This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 25th June 2016.
Frat Boys: Inside
America’s Fraternities: Thursday, BBC Two
Mr v Mrs: Call the
Mediator: Tuesday, BBC Two
When
Brits think of American college fraternities, our instant frames of reference
are anarchically light-hearted films such as
National Lampoon’s Animal House and - possibly- Richard Linklater’s latest, Everybody Wants Some!!
Our
own equivalent would be the repulsive elitism of The Bullingdon Club, but
somehow that doesn’t seem quite as fun and harmless as a bunch of drunk, shaggy
American dudes twisting in togas to My
Sharona.
That,
of course, is the benign Hollywood fantasy. The sobering reality, as seen in
the This World documentary, Frat Boys: Inside America’s Fraternities,
is that these college hothouses are just as much of a vile breeding ground for
powerful corporate and political leaders as our own Oxbridge gene pools.
In
the last few hundred years, nearly half of America’s Presidents have belonged
to a fraternity. It’s an honorific badge for life, and a potential fast-track into
positions of influence.
The
basic facts: college students traditionally pledge allegiance to a campus
fraternity or - for women - sorority. Shared accommodation can cost up to $2,500 per term. For
male students, it’s seen as a noble brotherhood. They repeatedly boast of
sharing the same values and goals. That is, becoming as rich and successful as
possible. Darwinism and the American Dream in microcosm.
But
in this macho world full of brutal masonic rituals, where new students are
sometimes horrifically beaten and branded, tragedy is an inevitable by-product. The secret initiation
process known as hazing has resulted in several deaths over the years. Bound by
a sacred oath, these heroic brotherhoods then concoct lies to cover their
tracks.
Fearful
of losing donations from their powerful fraternity alumni, colleges have been
accused of covering up the truth with students and the police.
Needless
to say, misogyny runs rampant in an obnoxious, shallow subculture where hard-partying
jocks roar at each other’s pecs and guzzle booze from footwear. Women –
sorority girls - are treated as trophies. Rape cases frequently creep into the
headlines. It’s endemic.
One
female student spoke chillingly of being drugged and raped at a frat-house
party. She didn’t report the crime, as she feels that colleges don’t encourage
women to make such allegations. As she stated bluntly, they’re “the
personification of patriarchy… no one wants to be known as the rape school.”
Naturally,
this dispiriting programme focused on the darker aspects of frat life, because
that’s where the story lies. Not every frat boy is a potential murderer or sex
criminal.
But
you can’t ignore the horrifying pitfalls of a protected system where social, financial
and sexual triumphs are viewed as the ultimate sordid goal. You can’t ignore this
world.
So
you leave college, get a job, get married and live happily ever after. Right? Wrong,
otherwise why would Britain need a professional network of family mediators to
help couples struggling with divorce?
Filmed
over a year, Mr v Mrs: Call the Mediator
offers intimate insight into the work of impartial mediators tasked with
assisting estranged couples, some of whom can barely tolerate each other, as they seek
to resolve difficult disputes and avoid costly court cases.
The
director attempts to force a layer of black humour via ironic music cues, but
it’s basically a depressing miasma of frosty grimaces, bitter rebukes,
catastrophic passive-aggression and dreams gone horribly sour.
Each
week we trace the stories of three couples. As with all forms of voyeuristic
television, it’s impossible to avoid making your mind up about people you’ve
never met: Jeremy Kyle, faux-cosy BBC style. It’s guilty viewing in the most
uncomfortable sense.
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