I don’t think it is exclusive to Greek life. I got my undergrad degree at UT Austin which has a massive Greek and party culture. I went and visited one of my best friends at Yale. I stayed in Berkley College and hung out with many of the guys. Those dudes drank like animals and could hang with anyone from Texas.
Also, what I saw with UT sororities in the late 80s/early 90s is not radically different from this trailer. The only difference is there wasn’t social media back then to amplify everything.
You seemingly rhetorically ask isn’t the “damning of the Greek system at UA” what the filmmaker wants. What the filmmaker likely wants is you to watch the film then have an informed opinion.
Pretty odd that people are determined to defend the devaluation of something they haven’t seen. Typically people at least watch something before they reflexively dismiss it.
I have not dismissed it, but any pre-judgement on my part comes from the trailer released by the film makers. Perhaps you and I saw a different version of the trailer. No matter once the full film is released then a more informed discussion can be had.
I am getting my opinion from personal friends who were approached about being on a similar program that was mentioned in this thread and declined the offer. Certainly a bit of projection but I doubt it’s entirely off base.
If my opinions are offensive to you, then my apologies. I find the stereotypes that are promoted by these programs offensive as well. And yes, those stereotypes are obvious in the footage that I saw.
Let’s just agree to disagree. This is not advancing the discussion.
I didn’t call them liars. I called them actors, which they are, because they are acting. I believe in reality TV to the same degree that I believe in Disney cartoons. It’s just a personal viewpoint. If you are fan of reality TV, then let’s just agree to disagree and move on.
I have a good friend who is in TV journalism and she would say that she has a TV personna. In her personal life, she is not exactly like her TV personna. That’s not the same thing as lying. I hope that makes more sense.
I have another good friend who starred in a documentary on Netflix that became very popular. She started doing it with her childhood best friend. Her nephew was the producer. I know (because she told me) that certain scenes were scripted. The two friends reacted to the results of the popularity differently. I don’t think my friend regrets doing it, but her hopes for the program did not come to fruition, unfortunately, and it did change her outlook on life.
I don’t wish any ill will towards the individual participants in any TV show. Hopefully, they get the results they are hoping for.
Pretty definitive views for someone that has seen a 2 minute trailer and refuses to watch the rest. Having not seen it I can’t determine whether or not it is a true documentary or reality TV as you presume.
Also saying someone in an unscripted format is “acting” or not being authentic and accurate in their words is calling them a liar.
Lastly, people who report abuse don’t lack self respect. Perhaps if people weren’t to immediately (without even hearing them out) categorize those sharing their experiences as “actors” more people would have the courage to come forward.
I JUST walked in the door from my sorority reunion. Not an “official” reunion, but 21 friends renting a house together because we all wanted to catch up.
I can’t agree more about there being a difference between BAMA/SEC sororities and those at midwest/northern/small, quirky schools. I’ve found an interesting difference with girls attending BAMA that have posted on the local high schools’ accepted students pages (I follow a few). Usually, it lists the school, and if a kid is also playing a sport, it will list their sports commitment. The girls going to BABA (and only BAMA) will list that they “plan on rushing” like they would a sports commitment.
As we all know kids at SEC schools and see their Insta and other social media there was a lot of discussion about these schools vs. where we went and if it was about the culture of these schools or if times are just different. Everything seems planned for Insta and TikTok. All of the girls in the same outfit, shoes, etc. Not just for rush, but for multiple events throughout the year. It seemed rather sad that so much thought was devoted to how photo worthy everything was rather than enjoying the moment. A quick glance at our alma matter/chapter showed that they are still goofy girls not afraid to post candids of them “being real” unlike the carefully curated images of the SEC sororities.
All I know is that my relationships with these women would definitely not be as strong as they are if we gave any thought to being social media worthy. So I guess you can say part of it is the times, but more certainly it is about how chapters choose to focus their time and energy.
Started as a doc then became a long running series. This new HBO thing actually looks very close to it in genre.
Girls in sororities do wear matching clothes sometimes for certain events, but it wasn’t a difficult thing to do. Usually the matching was color, not brand or even necessarily style. Experiences may vary.
For those of you who have time to waste…the person in the trailer saying ‘top tier chapters are the ones frat boys like’ (or similar) is a fairly well known You Tube influencer who built her channel around greek life at UA and has now graduated. Her name is Gracie O’Connor and you can go to her You Tube page and watch her videos from rush week and freshman year onwards.
Acc to my daughter: the first semester freshman videos of ‘a day in my life at college’ are actually very accurate: classes, big pack pack, eating lunch and studying at the sorority house dressed in leggings and a Bama or sorority tee shirt; more classes; a club meeting; dinner at the house and running to get the bus back across campus to the dorms… Not hugely exciting but a pretty fair reflection of freshman, sorority girl life at UA.
The swaps and frat parties are not filmed however …
Agree on the Insta planning and chapters organise photo opps for members: First Day of Classes, Parents Weekend, Freshman Retreat, etc… we went to visit and people were asking us to join in the Instagramming…!
but as you said, plenty of goofy girls NOT posting however!
Girls arrived early at UT to rush. One girl on my dorm hall was so distraught that she didn’t get into a top sorority that she dropped out before school even started. I couldn’t believe it.
