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Founded in Europe in 1693 by a small group of Christians, the Amish community faced fierce persecution and everyone had fled to the United States by 1860. Living in separate communities, the Amish are without electricity and contact with the outside world - until you are 16 that is and you reach the period of rumspringa (running around) when teenagers can explore a world beyond that of their community. It is a period of indeterminate length in which they have to decide whether they want to join the Amish church, a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Those who later leave the church face excommunication. 4 teenagers (2 male, 2 female) taking part in rumspringa discuss what it means to be Amish and why they have chosen to stay or leave the church. Its a problematic time for many youths, most noticeably played out in the story of Faron who begins trafficking drugs. This revealing documentary presents a fascinating insight into a sector of the American community undergoing an often traumatic period of decision making.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
318359
Languages
English
English
Audience classification
M (15+)
Subject categories
Documentary → Documentary films - United States
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Amish
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Religions
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Teenagers
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Conduct of life
Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers - Family relationships
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Choice (Psychology) in adolescence
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenagers
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenagers - Conduct of life
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
DVD; Access Print (Section 1)