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Suck It, Snooki: Amish Invade NYC In New Reality Show
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 3, 2012
Modified Aug 3, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 3, 2012
Modified Aug 3, 2012
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Did you happen to see some Amish people walking around the city recently, while they were trailed by camera crews? Because now TLC is bringing us, "Breaking Amish," a new reality show about young Amish people leaving their communities and coming into the number one place to give them culture shock, New York City. Unfortunately, it does not involve them running into a chemistry teacher making meth, but there are Times Square tourists who look at the Amish and call them pilgrims—which pisses off one Amish woman!
Here's TLC's descrption:
BREAKING AMISH will shed light on many "firsts" for the cast members. From flying in a plane and wearing jeans to using a cell phone and electricity, the show will highlight their transition into city culture and the basic amenities that come with it. Unlike Rumspringa, these young men and women get serious about the possibility of committing to careers, life, and options for living indefinitely on the outside. But after these new experiences and the opportunity to live out dreams take flight, will they take advantage of New York and carry out their newfound lives while leaving behind the Amish/Mennonite community and their families forever?
There's a part where one woman is confused by an elevator!
However, TV critics pointed out that the Amish are staying in hotel rooms probably paid by producers and one asked at the Television Critics Association tour, "We have already seen at least one show like this. How can you call it a documentary if you actually change the conditions? You’re taking people who would not go to New York normally and taking them out of their normal environment. . . . How is this different than putting them in a ‘Real World’ house, or ‘Jersey Shore?’" A producer insisted it was all real, "All five of them were going to do something. They were going to leave. We provided them with a much safer way to do that."
One of the Amish women on the show told the Huffington Post, "Really all I knew about New York was the fact that it was a city ... I was like, 'Sure, I'll go!' I had no idea it was that big. It was overwhelming." The show's stars are still filming it, so it's unclear whether they decided to go back.
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reality tv
tlc
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breaking amish
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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