The Amish's Reaction To The Dominant Culture

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In the movie, Witness, two worlds clash, the Amish and the English. The Amish in this film are living in a world inside the dominant people’s country (the English). The Amish’s reaction to the English shows a great difference in each group's culture. Since the Amish live in the dominant culture’s country, they have to respect the laws. An example would be, the horse and carriage on the road. They follow the rules of the road by stopping at a red light. Another reaction the Amish had was to the stunning modern day society of the dominant culture. Here at the train station the little Amish boy was amazed by a simple water fountain. But when he saw the statue, he was utterly fascinated. On another hand the Amish saw the English as violent men as well. One instance was in the bathroom, where a man was killed and the Amish boy saw everything. Another example was when John “whacked” a black man to see if he was the murder. In conclusion the Amish’s reactions to the dominant culture were to follow their rules, amazed at their modern technology, and …show more content…

The dominant culture gave the Amish respect in circumstances, but also made fun of them. The dominant culture respectfully shared the road together, when the cars slowed down for the horse and carriage. When John had to live among the Amish, he respected their rules of the Amish household by giving the Amish his gun. He also helped build a farmhouse with the Amish. On the other hand the Dominant culture could be quite rude and disrespectful to the Amish. For instances when tourists think they can just take pictures of them and treat them like a zoo animal. Another disrespectful/bullying moment was when the horse and carriage was stopped and a car full of rowdy kids picked on the Amish. One kid put ice cream in the face of an Amish. It was pitiful and terrible. This is how the Dominant culture reacted to the Amish, using respect and

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