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If I had to put a finger on the reasons why reality television shows about the Amish are so popular at the moment (which is what I’m about to do even though I don’t have to), I figure my answer would be threefold: it’s because Amish people are weird (dress weird, speak a cute language, hate fun, etc), because we like watching people behave in a manner that’s unbecoming to their culture’s mores (thematic in the spate of current programs), and, finally, because the Amish are infamously secretive. They don’t want us to know what they’re up to. So goddammit, we want to know.
One thing the show does well is destroy our illusions about the Amish being weird and therefore interesting. Turns out a bunch of the faithful drive cars, get wasted, dance on tables in the rainbow glow of novelty disco lights. Well, that or the show is stretching the truth. Lancaster County’s DA isn’t necessarily buying it. Asked about rumors that the show is staged, he told MSN, “I have a fairly close relationship with the Amish community here, and there’s nothing coming from them that leads me to believe anything is going on.”
