Amish in the City Essay

I. Various terms relating to culture are seen in the first episode of “Amish in the City (2004)” directed by Jon Kroll in 2004. One term which is most evident is culture shock. Culture shock can be defined as feeling disoriented, confused, and having feelings of uncertainty when experiencing a culture which greatly differs from one’s own culture. The extremity of culture shock varies between individuals who experience it depending on one’s personality, familiarity with the spoken language, and any previous experiences with a culture different than one’s own. Almost the entire first episode is examples of culture shock. Moses came into the mansion saying that he didn’t recognize or understand many of the things inside the house, and the girls couldn’t believe the view or the pool. Also, the Amish had a more difficult time accepting Reese because he is a homosexual, coming from a culture which strictly condemns homosexuals, Reese in general was part of a culture shock for the Amish. The entire experience of coming into Hollywood, seeing skyscrapers, electricity and nightlife were a huge culture shock for the Amish.

II. Two more terms relating to culture more specifically are material and nonmaterial culture. Material culture is made up of the physical things such as buildings, places of worship, houses, schools, clothing, and other goods that people within a certain culture/society utilize regularly and with norm. Although material culture is defined as physical things/objects, these things begin to represent the symbolism that is behind it, relating to nonmaterial culture. Comparing material culture between the Amish and the English is one of the most important terms for me personally. The Amish don’t believe in technology, and the English utilize technology on a daily basis for most of their lives. Everything from cellphones, tablets, televisions, electric and non- electric cars are a very important part of English culture. On the other hand, the Amish use horses and buggies, don’t use electricity, and wear dark clothing to not attract attention to themselves. In simpler terms, the Amish compared to the English, use (for the most part) only things that they need, with certain exceptions of course. Moses, a 24 year old Amish man has invented many things out of wood because of how much more free time he has and doesn’t get distracted by technology and social media. He came to the house in L.A. with a suitcase full of inventions and wooden toys. The two girls, Miriam and Ruth, don’t wear makeup or jewelry. But when they began talking to and getting familiar with the English, they quickly put on makeup and more revealing attention grabbing clothing just as the English girls.

III. Next is nonmaterial culture, which can be understood as the ways of thinking, beliefs, habits, and ideas that make up a culture. This component of culture is also defined by values, gestures, norms, morals and mores (customs which are considered acceptable behavior, rather than an actual written law); all of these things influence people’s behavior and actions within a certain culture compared to others. Ruth was from a family of 13, the Amish don’t believe in using contraceptives and do believe in having large families. Another big difference is that Americans have a very strong belief in higher education, or at least a high school diploma. In contrast, Moses went to a traditional 8 year Amish school and taught in one as well; compared to the young English people on the show who all mentioned either going to college or getting some type of education or degree. Reese mentioned not knowing what to do next because he very much enjoys night life and knows that it will have to stop if he plans on going to go to a 4 year school.

IV. Another term which is seen in the first episode of “Amish in the City (2004)” is Ethnocentrism, or having a tendency of judging and or viewing “alien” or non-familiar cultures