Like reviewer MizBurch, since I live in Amish country, I can't help watching for factual errors in shows like this, because I have noticed them many times. MizBurch and others have pointed out some of these errors in "The Shunning." I saw additional mistakes, which were really elementary stuff someone could have easily checked out:
1. None of the Amish men and boys in the movie had the customary "bowl" haircut; they all had "English"-style short hair! And obviously professional haircuts, at that.
2. No one except an occasional rude tourist would stare at, giggle at, or take photos of an Amish person in the real downtown Lancaster, as portrayed in the movie. In any area where Amish live, such as Lancaster, they are not seen as unusual but as just other, normal neighbors. By the same token, the Amish don't stare at or coldly turn aside anyone who's "English"; they see us as neighbors as we do them.
The Amish I know are among the warmest and friendliest of people. I've seen other shows, such as "Cold Case," that portray them in an unflattering, "outsider"-rejecting light. This just isn't true.
3. Amish men don't wear wedding bands, as prominently photographed in the show. At least they got the beards right, I think, though they did look pasted on, with those "English" haircuts on the sides and back of their heads. I didn't see any unmarried men with beards, which would have been another huge mistake.
When mistakes like these and others start piling up, it takes the credibility out of the show. The plot certainly had its failings, and these errors just dragged it down further.
1. None of the Amish men and boys in the movie had the customary "bowl" haircut; they all had "English"-style short hair! And obviously professional haircuts, at that.
2. No one except an occasional rude tourist would stare at, giggle at, or take photos of an Amish person in the real downtown Lancaster, as portrayed in the movie. In any area where Amish live, such as Lancaster, they are not seen as unusual but as just other, normal neighbors. By the same token, the Amish don't stare at or coldly turn aside anyone who's "English"; they see us as neighbors as we do them.
The Amish I know are among the warmest and friendliest of people. I've seen other shows, such as "Cold Case," that portray them in an unflattering, "outsider"-rejecting light. This just isn't true.
3. Amish men don't wear wedding bands, as prominently photographed in the show. At least they got the beards right, I think, though they did look pasted on, with those "English" haircuts on the sides and back of their heads. I didn't see any unmarried men with beards, which would have been another huge mistake.
When mistakes like these and others start piling up, it takes the credibility out of the show. The plot certainly had its failings, and these errors just dragged it down further.