'Bama Rush' documentary promises a suspenseful dive into sorority culture. See the trailer
Millions of viewers tuned into the online phenomenon of #BamaRush on TikTok in the fall of 2021 and 2022. Now, a new documentary aims to go behind-the-scenes of the intense sorority rush process at the University of Alabama.
On May 4, Max released a trailer for the upcoming documentary "Bama Rush," which is set to premiere May 23. The film will follow the experiences of four people who attempt to join a sorority at Alabama, per Variety.
The documentary comes almost two years after #BamaRush and #RushTok first took over TikTok. In 2021, #AlabamaRush was viewed nearly 20 million times on TikTok and #BamaRush, more than 55.6 million times, according to NBC News.
In the roughly three-minute trailer, the PNMs (“potential new members”) share what they experienced during the competitive rounds of rush, which is the period during which hopeful members meet the sororities on campus with the goal of receiving an invitation to join.
It seems to be all glitz and glam — running through the streets, partying through the night and posting to TikTok at every step along the way — until the women's identities become intertwined with their success in the sorority.
“There are a lot of things that you’re entitled to when you’re in a top-tier sorority,” one of the subjects says in the trailer.
"I don't really know who I am," another says.
"I have trust issues with people and I get nervous that people are gonna leave me, so I'm just really hoping that when I get to Alabama, I can just always have an open heart" says a third.
"We put a lot of pressure on ourselves," the fourth says.
One of that sources of that pressure is that the fraternities rank each sorority based on which has the "hottest girls," one person says in the trailer.
"I feel like I never would've had an eating disorder if the boys growing up didn't say what they said to me," one of the subjects recalls.
The documentary also appears to address historical racism in sororities. In 2013, the University of Alabama president acknowledged that the organizations were segregated by race and pushed for it to end, according to NBC News.
"Everybody here'll just look at you when you have any color in you," one person says in the documentary trailer. "It's just awkward, I guess."
The trailer also highlights some of the backlash towards the documentary itself. Some TikTok users discouraged people from participating because it "could be the end of Greek life as we know it."
It also hints that the documentary will explore allegations that the production process involved having potential members wear microphones in their bracelets.
A spokesperson for Vice Studios, which produced the documentary, told the New York Times in August that rumors of hidden mics are untrue.
As the trailer ends, one of the of the subjects says, "Sorority recruitment's a game. You have to know how to play it because Greek life is everything at Alabama."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com