pardon the break, but Julia Duffy is a Kappa right...so nothing wrong just bragging??

Yes, they are. They are both sisters of the fictitious sorority Delta Nu in the movie. I was talking about the book the movie is based on, where Elle is a DG and the fitness instructor is a Theta.

Anne Rivers Siddons did use real names in her books, but when it came to the main characters (who sometimes did non-honorable things) the sorority names were fake or nicknames only.

I honestly think it's a case by case basis...in the case of Legally Blonde, SATC and the OC, even if it isn't the most flattering portrayal, they are shows college age women like and it gets their name recognized. On the other hand, if it was something like a crime show where the woman is a murderer, I think the producers just change it to avoid offending anyone. Witness the many "Hudson University" students on Law & Order.

TV Greeks
 

On the show Coach, the main character had a Beta Theta Pi paddle hanging on his office wall in the opening credits. I can't remember if it was mentioned often in the show, or if he was a Beta in real life.

In Designing Women, the Julia character several times mentioned being a Tri Delt, which she was in real life. The Suzanne character, Delta Burke, was supposed to be a Pi Phi from a school in Mississippi. In reality, she was not Greek.

I'm not sure. I personally wouldn't care at all if AXO were used as the sorority of a fictitious character even if it wasn't the most flattering representation. I just don't know if my or anyone else's HQs would feel the same way.

A lot of times the names of universities and colleges are changed for movies/tv/books if the characters are particularly wild. Bret Easton Ellis novels come to mind -- the characters in those novels and movie versions are so out of control that I can't imagine a small private college wouldn't sue if their institution was named in Rules of Attraction. I think the difference here is that everyone is familiar with Yale, but for example Alpha Chi Omega might not be a household name to people that weren't involved in a college greek system with a chapter of AXO. I think the more smaller and more specific the institution, the more members would feel the need to protect the image of that institution.

No I obviously don't believe the stereotype, otherwise I wouldn't be in a sorority. I'm not really sure what you're getting at, but I didn't think the way this character was written was particularly creative... she just was a dumb, ditzy, drunk, sorority girl stereotype. If they were trying to create biting social satire, they didn't do a particularly good job of it because the character was so over the top.

Julia Duffy is not a Kappa, but her character Stephanie mentioned being a Kappa.

Don't know how to double quote from 2 different posters, so I just copied this:

In Designing Women, the Julia character several times mentioned being a Tri Delt, which she was in real life. The Suzanne character, Delta Burke, was supposed to be a Pi Phi from a school in Mississippi. In reality, she was not Greek.

Suzanne was supposedly a Pi Phi from Ole Miss.

In an episode of Hope & Faith a couple of seasons ago, Charley said something about a Sigma Chi doing one thing or another (don't remember what). In real life, the actor who plays Charley, Ted McGinley, is a Sig alumnus.

I somehow recall an episode of Desparate Housewives where Tom mentioned an NIC fraternity.

A Different World had a fictional fraternity but used to show extras wearing NPHC jerseys, sweatshirts, etc.

Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years) was a Stanford '99 SAE. He was in another series in which his character was also an SAE and had a crest or paddle in his apt.

Great for a positive spin isnt it?

Mostly it is not!:(

"Still watching Animal House!"

Who is the best GLO in the movie? :D

LMAO..... Don't go to Hudson unless you want to get raped, murdered, or both!

For my current project, an internet-based novel, one of the main characters is in my fictitious, stand-by fraternity Beta Chi Phi. Another character will be in an unnamed fraternity.

As novelist, I find it important to use real names of organizations, schools, and institutions to make a fictitious work seem more realistic. I just don't think it works to make a fake school, fake org, etc.... you want people to believe in the work.

Yeah, Tom was an ATO and his and Lynette's boss was a Pi Kapp. Or maybe it was the other way around. But, like someone else mentioned, they didn't use the full names of the fraternities so it could always be claimed that they didn't mean "Alpha Tau Omega" if any copyright infringement issues ever came to a head.

Bwahahaha. I haven't seen them (anyone find a youtube link?), but a lot of folks have sworn up and down that the Baylor chapter's jerseys look exactly like the SNL skit's.

Love the fact that "Delta Delta Delta, can I help ya, help ya, help ya?" made it into the old Southern Belle Primer, too.

:) All of the interior shots of of the Delta house were shot in the Unversity of Oregon Sigma Nu house. Very pimp: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/trivia