Glee insulting a GLO

[arrowlady]

As stated earlier I can understand the OP being a little upset.
I have to say I was watching Glee with my D who will be going thru recruitment next fall. When it was looked at me and said is true, do people really say that about them. I told her that all sororities have nicknames and not to take stock in it. (I have been specifically been just talking about Greek Life in general the last couple of years so she will keep an open mind during the process)

[LAblondeGPhi]

You know, at first when I read the OP's post, I understood the annoyance, but figured this:

Originally Posted by MysticCat

And of course, any intelligent viewer of Glee considers the source: this is Puck we're talking about, whose comments on matters like this rarely should be taken at face value -- they say more about him than about the girls he's talking about.

Puck's character is a womanizing jerk, so consider the source.

But, the more I read through these comments, the more I thought that we, as a Greek community, SHOULD fight back against negative stereotypes when we see them in popular media. How can we expect people to stop perpetuating these stereotypes if we don't make it known that they're unacceptable?

This doesn't mean that we have to become rabid extremists about it - nobody likes "that guy". But an organized, ongoing, respectful reproach of this kind of rhetoric might do us all a lot of good. Our organizations spend so much time, energy, and resources to be so much, much more than the one-dimensional characterizations we get in the media.

This also leads me to a general complaint about the way women are portrayed, both in the media, and by society - slutty stereotypes are perpetuated for ANY group of women or girls. Glee has used the "slutty cheerleader" trope since the beginning of the series. Friday Night Lights used to do the same thing about the rally girls. Any mention of an all-girls school gets pretty much the same reaction. And these are MINORS we're talking about. The flip side is when women are "prudes" with no sense of humor or any other redeeming qualities.There's this razor thin line between slut and prude that women are supposed to balance on, and any deviation from it is socially unacceptable. I think that this has just as much to do with that "EZ DZ" comment as general Greek stereotypes.

[LAblondeGPhi]

I spent too much time crafting my earlier response (and eating dinner/leftover chocolate), and missed these responses, which I soooo agree with:

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I have to agree. The more you throw a fit also brings more attention to it as well. If you want people who didn't notice it to notice it, bring it up some more. Then everyone will know about the EZ DZ moniker.

Yes... which is why it's important to approach it the right way. If we're too angry in our response, we lose people and get made fun of on the Daily Show. We have to push back respectfully and point out how much energy our organizations spend UNDOING these negative images and false information.

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I agree. If I were in charge of branding for my GLO, I would be pissed. They took a REAL organization's name, repeated a frequently used negative nickname, and then added the context to make it even worse. Think about how hard our organizations work to debunk the myths of greek life, particularly the "sorostitute" stereotype. We can't do anything about it when shows make up fake sororities/fraternities, but it's a whole 'nother deal when they use a real organization's name.

Glee is a very popular TV show with a young audience that obsesses over its characters, plot lines and performances, and therefore it holds a lot of power when it says or does anything

YES! EXACTLY.

Originally Posted by MrKSig

Honestly I think I have more of an issue with a popular tv show slamming a false stereotype on a GLO in general. It doesn't matter if they mention a real organization or a made up one, they are still portraying GLOs nationally in a poor light. That is what peeves me, and we should be working hard to dispel these slander and misconceptions. I know I didn't join a GLO for the kegs and sex. I joined it to further my career, open up networking, and learn leadership skills I wouldn't get in the classroom.

YES! Totally agree.

[AOII Angel]

I will say that my comments are not targeted at DZ. We as a group do enough to continue these stereotypes and bad comments. As much as we all proclaim our interest in networking, sisterhood/brotherhood, philanthropy and academics, we continually have very highly publicized incidents of hazing, underage alcohol abuse, and other bad behavior that continues to color the public's views of our organizations. A character on a show using an ugly nickname for a group that was made up by other Greeks, by the way, is the least of our problems. Focusing on improving our reputations by cutting out the bad behavior that legitimately gives us those reputations despite all the good work we do is more important. Insisting that they "respect us" will just result in a round of "elitist", "buying friends" etc comments.

[ASUADPi]

I don't think the writers set out to "intentionally" target DZ as I think people believe they did. I think that 1. they were looking at the source of who was making the comment (Puck, which hello, enough said there) and 2. what rhymes with "easy". Heck, which I watched the episode I didn't even catch the "letters" he said.

But I also wouldn't be offended either, because 1. it's a T.V. and 2. the character is a male whore.

First off as a TV show why anyone is taking it seriously I don't understand, but for those who are taking it seriously (I would want to ask why?), look at who said the line!

If it was like a news report, 20/20, Dateline NBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America that made the comment, well yeah I could understand being offended because those are news shows that report facts. Glee is a T.V. that is fake.

So I don't get why some are offended.

And if anyone asks "how would you feel if the comment was about ADPi". I still wouldn't be offended, because I don't take T.V. shows seriously. I would have thought it was funny.

[MrKSig]

The reason I would take something like this seriously is because, like it or not, casual tv influences our culture. After all it was "Animal House" that started the whole ordeal. People pick up what they see on tv and in the theaters. If its on a popular tv show, people will be more open to what they have to say.

[Splash]

Um, I have a huge problem with this and I'm not even a DZ. I think a lot of people who are giving "political" answers would be up in arms if it was their org. I don't think Glee should have done this.

[carnation]

Originally Posted by MrKSig

The reason I would take something like this seriously is because, like it or not, casual tv influences our culture. After all it was "Animal House" that started the whole ordeal. People pick up what they see on tv and in the theaters. If its on a popular tv show, people will be more open to what they have to say.

Trust me, labeling the Greeks started long before this.

[Splash]

The point he makes is true regardless of whether it started with Animal House or not.

[knight_shadow]

How many non-Greeks do y'all think even caught the reference?

[carnation]

Originally Posted by Splash

The point he makes is true regardless of whether it started with Animal House or not.

I realize that and I agree with his point but many of us have been fighting the battle for far longer than others may know. People need to know that.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

I will say that my comments are not targeted at DZ. We as a group do enough to continue these stereotypes and bad comments. As much as we all proclaim our interest in networking, sisterhood/brotherhood, philanthropy and academics, we continually have very highly publicized incidents of hazing, underage alcohol abuse, and other bad behavior that continues to color the public's views of our organizations. A character on a show using an ugly nickname for a group that was made up by other Greeks, by the way, is the least of our problems. Focusing on improving our reputations by cutting out the bad behavior that legitimately gives us those reputations despite all the good work we do is more important. Insisting that they "respect us" will just result in a round of "elitist", "buying friends" etc comments.

THIS!

Originally Posted by ASUADPi

But I also wouldn't be offended either, because 1. it's a T.V. and 2. the character is a male whore.

First off as a TV show why anyone is taking it seriously I don't understand, but for those who are taking it seriously (I would want to ask why?), look at who said the line!

If it was like a news report, 20/20, Dateline NBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America that made the comment, well yeah I could understand being offended because those are news shows that report facts. Glee is a T.V. that is fake.

Exactly. There are TONS of stereotypes played out in tv shows and movies every damn day. Cheerleaders are sluts, football players are dumb, anyone who knows how to use a computer can't get laid, blacks steal, whites can't dance, and Asians can't drive. It's a made-up tv show that is only doing what made-up tv shows have done for years.

Originally Posted by MrKSig

The reason I would take something like this seriously is because, like it or not, casual tv influences our culture. After all it was "Animal House" that started the whole ordeal. People pick up what they see on tv and in the theaters. If its on a popular tv show, people will be more open to what they have to say.

First of all, I'd be willing to bet that the only people still thinking/talking about this are Greeks. It hasn't influenced anything.

Secondly, Animal House didn't "start" anything. And that was an entire movie about Greeks.. This was just one little line on a tv show that most people probably didn't pick up on. You're comparing apples and oranges.

Besides, Animal House was funny.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by MrKSig

The reason I would take something like this seriously is because, like it or not, casual tv influences our culture. After all it was "Animal House" that started the whole ordeal. People pick up what they see on tv and in the theaters. If its on a popular tv show, people will be more open to what they have to say.

If by "ordeal" you mean "revived membership and interest in Greek life after a decade & a half of low numbers" then yes, Animal House certainly did that.

[BraveMaroon]

Originally Posted by 33girl

If by "ordeal" you mean "revived membership and interest in Greek life after a decade & a half of low numbers" then yes, Animal House certainly did that.

I'm not sure what this says about me as a person, but I was definitely a little bummed that my Greek experience wasn't more like Animal House. Which I think centers around the differences in the 60s and the 90s than it truly does about what I gleaned from Mandy Pepperidge, Greggie, Dougie et al.

[MrKSig]

I apologize I'm not up-to-date on the war about negative Greek images, I was simply trying to illustrate a point that what is in popular media, be it TV shows, Movies, etc., does have an impact on the way people think. It was less about what exact shows did what.