REALITY SHOWS Series puts Amish in Hollywood

The two young Amish women in the series are from Ohio.
By LYNN ELBER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Television is not part of the traditional Amish world. But the Amish are now part of television, like it or not.
"Amish in the City" gives five young adults the chance to explore the big city and discover what life is like outside their Amish communities.
In the first two episodes of the UPN reality series, they hit the beach for sun and fun, visit a mall and cultivate sometimes uneasy relationships with six non-Amish sharing their temporary Hollywood Hills home.
Compared to other fishbowl shows like "Big Brother" or "The Real World," the series is tame, at least in the early going. You won't see drinking, sex or knife-wielding roommates in the two-hour premiere airing 8 p.m. Wednesday.
But there are bikinis: They're scanty and they're worn by the Amish women.
"Oh, my, really?" said Amish cultural historian Joseph Yoder after hearing a description of the program.
Yoder is concerned the series will live down to his expectations and justify the protests he lodged as director of Menno-Hof, an Amish and Mennonite center in Shipshewana, Ind. Other groups and political leaders criticized plans for "Amish in the City."
Matters of concern
"Our concerns were that Hollywood would probably get it wrong with the Amish, and just the whole thing of televising the Amish and putting Amish people on TV," Yoder said. "They don't even believe in this kind of thing; they're trying to stay separated from the world."
But, that's not the case for the two women and three men from Midwestern Amish communities featured on the series, which is billed by its producers as a coming-of-age saga. They include (identified only by first names) Jonas, an Iowa native; Miriam and Ruth, both of Ohio; Mose of Wisconsin and Randy of Indiana, all between 18 and 24.
Members of the Amish sect, concentrated in rural Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio, are known for simple attire and avoiding most technology. But at age 16 they're allowed to break free of their strict code during the period of "rumspringa," a Pennsylvania Dutch term that means "running around," before deciding whether they want to be baptized as adults.
Challenges
The series' intent is not to typecast or offend the Amish, said one producer, Daniel Laikind. He and Steven Cantor produced an acclaimed documentary about Amish teenagers, "Devil's Playground." Laikind, Cantor and Jon Kroll ("Big Brother," "The Amazing Race") are executive producers on the TV show.
For the Amish, exposure to the sights and sounds of urban California life is mostly exhilarating to young people who have lived without electricity and other modern elements.
But, the challenge to their emotional and religious core isn't ignored. After a perilous first attempt at ocean swimming, the already baptized Mose fears for his soul outside the Amish community and seeks solace in the Bible.
"The Amish will survive this. They're a strong Christian community and a few kids going astray and being lured by big money aren't going to ruin them. But it will give a very false perception to viewers," Yoder said.