Mennonite Cinema

Devil's Playground (DVD, 2002) ****
Lucy Walker, Director, Stick Figure Productions, USA

    On the ten year anniversary of Devil’s Playground, aka Rumspringa, I endeavoured to see this Amish-oriented documentary for the first time.  As a Mennonite, I had formerly avoided this film and its marketing imagery as probably catering to the larger American media appetite for scandal, questionable morality and iconoclastism.  I was greatly surprised to find a film that was straightforward, respectful without being overly romantic and that one that dealt with very real issues while allowing the characters to speak for themselves.  Part of the strength of the film comes from the self-confessions of the directors and production team that they had experienced difficulty finding an angle or even an “in” for the making of what had begun as a rather undefined documentary project on Amish teens.  Rather, the team comprised of Lucy Walker, Steven Cantor, Pax Wassermann and Daniel Kern was forced to discover the topic while filming and to allow the characters to emerge of their own accord.  No agenda, positive or negative – was possible in that the team had little control over the subject matter.  According to the production commentary, the project evolved more like a news story than a scripted documentary.

    Devil’s Playground offers two strengths to Anabaptists.  First, it is a greatly informative look into the very real lives of Amish teens and the concept of rumspringa.  Though the Conservative Amish are often careful to separate themselves from their Mennonite and Mennonite-Amish cousins, there is much in this story that is shared between the more liberal and more conservative branches of this culture – even more so as you go back one and two generations for the Mennonites.  Secondly, for those who are able to read the “bonnet code,” an informed Anabaptist will see Mennonite and Amish film footage juxtaposed against each other to form a seamless celebration of a common ethnic and religious heritage.

    Caution – though not overly graphic, Devil’s Playground does include a lot of “shocking” or coarse elements such as language, drug use, drinking, body piercings and implied sexual situations – yet no more than your average HBO or Cinemax film.  On the other hand, issues such as drugs, marriage and tradition that face Amish or Anabaptist teens are presented frankly and openly in a way that many Mennonite and Mennonite-Amish congregations seldom openly admit.  Controversially, Devil’s Playground probably has as much to say about Mennonite teens and probably the youth of Anglo-American Evangelicals in general, as it does about the Amish. 

    Arguably, most Mennonites also share in a delayed adolescence and in a struggle between the tradition of their families and communities and the freedom to lead their own lives and make their own ethical, behavioural and lifestyle choices.  The difference is that rumspringa allows the Conservative Amish (and Hutterite) teens to openly explore these choices and to arrive at a relatively noncoërced decision to join the tradition and church of their extended families.  Though often more assimilated, many Mennonite teens seem to have to address these same issues and decisions in secret, repressing longings, dreams and ideas that their churches and families would not accept.  As a youth from a rural Mennonite community – I might also attest that many of the scenes of alcohol, drugs and sex that are shown in Devil’s Playground are just as present amongst their Mennonite peers, if to a lesser extent.

    As a whole – I strongly recommend Devil’s Playground for viewing – even in an informed church group setting.  Keep an open mind as to the realities exposed and engage the subject matter honestly, being prepared to ask and answer difficult questions.  This film is more than thought provoking.

Originally posted:  12 Oct 2010 Neu Bruderthaler Blog