Amish and Freire

The Devil’s Playground is such a scandalous movie for us “English” when we first watch the film because we are bombarded with images of the Amish that are not characteristically associated with their culture. We see Amish girls and boys drinking and driving cars and the only way that we, the “English,” can tell that they are Amish is because the girls are wearing the traditional Amish clothing. Mixing the concept that all Amish are pure with the behavior that is quite far from it is a difficult issue for many people to grasp. The Devil’s Playground is all about the Amish rumspringa, an event that many “English” people are not aware takes place. The Amish rumspringa and the purpose behind the rumspringa would make Paulo Freire, author of “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” ecstatic. The ideas of the rumspringa and Freire seem to have a great deal in common. Just as Freire wanted students to be involved in freethinking learning, the Amish allow their children to ...