Miller: John Book, Amish?

Michael D. Miller

Witness Blog 

John Book, Amish?

            John Book is a police officer in the city of Philadelphia working in what appears to be in a precinct riddled with crime and decay. As a police officer, John Book has to adapt to his crime ridden environment by becoming callous, violent, and aggressive in order to survive. He is also a man who is straight laced, by the book, and tenacious in his criminal investigations. Both his positive and negative attributes are evident in the first act of the film.

            John Book is called upon to investigate the death of a narcotics officer who apparently discovered or was involved at some point in police corruption and decided to no longer be a part of it and reveal what he knows. His is violently murdered in a train station bathroom by two of the corrupt officers. This murder is witnessed by a young Amish boy traveling with his mother on their way to a relative’s home after the death of her husband. 

            John Book soon discovers that the Amish boy, Samuel Lapp, is a viable witness who identifies the killer from a photo in the squad room of the police station. It is at this time that John Book takes on the role of protector. He is compelled to protect both Samuel and his mother, Rachel, and to get them out of harm’s way to safety. The best place to protect them is in the Amish community of Lancaster PA. where they can blend in and any outsiders would be readily identified. 

            John Book is introduced to the Amish community as he heals from a gunshot wound he suffered while saving Rachel and Samuel. There John Book recovers and begins to learn the social mores of the Amish community. John Book again has to adapt to his surroundings in order to protect Rachel and Samuel.

            John Book learns that the Amish community is a far cry from the city that he comes from. The Amish are a very close knit community living a simple life absent of any modern technologies. Book has to learn non-violence, to discard his primal impulses and to live a simple life. All in stark contrast to what he has known much of his life. 

            Book is confronted with a group of young men and women who are accosting the two horse drawn carts of Amish. The Amish display great restraint when one of the young men begins to poke an ice cream cone in the face of Daniel. Daniel does nothing, but it is evident that Daniel is using great resolve to hold back his dislike for the man’s actions. Book on the other hand takes matters into his own hands. Eli informs him that retaliation in the form of violence in not their way. Book states that it is his way and approaches the young man. Daniel tries to deter Book, but to no avail. Book tries to negotiate with the punk, also to no avail, and then proceeds to strike the young man violently, breaking his nose. I personally cheered when Book did this. Regardless of the Amish way, sometimes violence is needed to prevent further violence. Additionally, when the three corrupt cops arrive at Rachel’s home they threaten to kill Rachel and Samuel. In order to save them as well as Eli, Book kills two of the cops and instead of killing the last cop, Schaffer his mentor, he emphatically tells him that that’s enough and takes the gun away from him so that he can face his just punishment. 

            Book also has to learn to subdue his primal desires. Book finds Rachel taking a sponge bath and she allows his to see her topless. Book has had a growing affection for Rachel and it seems that he might take it to the next level by engaging in coitus with her. Book instead turns and walks away. He explains the following morning that, “if they had made love he would have to stay or she would have to leave.” Neither choice would have worked for either of the two of them. Both are entrenched in their separate cultures and had either moved out of their home environment, they would have lost their identity rather than gain a forbidden love.  

            Book has to learn how to live a simple life, one that includes community. In the busy world of Philadelphia, there are many people but they are all isolated from one another. As evidenced by the scene in the police station where the scene depicts all of the detectives doing their own thing, ignoring what each other and what is going on around them. However, the Amish community is close with one another. Their farms might be a greater distance apart but they come together to build a barn for a newly married couple and they come to the rescue of Eli, Rachel, and Samuel at the end when the corrupt cop is trying to kill them. Alarms and cries for help typically go unnoticed in the big city and are deemed a nuisance. 

 

             

Books failure to change is important to understand his character. His is only in the Amish community temporarily. It is not a live changing move for him. He is only there to recover and to ensure the safety of Samuel and Rachel. He has to return to his way of life in Philadelphia and in that environment, that passiveness could get him killed on the job. Book certainly did learn something from his time spent with the Amish. He learned self-restraint, the alternatives to violence, and how to live a simple life of community. However, this will not transcend the boundaries set up in the city. Book was not a bad cop, he was not corrupt, nor was he in any way undesirable. He was a far more upstanding cop than what is perceived as the other cops were. Harrison Ford’s experience in preparing for his role as Book as a police officer is very much like what middle America has experienced. Everything they think they know about law enforcement comes from television and movies. 

Ford was startled by the dangers faced by the police on a daily basis. He admitted, “All I knew about cops was what I had seen on television and in the movies, and suffice to say, it ain’t like that. I held the liberal predispositions against the use of unreasonable force, and I came to understand what the value of “up against the wall” was.  When these guys kicked in the door and went in, it totally disarmed the people who were inside, to the point where they offered no resistance, which is the idea…it was a little scary. In fact it was damned scary!” (Pfeiffer 149)

I am a law enforcement officer and I viewed this film from that prospective. I overheard comments in class about how one hates cops and that Book should abandon his violent ways before he returns to the city, by doing so would somehow make him a better police officer. One must adapt to his surroundings in order to survive. Sometimes when an officer is asking please would you or could you do this or that displays a sign of weakness to the person the officer is speaking with. The criminal minded will certainly take advantage of this perceived weakness. Then the officer has to start over again from an inferior position in order to gain compliance. While I will agree that some officers deal with a wide variety of situations in an aggressive manner, we tend to observe similar behaviors that indicate a person will try to resist arrest. However, there are times where the officer does not have time, due to officer safety or the safety of those around them, to explain or debate the person’s interpretation of the law or how it should be enforced. It seems that with all of the television shows and movies that many Americans believe that they can do the job of a law enforcement officer better than the officer who is standing before them attempting to deal with the situation at hand. I say to them, fill out an application go through the process, complete the training academy, and face a few dangerous situations where you have to fight for your life over something stupid like a traffic ticket or a misdemeanor shoplifting complaint. Have someone shoot at you or show their disgust and contempt for you just because you choose to take a stand in life to help others and make your community a better place than the way you found it. I challenge anyone to give up holidays, miss out on family milestones, and work at all hours day and night to do their best to support their family. I challenge anyone to walk a mile in my or any officer’s shoes. Then and maybe then we can talk about how much you hate cops and what they stand for.