{"id":16215,"date":"2013-02-27T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-27T20:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=16215"},"modified":"2013-03-13T10:15:58","modified_gmt":"2013-03-13T14:15:58","slug":"real-or-fake-amish-mafia-is-bigotry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2013\/real-or-fake-amish-mafia-is-bigotry\/","title":{"rendered":"Real or Fake, ‘Amish Mafia’ Is Bigotry"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em><\/em>Many people overlook the harm caused by the Discovery Channel\u2019s television show Amish Mafia,<\/em> perhaps assuming it\u2019s similar in nature to previous Amish-themed \u201creality\u201d programs \u2014 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\u00a0identity.<\/p>\n

The time for these shows to stop was years ago. But Amish Mafia<\/em> enters new territory. And the difference lies in what\u2019s real and what\u2019s 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\u00a0entertainment.<\/p>\n

With these tragic elements of reality woven into the plot, the show\u2019s actors, speaking in Pennsylvania Dutch and wearing Amish garb, do everything from smash up their enemies\u2019 cars and buggies to provide viewers a glimpse of a \u201ctypical\u201d Amish home with a three-person toilet for when \u201cthe ladies need to go at the same\u00a0time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an episode of the show in which they \u201cspeak out\u201d against claims of the show being fake \u2014 that there is no Amish mafia \u2014 the actors use as evidence the presence of their names in the genealogy book Descendants of Christian Fisher<\/em> (the \u201cFisher book\u201d as it\u2019s 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 \u2014 one that has the audacity to use recent tragic episodes of Amish victimization while making its Amish participants look like\u00a0buffoons.<\/p>\n

More commentaries:<\/p>\n

David George discusses how Amish Mafia<\/em> exploits the Nickel Mines shooting as entertainment:
\n\u2018Amish Mafia\u2019: Amish gone\u00a0wild?<\/a><\/p>\n

Brett Hambright exposes Amish Mafia<\/em> as a fraudulent portrayal of the Amish:
\nIs \u2018Amish Mafia\u2019 real or fake? Lancaster County viewers weigh\u00a0in<\/a><\/p>\n

Michael Shank exposes Amish Mafia<\/em> as a shameful and unrealistic portrayal of the Amish: \u2018Amish Mafia\u2019 is a shameful, unrealistic portrayal of plain\u00a0people<\/a><\/p>\n

David Weaver-Zercher examines the phenomenon of Amish-themed reality television:
\nViewers\u2019 desires vs.\u00a0reality<\/a><\/p>\n

Lisa Miller reviews Amish Mafia<\/em> in the context of what its popularity says about society:
\n\u2018Amish Mafia,\u2019 a real exercise in pop culture\u00a0exploitation<\/a><\/p>\n

David George explores what mistreatment towards the Amish says about larger society:
\n\u2018Amish Mafia\u2019: Is there really such a thing as an Amish\u00a0thug?<\/a><\/p>\n

David George expresses his views on Amish Mafia<\/em> for Lancaster County readers:
\nTreatment of Amish a work of silly\u00a0fiction<\/a><\/p>\n

Donald Kraybill is quoted in this piece, Discovery Channel’s next reality series: “Amish Mafia”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

[Editor’s note: The article above appears here courtesy of\u00a0<\/em> Mennonite World Review, where it was first published on Jan. 24, 2013. The author, David George, is a 1998 graduate of EMU who also <\/em> holds an MBA from Yale University, earned in 2005<\/em>. Under “more commentaries,” two of the commentators are also EMU alumni: Michael Shank, who earned an MA in conflict transformation in 2005, and Donald Kraybill, a 1967 graduate.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people overlook the harm caused by the Discovery Channel\u2019s television show Amish Mafia, perhaps assuming it\u2019s similar in nature to previous Amish-themed \u201creality\u201d programs \u2014 distasteful, but nothing to ... read more about Real or Fake, ‘Amish Mafia’ Is Bigotry<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":16236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5583],"tags":[5757,14789,11658],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-16215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","tag-amish","tag-discovery-channel","tag-nickel-mines"],"yoast_head":"\nReal or Fake, 'Amish Mafia' Is Bigotry - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2013\/real-or-fake-amish-mafia-is-bigotry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Real or Fake, 'Amish Mafia' Is Bigotry - 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