ABC Family’s new series, Greek, has gotten low marks from Tri Delta, a collegiate sorority that has been active since 1888. After seeing the pilot episode of the show, the organization issued a statement, voicing their opinion on how sororities have been depicted on the show.
“The behavior depicted in Greek happens in sororities as often as doctors look like McDreamy [on Grey’s Anatomy],” Michelle Shimberg, international president of Tri Delta Sorority, said in a statement issued July 9. “Greek may make for good TV, but it’s a far cry from reality for the vast majority of our members. Women who participate in that kind of superficial and ‘mean girl’ behavior are totally missing out on the true sorority experience.”
The sorority expressed concern over the show’s premiere episode, which for them painted an inaccurate picture of the Greek system.
“The opening scene of the show is about the sorority getting ready for recruitment and/or rush,” Stacy Gillard, Tri Delta’s director for marketing, said.
“The scene is geared to the very superficial… In actuality, our values do not represent that at all,” Gillard added, referring to the way the show’s women talked about clothing, bags and shoes.
However, Gillard pointed out that their statements have not been made in protest to the show. She said that the sorority “really wanted to be very proactive in regards to the show and have [an] opportunity to share messages about the experiences that lie in our membership and what that looks like.”
So proactive, in fact, that prior to the series premiere, the sorority said on their website that they “have offered Tri Delta as a resource for future story lines and segment plots” and that their Executive Office staff and PR firm would be “closely monitoring the marketing of the show and will track the topics covered in each episode, and are prepared and ready to respond as necessary.” A similar message was posted the following day, after the premiere episode aired on ABC Family.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: latimes.com
(Image Courtesy of ABC Family)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
