My wife is big on documentaries, and she found one of the most fascinating ones recently on NetFlix, The Devil’s Playground. It documents a facet of Amish life rarely seen. Most people know that the Amish community use little of modern technology, wear old fashion clothes and are devote, peaceable Christians. What has never been explored is the right of passage all Amsh children go through at the age of sixteen called Rumspringa. During this time Amish teenagers are free to explore the modern world, wearing modern clothes, listening to CD’s, playing video games, driving cars, smoking and drinking, so that when the time comes to chose the Amish life they do so willingly having experienced both sides of the coin and are making an educated choice.
Though it follows several teenagers as they struggle with their decision, the main focus is on Faron Yoder and Emma Miller as he fights a horrendous heroin addiction and they come to terms about their feelings for each other and what it means to join the Amish church. Along the way you meet some who have joined the church and given up the modern world, and one young woman who is ostracized for having joined the church and then renounced it, an unheard of concept for the Amish.
While a fascinating exploration of a lifestyle that is alien to most people the one thing that comes through is that regardless of upbringing, a teenager’s life is pretty much the same, full of disappointment, heartache, and indecision on the direction you want your life to take.
