Burning Sands: Why It’s Too Hot To Stomach For Some!!!

The recent Netflix movie Burning Sands, a directorial first by Gerard McMurray, focuses on one of the taboo practices of BGLO’s known to us as hazing. While it is not a practice that is endorsed by the organizations, it is acknowledged as one of the evils that are used by some of its members for various reasons. While hazing is not exclusively practiced by fraternities and sororities alone, it is most frequently associated with them, and as a member of a BGLO, I have seen on many levels how it has come to shape public opinion on organizations that at one point in time where major vehicles for social change in the black community. I saw the movie last night and while I will readily admit that there were moments where the movie suffered from a heavy-handed portrayal of Greek life, I for the most found myself watching this as an accurate portrayal of one person’s process.

All too often we as African Americans find ourselves, victims of media, that only portrays us monolithically, a plea that in turn leads to a cry for more movies. Movies such as Burning Sands excel in showing a side of the black experience, but the issue is that too often these movies become the poster child for the black experience and herein lies the problem. If we look at the violence in the movie as all that the Black Greek experience is about, then we do a disservice to the legacy of its founders and members who strive to uphold its tenets each day.

Now on the other hand, if we act as if the vantage point of the directors, writers, and staff involved are invalid because of variations in our processes, then we are telling people that we can be transparent only to the degree we feel comfortable. We can be discreet while still acknowledging the truth.  There are some parts of the movie that deal with hazing that need to be addressed as a community. The details of how and when are of course not important, but why it happens and why it seemingly has not died are paramount.

With that being said, the movie is sure to invoke an array of emotions both good and bad.