Does Max’s New Bama Rush Documentary Miss The Mark?
Max’s new original documentary Bama Rush covers the ins and outs of sorority recruitment, but did it miss the mark?
Back in August of 2021, Alabama Rush took over TikTok feeds. Everyone from middle aged women to current sorority sisters watched as thousands of college freshmen embarked on their journeys of joining one of the 24 sororities at the University of Alabama. These trending TikToks included get ready with me’s, outfit of the days, what’s in my Rush bag, and explanations of the Rush process. People watched as girls put on outfits worth hundreds to thousands of dollars, featuring common southern styles from Lilly Pulitzer to designer Gucci accessories. Being the largest sorority system of any university, 36% of Alabama’s students are enrolled in a Greek-letter organization, that’s about 12,000 students.They were intrigued to learn more about the hype of these organizations and invested in who would end up where.
After a year passed, RushTok was back for the 2022 season. Garnering millions of views and comments, Alabama Rush was trending once again. This time, there were rumors swirling of a documentary from Netflix, HBO Max, or another streaming service. Allegedly, there were girls wearing microphones into sorority houses to capture content. We watched as girls cried and celebrated their new homes and awaited the arrival of the rumored documentary.
Now nine months after the 2022 recruitment season, Max has released Bama Rush. They describe it as “a fascinating look into the long-held tradition of sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama.” It was solely marketed as an inside look into the process of recruitment and everything you didn’t see in the well-polished TikTok of potential new members. Unfortunately it was anything but.
The documentary follows potential new members, alumni of the university’s Greek system, and rush consultants as they share their first hand experience. About 25 minutes in, director Rachel Fleit turns the camera on herself revealing her alopecia and that she wore a wig for 14 years. She compares her experience of hiding her alopecia and trying to fit in with other young girls to the process of sorority recruitment. While a story and documentary about alopecia deserve to be told, this documentary on sorority recruitment didn’t feel like the right place. Yet she continued to use this comparison throughout the documentary as a way to tie herself to the storyline. Instead, inserting herself into the narrative distracts from the main goal of shedding light on the secretive and exclusive process of Greek life and leads to her missing many key elements to the Greek ecosystem.
If you have any prior knowledge of the sorority and Greek life process, this documentary didn’t add much context to what you may already know. It just briefly touched on fraternity life, “The Machine,” and what life looks like once you’re in a sorority. You can learn much deeper information from disgruntled ex-members through their own social platforms. If you had no previous knowledge of Greek life, this is a decent starting point, but if you want deeper information you will have to look elsewhere.
Bama Rush is streaming on Max.
