casting company that cast the teens to "portray" the amish teens. The selected teens spent 6 weeks living with Amish families in different parts of the country and then returned for the filming here in LA. Like most other Reality shows out there now, this show is simply based on Reality. Sorry.

-Shannon

wow, i was just on the web site and i did not think that they looked amish (ar at least like the amish in pa) and also that they do not "sounds" amish or have the dutch dialect. Your post only further maked me mad that the goverment is trying to protect me from something that is not even real

did anyone watch the show? how was it?

I'm sorry, WatersonFamily, but I find that very difficult to believe. I certainly don't think TV producers are paragons of integrity, but what you're alleging would truly be a new low. It states very clearly on the show's website that the participants grew up in Old Order homes--not that they simply spent 6 weeks w/ Amish families before filming. It is obvious that several, if not all of them were already in some stage of rumspringa well before the show began, but it's also pretty obvious to me that they aren't just actors playing roles. If that were truly the case, don't you think the press would be all over it?

I thought the show was interesting, illusion321. I also have ties to the Lancaster county area so I was really curious to see how the Amish kids would be portrayed. I'd say most of the "city" kids (Nick and Reese, in particular) came off looking pretty stupid and boorish in comparison.

I confess, I watched it. Usually ignore reality TV, but wasn't doing much last night. I liked it. I thought that one of the men (Mose) had a different dialect, but was wondering why the two Amish women had their eyebrows plucked.

Not sure if I'll tune in each week, but it was a satisfactory escape last night (I was tired and had seen the L&O and L&O SVU reruns).