Airdate: Meet the Amish
SBS begins a four-part series following five Amish teenagers from America as they travel to Britain.
- Published by David Knox
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SBS begins a four-part series, Meet the Amish, following five Amish teenagers from the American mid-west as they travel to Britain on a cultural exchange.
The five Amish teenagers – Jerry, Andrew, Leah, Becky and Leon – bid an emotional farewell to their loved ones, as they leave their closed community for the very first time.
The Amish live strictly sheltered lives based on their belief that living simply brings them closer to God. Their community has its own language and rules, there are no cars or electricity, and no-one drinks or smokes. Despite their strict lifestyle, Amish parents often allow their teenage children to experience the outside world, through a rite of passage called ‘Rumspringa’.
The first challenge for the youngsters is getting to the UK as they experience travelling on an aeroplane for the first time. Over four weeks they will stay with four very different British families and it’s a baptism of fire to begin as they findthemselves in the concrete jungle of London.
Their London teenage hosts are street dancers, an art form that’s completely alien to them. The Amish come from spacious homes in safe communities. The documentary follows the five to see how they will cope with the noisy, bustling streets of London.
Wednesday, 5 September at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.
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5 Responses
watching this right now, before it started there was an ad saying boardwalk empire starts september 29th 9:30pm on SBS one.
I think this will be fascinating viewing.My only problem is that The Bridge is on at the same time on SBS TWO.As I don’t have any other way of viewing these shows,I hope there will be a repeat of one of them at some point.
NatGeo showed this in Aussie in 2011 btw. @Nicks..I too wondered why Amish would actually accept being on this show. However, apart from that concern, I think this could be fascinating television from a culturally anthropological view. The show is two years old btw (or, rather, it was screened two years ago in the UK).
I think watching young teens paint for the first time..or move to music for the first time…would be bitter-sweet and also a real privilege of a sort. If the audience can suspend personal views on religion (where those exist) and embrace how these young people feel and how they express that at the end of the ep…. it will be a treat.
Thanks David. Just put it in the PVR.
It reminds me of the series ‘Amish in the City’ which was on Foxtel about 7 or 8 years ago.
I don’t know what to make of this one…could be kinda sociologically insightful and amusing…or,what I fear,just plain bad.You’d wonder how amish these Amish are to agree to making the show.I’ll watch..first episode anyhow.Seems that Sbs are shaking things up a bit..maybe something will take hold,and their ratings take a bump.Even though i’m a big Sbs and 2 movie fan,often wondered why they programmed them against each other..now at least on Sunday night it’s movie against doc.