In the Amish culture, rumspringa, which means “running around,” is a time during adolescence in which behaviors that would typically be shunned, such as leaving one’s community to experience the outside world, are allowed temporarily. Typically after the rumspringa the young Amish teenager can either choose to be baptized in the church or leave their community for good. In a way this period of exploration can be compared to an adolescent’s experiences in our culture here in the U.S. in the way that it allows for more patience on the part of the adults in the community and greater exploration for the child. However, in other ways, such as how the final choice must be made, this experience is very different for Amish youngsters. The adolescent period of life in any culture is one of great change as one is shifting from childhood into adulthood. In both the Amish and American cultures, these teenagers are allowed to explore and potentially push their limits in order to learn how they need and want to conduct themselves in society. However, while the Amish have an actual term coined for this exploration and are willing to knowingly let their children do otherwise taboo things during this time period, American children must do much of their exploration while at the same time trying not to be caught by their parents or the authorities. There’s a bit of adrenaline and excitement surrounding doing something one knows is wrong, such as drinking alcohol before age 21 or even sneaking into an R rated movie. For Amish teenagers, they know their actions are more or less acceptable, albeit very temporary. Perhaps this is why about 90% of Amish teenagers end up staying in their communities and being baptized while many American teenagers continue to sneak around and push boundaries all through their young adulthood. Having something be acceptable takes the rush out of it. Everyone knows you’re doing it, so you might as well do it and then decide what your final decision will be. In the U.S., there isn’t necessarily one way or another that you are forced to choose from. Your parents and society don’t tell you after experimenting, you have to tell us if you’re going to stay part of this society or be shunned. American parents will get angry and give out consequences, but most will not shun their child. Even if the child is shunned from their family, they are not shunned from society. This is a huge difference between the Amish and American ways of dealing with teenage exploration. Later in the film, Fern claims that he feels neither Amish nor English, and is basically stating that after his experiences during rumspringa, he doesn't feel like he belongs in either community. This would be very concerning for a social psychologist because it’s basically a claim that he feels he doesn’t belong anywhere and has no sense of identity. Social psychology focuses on how people are influenced by those around them. Fern saying that he doesn’t identify with anyone is alarming because it is important to feel a sense of purpose in this world and like you belong somewhere. The whole point of rumspringa is to help young Amish realize that they belong in their community and that they way to remain in it and won’t doubt their role later on in life.
By stating that he isn’t rooted in either one, Fern is saying he could go either way. This is problematic as biculturalism, the Amercian psychological ideal, would be extremely difficult and possibly impossible to obtain for the Amish individual. The Amish community is very different from the American in lifestyle, morals, and traditions and they are not an open community willing to welcome globalization and change into their world. They would not accept the social norms in our culture and would definitely not accept someone to be part of both worlds. Rumspringa is the time to choose one or the other, and you have to choose because the Amish church is not flexible in their traditions and the way things must be done is set in stone. If you do not choose and waiver between the two, you are saying goodbye to the Amish lifestyle and society and or thus at risk for marginalism. This has deep implications for one’s identity because if you cannot decide between two societies and are therefore forced to leave one, you must leave behind everything you know and cannot ever go back. You are cut off from your own culture whether you like it or not and you must deal with the repercussions of trying to matriculate into a strange and different society alone without the help of anyone. This isolation is serious and could have very negative effects on one’s psyche.