Documentary Film The Devil's Playground

Lucy Walker's documentary "Devil's Playground" provides insight and understanding into the normally sequestered religious community of the Amish. Walker follows a group of Amish teens as they engage in a religious rite of passage known as "rumspringa" (Walker 2002). Amish children are not baptized at birth. Instead, they are baptized and commit themselves to the Amish community when, after freely indulging in the "English" world or "devil's playground" of mainstream American culture, they decide whether they wish to return "home" (Walker 2002). Through following these teens during "rumspringa," which has no time limit, Walker demonstrates that the Amish clearly define themselves through their relationship with popular culture.

Rumspringa begins when Amish boys and girls turn sixteen. From that time on until they decided whether they want to return back to the Amish community, they are permitted into mainstream culture and allowed to indulge in its temptations. The Amish permit this interaction between their adolescents and mainstream culture because they believe that proper upbringing will lead most teen

Related Essays

The Gothic in Film .... Finally, as the director of the documentary, Heather should have .... he rejects being converted by the devil, he returns .... In both the film and the story, the forest .... (2418 10 )

Pseudo News Shows .... Nearly all television news coverage was on film and had .... This program was a documentary report that was all .... of this special, hosted by Geraldo, was devil worship .... (6573 26 )

Pseudo-News of Television .... Nearly all television news coverage was on film and had .... This program was a documentary report that was all .... of this special, hosted by Geraldo, was devil worship .... (6573 26 )

Category: Film - D