Well, seeing as there won't be any more assigned documentaries for a week I thought that this was a pretty good one to go out on. I have to say that my favorite part of this documentary was just the insight it gave me on Amish culture. While I was already somewhat vaguely aware of a few of the things shown in this film such as rumspringa and that the community ultimately decides what forms of technologies were allowed, I had never really looked into them that much, mainly because such information was a found as a small part of a different project. While learning that Amish are surprisingly more modern than everybody gives them credit for was a bit new, what surprised me the most though was just the huge emphasis that the Amish had on the community. I mean, I was just astonished to see volumes of books dedicated to showing who lives where in Amish communities all over the country with a detail of all of their family members and everything, not to mention that apparently hundreds of teens from all over the country would show up at just one party. I suppose it makes the shunning when someone leaves the church after baptism all the sadder.
I had much the same reaction to some of the traditions and aspects of the Amish that I hadn't realized before. I thought that their communities would be pretty close-knit, but the directory of all the Amish families in the country completely blew my mind. The enormous parties that they have completely floored me. Imagine having parties that people cross states to come to! It's incredible how close the Amish are to each other and it must be unbearable to have to eschew someone who's been like family to you if they reject the church.
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