Derailing the ‘Amish Mafia’
Time for a show of hands. Who has heard of “Amish Mafia?”
Anyone? A few of you, maybe?
OK, here’s the scoop. “Amish Mafia” is yet another “reality” television series – and we use the quotation marks around “reality” deliberately – that has taken root in the thicket of cable television that also includes the likes of “Party Down South,” “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” and, lest we forget, “Dating Naked.” It’s been produced since 2012 under the imprimatur of the Discovery Channel, which once had high-minded aspirations to focus on science and technology. Well, so much for that. It’s now the home of “I Escaped Jaws 2” and, why should this surprise anyone, “Naked and Afraid.”
“Amish Mafia” focuses on a group of young men who, theoretically, provide protection to the Amish community in the Lancaster region. Episodes so far have dealt with illegal buggy races, fake Amish goods being peddled and assorted feuds and rivalries. The protagonists being Amish, have remained clothed throughout.
Rather than allowing it the obscurity it would otherwise enjoy, Gov. Tom Corbett and other politicians around the commonwealth have called for the show to be canceled, saying it is religiously bigoted and that “Amish Mafia” suggests “a peaceful people devoted to nonviolence are vengeful, violent and criminal.”
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. A couple of years ago, West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin launched a crusade demanding that MTV cancel the reality TV series “Buckwild,” which followed the exploits of a group of half-witted young adults in the Charleston, W.Va., area. It eventually did end, but only because one of its central figures died in a freak accident.
Then, of course, “The Godfather” was pilloried by some Italian-American groups four decades ago on its way to busting box office records and becoming one of the most highly esteemed of American films.
There’s a better way to beat “Amish Mafia” and its “reality” brethren – change the channel. Or, even better, turn off the set.