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Written by Hannah Allies
The format is familiar; put British teenagers in a situation where they have to get up before midday and their phones are taken off them and enjoy the inevitable tantrums followed by profound ‘I’ve found myself’ speeches.
However, the first episode of new series Living with the Amish is less strops, (though the girls are considerably unimpressed by the compulsory modest clothing, one of whom is brought to tears by her own prudent reflection) and more of an embrace of the Amish lifestyle. This embrace is perhaps more genuine in some teenagers than others, splitting the show between heart wrenching moments and laughable spectacles. The latter derive mostly at the expense of the quite frankly ridiculous Charlotte, who at the end of the programme weeps thankful tears to her Amish host for helping her learn ‘things she never thought she could do’.
These new skills include cooking, cleaning, and, believe it or not, washing up. Probably to be expected from the girl whose VT flashback to her British life includes her mother painting her nails for her whilst she reclines on a sun lounger and eats a sandwich. She is particularly enthralled by the act of washing dishes, kindly giving viewers step by step instructions – “there’s a separate bowl for getting rid of the bubbles!” - with a look of awe and wonderment in her eyes. It appears that she’s found herself on the wrong programme; Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum would probably be more appropriate for a girl who is incapable of performing the tasks her own society expects of her.
The integrity of the show is saved by James, an unemployed 17 year old who lives alone in Camden, who is so moved by the kindness he experiences and the Amish way of life that he is willing to become subject to a traditional haircut (essentially a pudding bowl cut) as a sign of his respect. His clumsy explanation of this brings tears to the eyes of his host, and to be perfectly honest, I even welled up a little. There seemed to be a real understanding and appreciation between the Amish and their foreign visitors, that goes beyond the patronising ‘I’m doing this because It’s not for long and I’m on TV’ attitude of some of the other teenagers.
Its genuine moments like this that will hopefully be captured throughout the series as the group tour various Amish settlements. Failing that, I’m hoping for more tantrums. Preferably with tears. Lots of tears.
Living with the Amish continues on Thursday, C4, 9pm.
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