The Clash Between Amish Culture and Modern American...

The Clash Between Amish Culture and Modern American Culture in the Film Witness Witness is a mix of genres; it has romance, action, is part murder/detective story, and is a thriller. The aim of the director, Peter Weir, is to show the clash of cultures between the Amish and the Modern American culture. Peter Weir the director likes to place characters into an unusual situation like in this film he has a Pennsylvanian cop, John Book, having to hide and live in an Amish community. Pennsylvania means brotherly love in Amish. The Amish are a Christian religious group with origins from Europe, in America they are known as The Plain People. The Amish travelled to America for freedom of worship.†¦show more content†¦They stress the importance of the community and helping each other. There is an emphasis on traditional skills and old trades being used. Childrens toys are made by hand from wood. In the barn raising scene we can see how men and boys of all ages take part in the work and the numbers compensate for the lack of modern equipment. Barns are built are built for the couple who are soon to be married in one day, it is also tradition to finish it on the day they start building it. This scene also emphasises on the community spirit by having everybody working, even though the women dont work on building the women do traditional female tasks such as preparing a feast for all of them where they will all eat together. The women also work on the embroidery. All of the womens work is highly valued and the women are very well respected in an Amish community. All of the tasks, such as milking the cows, are done by hand which is very time consuming so they have to get up at a very early time in the morning to start. North America in this film is shown as a violent, corrupt, ruthless, aggressive society, even the police officers are shown as corrupt because theyve made millions from drug trafficking. They all carry guns with them either on them or in their car boots and they dont think twice about using them. At timesShow MoreRelatedWitness by Peter Weir Notes12043 Words   |  49 PagesNOTES ON MODULE B, WITNESS BY PETER WEIR, 1985 Introduction: * Engage in a detailed analysis of a text * Understanding of how the ideas, forms and language of a text interact within the text and may affect those responding to it. * Students will need an understanding of film techniques and of the police drama genre. Important aspects to know: * Visual techniquesenhance understanding of characters * Editing techniquescreate suspense, establish characters, create atmosphere, positionRead MoreWitness: Old Amish Society1474 Words   |  6 Pages#65279; Witness In the 1985 film witness director peter weir explores the sharp cultural conflicts between the old Amish society of western Pennsylvania and the modern American world of crime and violence. The main character, Philadelphia police detective John Book (played by Harrison Ford), is forced into hiding by a group of corrupt fellow officers looking for a little Amish boy (played by Lukas Haas). The boy witnesses a brutal killing and identifies the policemanRead MoreEssay about Peter Weirs Witness1454 Words   |  6 PagesPeter Weirs Witness In the 1985 film witness director Peter Weir explores the sharp cultural conflicts between the old Amish society of western Pennsylvania and the modern American world of crime and violence. The main character, Philadelphia police detective John Book (played by Harrison Ford), is forced into hiding by a group of corrupt fellow officers looking for a little Amish boy (played by Lukas Haas). The boy witnesses a brutal killing and identifies the policeman who did it from a photographRead MoreWitness Analysis3405 Words   |  14 Pages2010 HSC English Standard – Module B ‘Witness’ By Aiman Ahamad ------------------------------------------------- John Book and Rachel Lapp could never have a successful permanent relationship. Do you agree? Relationships may be permanent or temporary. Different relationship will experience obstacles but may receive considerable rewards. There are many factors that can affect the relationship between people like clash of cultures, their inability to conform to alternate societies and the fundamental