In 2012, MTV’s Buckwild founded a genre that could one day be referred to as “degenerate porn,” wherein an isolated group of nine teenagers from West Virginia act crazy on a regular basis, refute the role of adulthood and avoid responsibility at all costs. As per usual, this MTV-produced show was 98% scripted, thus – much like Jersey Shore – the wildness referred to in the title resulted in few consequences or repercussions.
If Buckwild was the scraping of the bottom of the reality television barrel then TLC’s Breaking Amish is the destruction of the barrel and vicious tilling of the soil underneath. Much like Buckwild’s ostensible exploration of an unfamiliar subset of American culture, Breaking Amish exploits the Amish as fodder for our apparent amusement, shuttling four Amish to New York City and tempting them with the frenzied bombardment of Manhattanite culture.
The concerns kindled here are aplenty.
If we assume that these Amish are in fact as innocent as they portend to be, then moving them from virtual nothingness in the way of technology and modern stimulation into the hectic daily life of New York City is bound to be overwhelming, causing tears and confusion. Of course, this is exploitation at its best. However, the jettisoning from one extreme to the other also assumes that the world directly outside of Amish country is New York City, a place that eats the bravest and toughest skinned of people to begin with. It is a beautiful, culture-rich, ever-changing metropolis, but is one that can be unforgiving to those unfamiliar with it.
In a sense, the reality show itself is offering a very minimal glimpse of reality for the Amish participants and the majority of series fans. Therefore, the show is double deceptive. It is at once portending to offer a glimpse of reality for the Amish as well as fabricating a harshly contrasting reality for the viewers.
Something else to consider here is the payoff. The series’ agenda is to shuttle the inexperienced to the big city, but the question posed from the very beginning is whether or not the participant will choose to leave the Amish way of life or remain in NYC. What exactly does inundating the Amish with constant stimulation, tattoos, alcohol, sex, and – most of all – attention do for them? As TLC fits the bill for most of the experiences and negates the need to find a job, make a living, or search for an apartment, how much reality are the participants actually experiencing?
How much are they actually being prepared for, and how much could this possibly inform their life-altering decision? – assuming that their initial decision to take a break from the Amish life doesn’t already result in their infinite shunning. Much like the fabrication found in reality-dating shows – The Bachelor and The Bachelorette in particular – the Amish are omitted from the requirement of daily life, whether it be the grind of New York City, or surviving in a smaller urban or semi-rural area. In other words, being transported to New York fails to make the Amish a New Yorker any more than it teaches them, gradually, how to survive outside of their comfort zone.