Devil's Playground

Rumspringa refers to the Amish rite of passage which begins when an Amish child reaches 16 years of age, and continues until they decide whether or not they want to join or leave the Amish church. It is the subject of Lucy Walker's debut effort as a documentary film maker in "Devil's Playground."

At sixteen, the Amish are permitted to leave the community and explore what they refer to as the "English World" and the adults in the community call the "Devil's Playground." An Amish person is not baptized as a child, but as a young adult, when they are called uponto make one of the most important decisions of their lives.

"Devil's Playground" follows several teens through their experiences during rumspringa, but the main focus is on Faron, the son of an Amish preacher. When he is exposed to the world "outside," he becomes addicted to crank, or crystal meth. He ends up dealing to support his habit, and hooks up with an "English" girlfriend. He acknowledges that he will probably have to say good by to her when he rejoins his community, which from the beginning of his Rumspringa never seems to be in doubt. Faron frequently says that he believes in the Amish church, it's a good religion, and makes two attempts to get off the drugs, knowing he must if he is going to return "home."

It seems a chaotic existence, but also seems related to the Native American vision quest. The difference is that for Amish, they need to find their answers in the wilderness of the soul. They subject themselves most intentionally to temptation and find out about their strength of character on the other side.

In interviews with the teenagers, the documentary shows that partying is never all that is on their minds. These young Amish adults are struggling with what they want to believe, how they want to spend the rest of their lives. The downside to putting off baptism in the Amish church until you are old enough to choose is the tragedy that occurs if you die before you choose the church, because the Amish belief system affirms that anyone not baptized is lost. The Amish teens seem to take this very seriously.