Is there anyone else whos opinion of the Amish was changed by this story

The Amish are easy to misunderstand if your view is limited to this film and Witness. When dairies were required to refrigerate milk, some Amish dairy farmers quit supplying milk to commercial processors. Others were permitted generators, a few were allowed to connect dairy barns, but not homes, to electric utility lines.

As more Amish have adopted non-farm occupations, the rules have often adapted to allow electricity and even telephones in Amish businesses. They don't drive, but some own trucks with non-Amish employees to drive them. Amish generally run labor intensive occupations like cabinetry, carpentry and construction.

I'm not sure what you mean about "casting your children out if they choose to live differently." The Amish do not accept children into their faith, only adults. They expect their young people - late teens and early twenties - to taste a bit of the world around them. This period of rebellion may only extend to some worldly clothes, smoking, drinking, etc.; but there was an Amish cocaine distribution ring in SE Pennsylvania a few years ago that really shocked their community and their neighbors. After this period, some choose to leave, most make the commitment to join the church. Like many denominations, a member who chooses not to live according to their teachings can be expelled. It's not like they're leaving inconvenient children by the roadside like a sack of unwanted kittens.

Even before I read this book and watched this movie, I was very intrigued by the idea of the Amish; they almost seemed eerie to me. I almost thought of them like you'd think of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, like they were an interesting phenomenon that I couldn't quite believe actually existed. This book/movie has not only satisfied my curiosity, but helped me see them as real people. I'm a Latter-Day Saint, and I found many of their values as portrayed in Plain Truth to be in harmony with my own. As for casting out their own family members if they transgress as Aaron did, the story made it clear that this is not necessarily endorsed by the Amish church. Aaron was meant to be portrayed as the extremist character who took his beliefs too far, while the bishop himself was willing to make exceptions for the greater good.

According to Matt Barr's tests, I am Hermione, Lisa Simpson, Miss Piggy, and 32.5% geeky.

If you are interested in the Amish I recommend you watch "The Devil's Playground", it is a documentary. Like any documentaries it has been edited to make a point etc. but is still fairly interesting. It is only about rumspringa and not the life as a whole.

Personally I don't really like any religion, but think the whole "join our religion or you are shunned" and lack of education past 8th grade is borderline child abuse. I seem to remember I expounded on this more on a thread on the other board. Basically, even though they give them that adolescent time to try other things, they are uneducated and unsupported and basically have no chance for a life outside, so it's not really a fair choice and it's a particularly insiduous way of keeping people indoctrinated.