Amish in the Media Continued from Pg. 9
With the growing popularity of Amish fiction novels, more and more stories were ripe for filming. Some of the more recent cable TV channel offerings include: PLAIN TRUTH (2004), a Lifetime film inspired by Jodi Picoult’s novel, starred Mariska Hargitay as a big city criminal lawyer who must defend an Amish teenager accused of killing her baby. The case is difficult because the Amish girl maintains she was never pregnant. “When a murder shatters a quiet community, can an outsider uncover what really happened?” Of course, outsiders will always discover the truth. In 2007, a Beverly Lewis novel directed by Michael Landon, Jr. reached TV screens. In SAVING SARAH CAIN, Lisa Pepper’s character is “sweet, successful, slightly self-absorbed and a city girl through and through. But when the untimely death of her sister draws her to Amish Country for the funeral, she makes a discovery that will change her life. She is now the legal guardian to five Amish nieces and nephews!” After the tragic Nickel Mines School shooting, still fresh in all our minds, it was only a matter of time before a movie came along. That would be AMISH GRACE (2010). While it may have been better to never have made a movie about this horror, at least those involved made a sincere effort to handle the incident sensitively, ultimately trying to communicate the power of forgiveness that so caught the attention of the world.
Get "Real" I need to make a short mention here of “reality TV shows.” The idea of taking Amish teenagers and thrusting them into big city life has certainly had its appeal. I actually got a call from a British TV producer wanting me to find several Amish teens to fly over to London. They would then “sensitively” film their reactions to life in the city. The London connection was surely inspired by the AMISH IN THE CITY series of several years ago, and the current National Geographic Channel’s AMISH: OUT OF ORDER, which proclaims “You can take the man out of the Amish community, but you can’t take the Amish out
of him.” (Recently one of the cast members died in a tragic accident which became part of the broadcast.) Soon to come is the TLC series BREAKING AMISH, which will follow these young people “as they decide whether to embrace their lifestyle or follow their dreams outside their communities. Each of these men and women face rejection and criticism from their families as they make the most important decision of their lives.” Of course, finding Amish youth who agree to appear on such shows means they have already decided to leave. As for what this show holds in store, I can only judge from some of the other announced TLC series --- PREACHER LADIES, BRIDES OF NEW JERSEY, and OBESE AND EXPECTING. Now if only they can find an obese, pregnant, New Jersey Amish girl they’ll have their hit!
Based on a True Story I’d like to end with a few words about my favorite Amish-themed film, which sadly has never been commercially released. In 1988, on the heels of WITNESS, NBC presented the two hour made-for-TV movie, A STONING IN FULHAM COUNTY, and, in my book, redeemed themselves for the awful AARON’S WAY. STONING is based on the true story of the death of an Amish baby in Indiana in 1979, retold in a compelling article in Rolling Stone Magazine (February 19, 1981). The movie opens with rowdy non-Amish boys from town who, for fun, drive around throwing stones at Amish buggies at night. The activity is called "clape-ing," coming from a derogatory local term for the Amish --- “clape" for clay ape, a term that probably relates to the Amish being farmers. On this particular night, one of the boys accidentally hits and kills an Amish baby.
The excellent 1988 NBC movie A STONING IN FULHAM COUNTY, sadly not available on DVD, is based on a true incident reported in ROLLING STONE magazine.
homicide, reflecting their "lack of concern or caring about the tolerance of people who are different. Those who are not tolerated have shown the most tolerance of all." Finally, it is the anguish of his little girl that leads Jacob to go to court. But, with reporters and TV cameras everywhere, the boys’ lawyer changes the plea to guilty, knowing the girl can identify his clients, and thus her need to testify is eliminated. In an epilogue, the narrator notes that the boys were fined from $2,000 to $5,000 for their crime, and received sentences of 3-5 years, all of which were suspended. Despite some minor flaws in the depiction of the Amish, this is a compelling and thought-provoking story, made all the more powerful by the fact that it actually happened.
Boys are rounded up that night, but the Amish father, Jacob Shuler (Ron Perlman), chooses not to cooperate with the police. To complicate matters, the only person who actually saw the boys is his other young daughter, and Jacob doesn’t want her questioned by the police, much less put on the witness stand.
As is true with most criminal acts against religious or ethnic minorities, they are often the result of misunderstanding and dehumanizing of others simply because they are different. Over the years the media have highlighted or exaggerated these conflicts in the interest of storytelling, but movies and television have also opened our eyes to the consequences of intolerance in a dramatic way that can be very real to most of us.
The county prosecutor, Jim Sandler (Ken Olin), is a big city lawyer who has moved to the rural Iowa town with his wife (Jill Eikenberry), hoping to start up a new law practice there. He decides to charge the boys with reckless
My "Amish in the Media" series will continue with a further look at Amish in the Movies. Help me keep it going. E-mail Editor@AmishNews.com with fodder for future explorations.
AmishNews.com • July 2012 • Amish Country News • 19