Breaking Amish

[Maude]

Anyone else watching this? (It's on TLC) If this isn't a total sham, they've got to be New Order Amish because even your typical Old Order Amish wouldn't agree to be on camera (the one young man's family was shown).

 

ETA: The one young woman is a Conservative Mennonite.

[caito]

:-O

RECORD RECORD RECORD

I'm a sucker for Amish stuff.

[ceg045]

I'll be watching! Hopefully it'll be rerunning while I'm at the gym in the evenings, as I don't have cable in my house.

[bellicosebroad]

Anyone else watching this? (It's on TLC) If this isn't a total sham, they've got to be New Order Amish because even your typical Old Order Amish wouldn't agree to be on camera (the one young man's family was shown).

ETA: The one young woman is a Conservative Mennonite.

Had the same thought. How can they be on camera if they're Amish? Maybe the "breaking" kids, since they're outta there anyway, but everyone else?

[tropaka]

well, their dress is conservative, but the girls all have their eyebrows plucked. One of the guys also said "pissed off".

One girl with a DUI?

This kind of looks like Amish gone wild!

[Jana814]

I am watching it now DVRing the west coast feed so I will watch the beginning tomorrow. But from what I have seen very interesting.

[Rowan]

It was interesting.

It seems though that this opportunity was presented to several groups and these five who had possibly considered before jumped at it. It is interesting that of the five, three have very atypical backgrounds (two adopted, one a daughter of a single mom).

I was also confused that leaving = shunning. I thought that if they weren't baptized, they aren't shunned. Wouldn't this be a Rumspringa of sorts?

[Maude]

It was interesting.

It seems though that this opportunity was presented to several groups and these five who had possibly considered before jumped at it. It is interesting that of the five, three have very atypical backgrounds (two adopted, one a daughter of a single mom).

I was also confused that leaving = shunning. I thought that if they weren't baptized, they aren't shunned. Wouldn't this be a Rumspringa of sorts?

I think each district has their own set of rules regarding this kind of thing, so it could just be that. It could also be the reason why some of the family members agreed to be on camera.

[homeschoolmomma1]

I heard a few people comment on the TLC wall on Facebook it seemed really scripted and they were just going to watch Amish: Out of Order when it came back on Natgeo channel

Thought this comment was interesting

Melissa Gleaton my first thought was, "gee, why is this so harsh? Don't they believe in rumspringa?" But then one of them said, "I have this OPPORTUNITY" it made me realize that TLC has just baited them. Not sure how I feel about that.

and this one

Christian Iams Too bad Jeremiah has been "English" for over 10 years and has 3 children with different girls......oh and another shocker he has driven for over 10 years as well. Also, REAL AMISH wouldn't be filmed!!!! I used to like TLC till I see this tameness!

if this wasn't late I would research it

[Mango]

I've got it DVRing, but I really like the music from the commercials comment> I liked the NatGeo one, but this seems a bit odd.

[silverspoons]

I'm DVRing, Great food truck race vs Amish vs RHONJ on at the same time!

I remember liking Amish in the City(it was groundbreaking to me at the time when real world was the show at the time I cant believe it has been almost 10 years!) and Moses Gingrich came from that show.

I hope TLC has even if they script it a little keep sthe facts right.

[Buzzard]

I thought it was awful. It seemed incredibly scripted and the kids, with the exception of one girl, are not likeable. It definitely is clear that TLC put signs up in various communities looking to spring some of these kids who seem to have a few things in common... they all seem to be on the outskirts of their particular communities. 2 are adopted, one was born to a single mother. They all seem to resent the Amish and their ways, which indicates that they've had a lot of outside exposure (like getting a DUI and ordering magazines...)

This isnt Amish in the City, this isnt Amish:out of order, this is a set up. It gets one more episode then I'm out.

[trplaxle]

I've got it DVRing, but I really like the music from the commercials comment> I liked the NatGeo one, but this seems a bit odd.

Off Topic, but anyway, the music is called Carry On, by Fun. Great song.

[JenniferJuniper]

This isnt Amish in the City, this isnt Amish:out of order, this is a set up. It gets one more episode then I'm out.

I'm not even going to give it another episode.

It looks like its going to be a "Real World - Amish Style!" piece of crap. For the most part, it seems as though the kids were already outcasts and TLC just baited them with the trip to NYC and cash. The editing seemed off as well, as though some major scripting and splicing was going on.

[singsingsing]

Yeah, I wasn't all that impressed. It seemed very scripted and at times nonsensical to me. Maybe people who know literally nothing about the Amish will be taken in by this, but I think it's b.s. The whole plot seemed to hinge on this idea that these kids are going to be SHUNNED and they will never see their families or be welcome in their communities again. I'm pretty sure the vast majority of Amish will not SHUN you unless you've been baptized. Most Amish don't get baptized till they're at least like 16-25, as far as I know. Have all these kids been baptized? And then the family members who appeared on camera - they're so worried about their family member being shunned, but they're okay with being filmed? It makes no sense. I laughed when the one guy was like, "The Bishop's wife saw me talking to you! I have to get out of here NOW!!" What was she going to do, come back with a gun? The conversation between the one guy and his girlfriend where he spoke in English and his girlfriend replied in German the whole time seemed equally phony. And now, what - we get to watch these people go to New York, party, drink, and have sex? And it's supposed to be entertaining just because they're Amish? I could watch any other reality show and see the same thing... so no thanks.

A really good show about Amish youth having experiences in the 'real' world was 'Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers'. Despite the title I felt it was really fair to the Amish and the English portrayed in the show, and a very interesting look at the culture. You can find it all on youtube.

[SquirrelySquirrel]

These definitely have to be Amish who have already had tons of exposure to English folks. The accents weren't nearly as thick as you usually hear, and the one was cursing and they were all using the word "like" an awful lot. I was excited for another Amish show, but I doubt I'll watch past episode 2. Should've known, coming from stupid TLC. They really need to stop pretending to be the "Learning" channel.

[Mythicwings]

TLC really does need to rename themselves, I gave up on it a long time ago but wanted to give this one a chance - but like was said, these kids were set up, I feel awful for them. They seem desperate somehow, like they know that when they leave they aren't going back, which is weird. Maybe it's like a couple people said, they mostly seem like they feel like outsiders, like they felt dropped into Amish culture. Which is also a VERY weird viewpoint coming from people who supposedly haven't left it except for maybe some rumspringa, reading some magazines, etc. I didn't get the idea that they had left to go anywhere for their rumspringa, but they all seemed so non-Amish. I'm not saying they aren't, they probably almost certainly are, but something's been going on with all of them before this was filmed.

But the main thing, it doesn't matter what these kids' histories are, I'm so pissed at TLC for taking advantage of them, dragging film equipment into the drives and houses I mean come on!!! And then everyone acts all surprised when most of the families aren't cool with that? It just seems like they are being really taken advantage of, that they were in some kind of tenuous situation before with either their rumspringa or whatever but were unhappy, and then TLC dangles money and adventure in a way that has to alienate their families and communities. Bastards! Sorry, it was just upsetting, people who leave communities normally don't even know ow to go about it and this isn't a very um...it's fueling the flames. I'm going to watch it again unless it really does seem REALLY scripted - this Amish guy who is studying at Columbia to be a biologist said the kids were way more melodramatic than Amish kids he'd known.

[marmalade]

I thought it was awful. It seemed incredibly scripted and the kids, with the exception of one girl, are not likeable. It definitely is clear that TLC put signs up in various communities looking to spring some of these kids who seem to have a few things in common... they all seem to be on the outskirts of their particular communities. 2 are adopted, one was born to a single mother. They all seem to resent the Amish and their ways, which indicates that they've had a lot of outside exposure (like getting a DUI and ordering magazines...)

This isnt Amish in the City, this isnt Amish:out of order, this is a set up. It gets one more episode then I'm out.

This wasn't even Rumspringa; all of the participants are in their 20's, so I assume they chose to stay home and were baptized? Even the elder's daughter who was forced to move to Florida (where she got the DUI) when she basically killed the reputation of her family. Looks like she's going to be a live wire.

I was surprised at the cussing. I had no idea they even knew those words; if that was the guy who's been "English" and out in the world already (sorry, I taped it and watched it in the wee hours), it would make sense. Is he from the family who allowed themselves to be taped? That family looked like they have even less fun than the Maxwells, something I didn't think was possible.

[Mythicwings]

This wasn't even Rumspringa; all of the participants are in their 20's, so I assume they chose to stay home and were baptized? Even the elder's daughter who was forced to move to Florida (where she got the DUI) when she basically killed the reputation of her family. Looks like she's going to be a live wire.

I was surprised at the cussing. I had no idea they even knew those words; if that was the guy who's been "English" and out in the world already (sorry, I taped it and watched it in the wee hours), it would make sense. Is he from the family who allowed themselves to be taped? That family looked like they have even less fun than the Maxwells, something I didn't think was possible.

oh I didn't think of that, that they had been baptized and now are making the move to leave. Well if that's the case it at least makes their desperation make sense, especially if it hit them that they don't feel really accepted.

I just hope TLC doesn't purposefully put them in horrible situations just for the entertainment value, while pretending to be just hands-off recording. Like - taking them to NYC and putting them in to what most people may see as just somewhat wild situations, to them may be dangerous just from lack of experience.

[Mela99]

Being from Pennsylvania, I'll watch. I grew up around Amish. I'll be curious to see what they present.

[sissyintexas]

It was disappointing as it was clearly scripted.

[Mythicwings]

They showed the second episode last night and I won't be watching it anymore. It was just the girls being catty and mean behind each others' backs. Yuck! And I thought Katie was nice but then she steals the one's teeth like a prank? Unless the whole thing is fake they are just so mean! Rebeccah is less so, just kind of snarky :lol: she doesn't mind saying stuff to people's faces, not behind their backs. So if it's fake it is completely uninteresting, and if it's not I just don't want to watch mean sniping or budding relationships. This is like Big Brother which apparently a lot of people like, so maybe this show will continue.

[YPestis]

They showed the second episode last night and I won't be watching it anymore. It was just the girls being catty and mean behind each others' backs. Yuck! And I thought Katie was nice but then she steals the one's teeth like a prank? Unless the whole thing is fake they are just so mean! Rebeccah is less so, just kind of snarky :lol: she doesn't mind saying stuff to people's faces, not behind their backs. So if it's fake it is completely uninteresting, and if it's not I just don't want to watch mean sniping or budding relationships. This is like Big Brother which apparently a lot of people like, so maybe this show will continue.

I don't think she was stealing her teeth, she was trying to find out where the other girl hid it. Not very nice either since the girl was obviously hiding it from the cameras on purpose but girls can get catty like that.

I also felt parts of the show is scripted and was surprised some of the family members allowed themselves to be shown on camera. I'm sure these are the more "liberal" Amish groups though as old order Amish would not allow cameras near them.

I think I can understand why each Amish/Mennonite teen decided to rebel so drastically as to participate in a TV show. Two were adopted and never felt like they were Amish. One was the result of an affair affair and she hinted her mother took it out on her growing up. And the one with the DUI seemed to suffer from having to be the perfect "Bishop's daughter". All of these kids grew up feeling out of place and uneasy. I can see their motivation for doing this show. I wouldn't recommend NYC as the first stop though. The culture shock will be immense for them. However, the money they make from the show will hopefully allow each to pursue their dreams after the series ends. In the mean time, I'm going to enjoy the show.....

[moreorlessnu]

On TWOP, there's conversation that the whole show is scripted and these people left their families years before the show started.

I wondered if the Mennonite girl (Sabrina?) was pregnant when this was filmed. When they were walking to the grocery store, you could see a belly through her dress while the rest of her was average weight.

Kate and Sabrina were very comfortable drinking alcohol for two girls who supposedly had never drunk wine before.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm curious as to why someone that young is already wearing a full set of dentures lol. Do some of them end up with bad teeth due to the inbreeding that goes on? I was kind of disappointed, there was never an explanation on the need for the false teeth at 20 years old.