TVFirstLook
American Colony: Meet the Hutterites (Nat Geo Channel, 10pm) is a documentary series that's squeezed into an unscripted-reality format that is at its best when it avoids reality gimmicks.
American Colony focuses on the King Colony of just a few dozen Hutterites who live off the land in Montana. They observe Hutterite traditions - women, for instance, must wear a head covering and boys must leave school in their teens to work on the farm - but with a healthy dose of modern life thrown in, like cell phones and ATVs.
That's where the potential conflicts come in - the temptations of modern life.
American Colony mostly centers around Claudia, the teenage daughter of Bertha, a community martriarch who follows traditions but also, in the interest of her kids, allows them modern luxuries, like attending public school and texting.
The show is best when it delves into the realities of their lives. Bertha tells a heartbreaking story about the death of her husband. It anchors the entire series once the circumstances of his death, and the impact it has had on the family are revealed.
His death explains in part why Bertha lets Claudia get away with breaking some traditions, like putting on a tiny bit of eye makeup or, briefly, wearing her hair down.
American Colony sometimes plays it too safe by falling back on reality show stunts, like when some members of the colony speak to someone off camera or when artificial tensions are created.
By Hutterite life, and Bertha and Claudia, are so interesting that the show overcomes its flaws.
Good review! Yes, the "staged" scenes were kind of dumb, but the personalities of Bertha and Claudia are great. And the killing of the pig and cattle pregnancy exams really brought home the reality of their lives.
ReplyDeletei love this show i think its a great way to show other poeple that there is a different way of living. i would love to see more of these people. and i dont think they are wrong for sharing who and what they are to the world.
ReplyDeletethis thing is so scripted and staged that it is a joke!
ReplyDeletethey should keep shit to themselves and not spread it all over the world period
DeleteWhat a bunch of idiots!
ReplyDeleteNat geo used to be such a great channel. If they don't watch it they'll be the next history channel. Science channel appears to be the only respectable mainstream documentary channel left. And even they have shit like oddities. Do the networks not understand how pathetic it looks when they stage stupid scripted shows like this. Meet the hutterites is just as bad as ax men, swamp people and all those other shows.
ReplyDeleteLinguistics remark: notice how the older (and/or more traditional) Hutterites speak with a pronounced German accent, whereas the younger ones do not. In fact, in one episode Claudia & her friend Lisa (the homeliest of all the girls shown, she is the only one with a boyfriend!) have to go speak to the community's teacher. Although he is a comparatively young man, he alone refers to their group as "Hooterites." When I lived in Washington state and worked for various farmers there, I remember them referring to"the Hoots" as good farmers, and extremely canny (but honest) buyers and sellers of farm machinery.
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