Notes from Dr. Borkosky

Frats everywhere publicly deny the use of hazing and advertise a safer, less torturous process for pledges, even though everyone knows it’s a bit fishy. A movie about hazing, in essence, writes itself. With these perspectives, we can begin to see that pledging may be rooted, for some members, in the value of weeding out some pledges while preparing those remaining to be effective and productive members in the organization. The picture McMurray paints of fraternities — at least, those he experienced — and the ignorance or complacency of college administrations to the hazing, is a dire one. Zurich is assigned to write a paper on Frederick Douglass, which makes some connections with his hazing-induced suffering and the Black community’s oppressed past. In college, data shows that students participate in various risky behaviors. It’s a powerful climax, but it’s poorly structured for any payoff. We're an independent, student-run newsroom. I teach film students and some of them went through processes where nobody would have a clear answer for why they were doing certain things. Yeah, hazing should not exist. It’s not like Lambda Lambda Phi, the fictional fraternity in the film, appears to be a frat full of humble men based on how they show up in this space. As an independent student newspaper and the paper of record for the city of Berkeley, the Daily Cal has been communicating important updates during this pandemic. One cannot dismiss these perceived positive experiences with respected influencers as simply misplaced feelings.

TV & Film, Entertainment It showed what the guys can get when they graduate and the connections and bonds they'll have. [5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average rating of 63 out of 100, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

More importantly, the older brothers of Lambda Lambda Phi are presented as almost across-the-board horrible and unsympathetic. is one of the leading authorities on fraternity and sorority life. We don’t need a document to wake us up. While.

What about the internal systems like Black fraternities and sororities, which can be also be destructive? Dueling columns: The Michigan Daily vs. Many parts of “Burning Sands” remain unresolved, though not in a philosophically stimulating way. If I watered it down it wouldn't be a real story. For Zurich, his motivation seems to stem from a need to impress his father, a. pledge who “dropped,” and the prodding of the college dean, who nominated him to the chapter. It’s not like Lambda Lambda Phi, the fictional fraternity in the film, appears to be a frat full of humble men based on how they show up in this space. is a doctoral candidate studying the factors that contribute to the development of culture in student groups and effective strategies for cultivating change within student groups. Five young men pledge Lambda Lambda Phi Fraternity at the historically Black institution, Frederick Douglass University. Zurich is asked to weigh in on the Willie Lynch letter. Overall, I want people to be able to challenge things and not just go with it. In and of itself, each activity may be harmless. The truth is that low-key we know who some of the hazers are and don’t break the code of silence. It is even possible that there are chapters that have actually done all of the things seen in the film.

I did struggle with it a little bit, but I thought about it a lot. He talks about freedom, being a free thinker, and that was important to the story. These special connections, which are often not accounted for in the hazing discussion, may be reasons why the underground pledge process continues to exist. I thought some of the stuff trickled down in terms of the pledging process. Then there are others like Zurich and his line brothers, who trudge through weeks of hellish activities that stray away from the true process, which is meant to instill purpose and pride. Nothing is wrong with being a part of an organization or group.

“Burning Sands” chronicles five pledges’ hell week filled with grueling abuse by their brothers. But, many BGLO members who have experienced a pledge process, both above ground and underground, can share about the support they received through their process. The full script was complete in 2013.

But, when we think about the strategies used in abstinence movements, the Just Say No drug campaign in the 1980s, or alcohol prohibition of the 1920s, telling people to simply avoid undesirable behaviors is not effective.

What we know from BGLO oral tradition is that Black World War II military men who were fraternity members incorporated military bootcamp activities into the pledge process. For example, African-American scholar, Dr. John Hope Franklin, in his autobiography, Mirror to America, documented hazing in his fraternity in the 1930s. Your support is essential to maintaining this coverage. Unlike some of his fraternity brothers, Zurich questions the importance of Greek Life and whether or not the misery is worth it. It’s an unflinching look at underground fraternity hazing—but Burning Sands rarely ventures away from the boilerplate narrative suggested by that pitch. Those kicks, as it turns out, also leave Zurich with a fractured rib, which slowly grows in severity over the course of the film. The truth is that looking back I might see the wrong in what I did, or what was done to me, but I only talk about how it made me a better person. That's not really what it's about. In this "eye opening" film, five young men set out to pledge Lambda Lambda Phi fraternity at Frederick Douglas University. However, as previously mentioned, when the focus is on the most egregious acts, it doesn’t leave room to discuss the seemingly harmless behaviors that can lead to something far more dangerous.

I just want people engage in conversation and dialogue about it. Hints of those motivations are peppered throughout the film: the boys’ admiration for the lifestyle, campus prestige and girls that become available to them as members. People who believe in the positives of these organizations do not always want to believe that hazing could actually take place in or by these organizations. How does one promote racial uplift in the Black community, but then turn around and physically abuse someone? Even with a cultural twist that sets it apart from many similar tales. Last year, “Goat” showed the intense, torture-like process fraternity pledges go through. The truth is I look at my prophytes and think, “He/she ain’t better than me. The National Pan-Hellenic Council’s decision to abolish pledging in 1990 and adopt MIP, or membership intake process, was an attempt to address a situation with policy. McMurray has a very straightforward vision and presents what might well be the reality of pledging for one of these frats with a straight-edged accuracy.

Alfre Woodard), who seems to want to look out for Zurich, makes no real attempt to sway him from his path. There’s no sense of the fraternity’s place in the larger culture, or even a scene revealing the sort of brotherhood and camaraderie Zurich can look forward to should he succeed. To the viewer who is unaffiliated with the Divine Nine, the film may seem like a factual account of what secretly takes place when a person pledges a fraternity or sorority. It's about strengthening your network, your brotherhood, and having friends for life. It stars Trevor Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Steve Harris, Tosin Cole, DeRon Horton and Trevante Rhodes. Instead, when the status quo becomes challenged and we feel a tinge of empathy with the characters, we are left with a cut to black. I wanted to tell a story that dealt with fraternity subculture at an HBCU. Even with a cultural twist that sets it apart from many similar tales, Burning Sands never really makes use of the elements that could make it memorable or insightful. Movies don’t have to be perfect imitations of reality, but there should at least be some aspects of believability. Privacy Policy. News She’s a speaker and trainer who conducts student leadership training with culturally-based fraternal organizations on college campuses. Unfortunately, those questions linger unabated throughout the film. The college dean proudly wears his greek apparel and is wholly complicit in the violence — “You are only facing what other men have met,” he chides Zurich when the boy comes in questioning the severity of the hazing. It seems McMurray throws in some characters and events just to see if they’ll stick, with no intention of creating deeper meaning. Your support is essential to maintaining this coverage. While Burning Sands, which premiered this month on Netflix, ... You could replace Lambda Lambda Phi with any other frat on any other campus and very little in the script would have to change.

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