An Amish in Sochi!

February 7, 2014

Surfing the TV channels in order to find the Sochi Opening Ceremony, I run into an episode of a show called Breaking Amish, channeled by TLC. It is not the first time this show has caught my eye, and I hesitate, should I watch it or not? The show is about young Amish adults who leave their safe and über-traditional Amish homes, to find themselves, lose themselves, carry the burden of being shunned, and above all, entertain us with their bare faces, their dorky behavior, and old-fashioned cloths.

So here I am, sitting on my couch, stranded in Amish La La Land. The young Amish fellow who is portrayed today loves sewing, and confesses that he is hoping for an Amish bride one day to have sex with. He rambles on about the problems between him and his family, their rejection of his serious interest in designing cloths. His nice hands folding cloth, threading needles, pushing the fabric under the weight plate of the sewing machine. It is wonderful to see him work, there is something about the pace, comforting.

The remote in my hand is trembling, it wants to take me somewhere else. I have already decided that there is no Sochi opening to be seen, or maybe later. Cause I found my tormented gay man already, creating beauty with his bare hands and a piece of cloth, the cloud of a rationalized bride hanging over his head, his lips trembling of sorrow for not being heard, not even by ‘real’ film people.