ABC Family’s new television show, Greek, offers an interesting look at public assumptions of the Greek community. I first heard a concerned mention of it from someone last semester, but after after seeing promotions for the show and hearing other people mention it, I decided to investigate the show for myself. I myself am a proud member of the Greek community (as in fraternities and sororities, not nationalities), and as such, I am familiar with the various stereotypes that society associates with us – hazing, excessive intoxication, irresponsibility, vanity, and petty power struggles. If you’re unfamiliar with any of these things, you should probably stop right now and watch the classic film “Animal House.”

For the most part, society only hears about the bad side of Greek life. After all, the torments of hazing and the violence of the latest bar brawl make for a much more sensational story (and better ratings for Channel Nine) than a Habitat fund-raiser or a street cleanup. Therefore the unfortunate mistakes of a few shine a bad light on the whole – thanks to the wonders of the media. Now I will admit that the “darker” side does exist – but it’s usually much less sensational than it’s made out to be – and I still maintain that all those “haters” are just mad because they didn’t get “in.” Now I will admit that we do have our drunken nights, hung over mornings, and other stereotypical “incidents” – but everyone forgets that on many campuses, the Greek average GPA is higher than the all-womens or all-mens average GPA. Or that the Greek community raised thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars for charity. There are also a much wider range of behaviors than you see portrayed in popular media. Granted, the college I attend and the fraternity of which I’m a brother (especially my chapter) are probably definitely not the norm, and I can’t speak for any sororities, but my Greek experience has been much different than the nightly news or latest movie would lead you to believe.

Which leads me to the new show, Greek. To put things off to a pretentiously bad start, the infamous “red cup” is prominent in all promotions for the show (not that I have anything against red cups). And, as expected, there is plenty of fraternal beverage consumption (though often to humorous effect). However, Greek doesn’t dwell on or appear the sport nearly as much as I expected – it’s just presented as a “fact of life.” Greek centers around Rusty (a college freshman), his sister Casey, and their interactions with the Greek social system. Three fictional Greek organizations are depicted – Zeta Beta Zeta, Kappa Tau Gamma, and Omega Chi Delta. Casey belongs to ZBZ, a pretentious and petty sorority of “hotties.” Rusty pledges KTG, the “party boy” fraternity, and Casey’s boyfriend Evan is the president of OXD – the “good guys.”

I was initially critical of the show, but after watching a few episodes, it appears to be better than I expected. My only real gripe is the limited, somewhat stereotypical treatment of the Greek system, though it is rather difficult to portray every aspect of Greek life in a TV show. My only other complaint is the music selection is, for the most part, terrible. This goes a long way in pulling Greek down to the level of a cliche “ABC Family, yay” show. Perhaps less background music would be better. Yea, that’s definitely it (be sure to listen out for the “feel good guitar” background music. Ugh).

I can see myself being entertained by Greek for a little while, at least until Heroes and Lost return. The current storyline is engaging and will hopefully stay well above the misery of the background music. If you want to see for yourself, ABC has an online viewer (though last time I checked it wasn’t working) or you can visit this site for a torrent.