''Devil's Playground'' is a 2002 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Lucy Walker about the experiences of several

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches ...

youths who decide whether to remain in or leave their community and faith during the period known as ''

rumspringa Rumspringa (), also spelled ''Rumschpringe'' or ''Rumshpringa'', is a rite of passage during adolescence, translated from originally Palatine German and other Southwest German dialects to English as "jumping or hopping around", used in some ...

'' ("running around" in

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-sp ...

). The film follows a few Amish teenagers in

LaGrange County, Indiana LaGrange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 40,446. The county seat is LaGrange, Indiana. The county is located in the Northern Indiana region known as Michiana and is about east of South ...

who enter the "English" (non-Amish) world and experience partying, drinking, illegal drugs, and pre-marital sex. Some teens in the film profess that they will eventually become baptized as adults in the Amish community. If they are baptized, then leave the church, they will be

shunned Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rule ...

by family and friends; one girl recounts her experience of this.

Synopsis

According to ''Devil's Playground'', at the age of 16, Amish youth are allowed to depart from many of the Amish rules. The young people sample life outside of the Amish community. Many drive cars, wear modern clothes and cut and style their hair in more fashionable styles, get jobs, have romantic and sexual relationships, and some experiment with drugs. One Amish youth whom the film follows, Faron—a preacher's son—turns to drug dealing to satisfy his habit. Faron is eventually apprehended by the authorities; he aids them in arresting another dealer. Each of the film's subjects faces a variety of challenges and pressures from both the "English World" and the "Amish World" of their families. Some make the commitment to return to their communities, others do not. One girl is baptized but later leaves the Amish church, resulting in her family

shunning Shunning can be the act of social rejection, or emotional distance. In a religious context, shunning is a formal decision by a denomination or a congregation to cease interaction with an individual or a group, and follows a particular set of rule ...

her. According to the documentary, "over 90%" of Amish youth decide to join the church, returning to their communities and families.

Reception

The film won the 2001 Sony/AFI DVCam Fest Documentary Category and overall Grand Prize, the 2001 Sarasota Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary, and a Jury's Special Mention in the Documentary Category in the 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Czech Republic). The film was nominated by jury for Best Documentary for the 2003

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s. After being aired on

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as part of the series ''Cinemax Reel Life'', it was also nominated for three 2002 News and Documentary Emmy Swards: ''Best Documentary'', ''Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Direction'', and ''Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Editing.''

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, a

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, reports that 56% of nine surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.4/10. Dennis Harvey of ''

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'' stated, "To filmmaker Lucy Walker's credit, results transcend their sensational first impression, thanks to empathetic focus on a few select kids going through enormous changes", and summed it up as "engrossing." ''

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'' critic Kenneth Turan called it "one of the best documentaries in the ( Sundance) festival". He wrote that the film deals in a poignant way with ''rumspringa''. "This examination of the life-changing question one teen calls 'to be or not to be Amish' is haunting, provocative and unexpected." ''

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''s Anthony Miele found the film "interesting and informative", but it "alludes to 'document' an entire sub-culture of a particular society, but ..simply follows one troubled youth, Faron."

References

External links

Stick Figure Productions and Devil's Playground website
(Flash) * * * * {{cite web , url=http://www.plainviews.org/AR/c/v2n24/r.html , title=Sarah Masters reviews ''Devil's Playground'' , author=Masters, Sarah , date=January 18, 2006 , work=Plain Views , publisher=Healthcare Chaplaincy, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009041702/http://www.plainviews.org/AR/c/v2n24/r.html, archivedate=2007-10-09, accessdate=2012-10-05
Review
by Heather McIntosh at Documentary Site 2002 films 2002 documentary films American documentary films Amish in popular culture Amish in films Films shot in Florida Films shot in Indiana Films shot in Pennsylvania Films directed by Lucy Walker 2000s English-language films 2000s American films

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References

External links