Non-Greek Wanting to Portray Sorority Life as Part of Story/Script

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

No. You say you want to avoid stereotypes and in the next breath, use them. The story would be no different if it was Jane and Jen, two best friends who live in the dorm. The sorority angle is just an attempt to "sex it up" and play to everyone else's stereotypical thinking about sororities.

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Remember, isn't the use of any setting and characters an attempt to try and play up the story? I mean Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" could have taken place on any old train or not even on a train, just some flophouse that got snowed in.

You're definitely not understanding what 33girl was saying.

The point is... why do they have to be sorority women? There isn't anything about the story that requires Greeks to be represented. Most movies that portray Greeks are ABOUT Greeks. Or they have parts of the plot that are more focused on Greek life (even if they're stereotypical or innacurate).

You just came up with a story about a girl being drunk and running someone over, and decided to throw some Greek letters on it.

[GDIwriter]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

You're definitely not understanding what 33girl was saying.

The point is... why do they have to be sorority women? There isn't anything about the story that requires Greeks to be represented. Most movies that portray Greeks are ABOUT Greeks. Or they have parts of the plot that are more focused on Greek life (even if they're stereotypical or innacurate).

You just came up with a story about a girl being drunk and running someone over, and decided to throw some Greek letters on it.

I guess I thought it would be interesting.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

I guess I thought it would be interesting.

Which is exactly what you said you DIDN'T want to do (make it "interesting" by having Greeks involved).

That's what everyone here is saying... people always try to make things "interesting" when portraying Greek life by throwing in stereotypes, inaccuracies and exaggerations. You asked how not to do that. But now you admit that you thought a drunk girl running over a person and covering it up would be more entertaining if she had some letters on her shirt.

I guess I just don't understand what you're aiming for here.

[GDIwriter]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Which is exactly what you said you DIDN'T want to do (make it "interesting" by having Greeks involved).

That's what everyone here is saying... people always try to make things "interesting" when portraying Greek life by throwing in stereotypes, inaccuracies and exaggerations. You asked how not to do that. But now you admit that you thought a drunk girl running over a person and covering it up would be more entertaining if she had some letters on her shirt.

I guess I just don't understand what you're aiming for here.

Well, I would like to, in the story, portray Greek life realistically, but within a larger plot (a murder mystery in this case).

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Well, I would like to, in the story, portray Greek life realistically, but within a larger plot (a murder mystery in this case).

But why?

[Save Ferris]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Well, I would like to, in the story, portray Greek life realistically, but within a larger plot (a murder mystery in this case).

If you can find five news articles that talk about drunk sorority girls running over people, consequently killing them accidentally and then covering it up, I will totally back that this story is realistic. Also, you cannot use reviews from Sorority Row which this plot sounds very close to.

Honestly, the fact that you're claiming to be interested in portraying Greek life realistically but are completely off base is kind of offensive and makes me wonder if this is how we're viewed by many people.

[GDIwriter]

Honestly, the fact that you're claiming to be interested in portraying Greek life realistically but are completely off base is kind of offensive and makes me wonder if this is how we're viewed by many people.

Well, I hate to sound mean or anything, but the Greek community (at least where I live) does not always do a very good job of maintaining good PR. Outside of discerning a religious vocation and an avocation for writing, I am involved in local politics (actually running for city commission and the election is this Tuesday ) and so I read the local newspaper and the local college newspaper (although students rarely vote in city elections, they are a potentially big voting bloc) to try and keep abreast of local issues. Anyway, there was a big scandal in the college newspaper (we are a major college town) where two sororities were caught trying to affect Student Government elections a couple weeks ago (one by bribing members w/ alcohol for voting and the other by denying food to pledges unless they voted) and there have been other scandals (the Homecoming Queen, who is in a sorority, was caught for DUI; another sorority got rowdy and destructive in a very nice restaurant in another city and did damage) and this is not including things frats have been caught doing. As a candidate for city political office (even though I have graduated from college, I am sort of in that gray area because I am quite young), I have refrained from publicly commenting on the university's SG elections and the issues that occurred.

[Save Ferris]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Well, I hate to sound mean or anything, but the Greek community (at least where I live) does not always do a very good job of maintaining good PR. Outside of discerning a religious vocation and an avocation for writing, I am involved in local politics (actually running for city commission and the election is this Tuesday ) and so I read the local newspaper and the local college newspaper (although students rarely vote in city elections, they are a potentially big voting bloc) to try and keep abreast of local issues. Anyway, there was a big scandal in the college newspaper (we are a major college town) where two sororities were caught trying to affect Student Government elections a couple weeks ago (one by bribing members w/ alcohol for voting and the other by denying food to pledges unless they voted) and there have been other scandals (the Homecoming Queen, who is in a sorority, was caught for DUI; another sorority got rowdy and destructive in a very nice restaurant in another city and did damage) and this is not including things frats have been caught doing. As a candidate for city political office (even though I have graduated from college, I am sort of in that gray area because I am quite young), I have refrained from publicly commenting on the university's SG elections and the issues that occurred.

We try to keep good PR. We can't help it if a few people don't always respect their letters to uphold their organizations.

Perhaps you should look at a different campus. One campus isn't universal of every campus.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Well, I hate to sound mean or anything, but the Greek community (at least where I live) does not always do a very good job of maintaining good PR.

Quite true. It's true of many groups, though, not just fraternities and sororities.

The thing is, you said at the outset you wanted to portay Greek life positively, or at least neutrally, yet all that you have described so far relies on or raises the negative stereotypes.

I'll say it yet again: Write what you know.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by GDIwriter

Also, what are the books out there that you feel portray Greek Life realistically? (I know someone mentioned there are such books out there, but who is the author and stuff so I can look it up)

As said above:

Originally Posted by honeychile

If you really feel the need to have a GLO background, read a few books by Anne Rivers Siddon. She's one of the few who uses sororities & fraternities in her novels without offending.

And I'd say the political/the-Greeks-run-the-school or are-the-access-to-real-and-secret-power has been done to death, too.