Kingpin is a 1996 comedy that features Ray Munson (Woody Harrelson) who is a bowler that gets his hand chopped off in a malicious attack by his competitor. He then meets Ishmael (Randy Quaid) who is a young Amish man with a talent for bowling. Throughout the movie Ray is trying to reappear on the bowling radar and uses Ismael to rise to fame. The movie is satirical and doesn't just make us laugh because Ishmael is Amish and is trying to live according to the Amish values but the world of drugs, screens and modernity suck him in to committing sins and straying from who he potentially wants to be.
This movie is an example of why satire should be defended because the Amish culture is something that most people don't understand or quickly dismiss. However, while watching the movie and seeing jokes made about the Amish, the clothing, values of the Amish and their lifestyle are perfectly displayed behind the comedy. Satire can teach us things that we did not know before and brings light to problems such as Amish people and culture not being recognized.
Here is the Kingpin video, https://youtu.be/Ta2vBD-qOwk
I like how you bring to attention the silence of Amish culture, not in regards to whether it's good or bad, just the lack of people talking about it. The satire is good at bringing people's attention to it by bringing humor to the tale.
ReplyDelete