‘Bama Rush’ Documentary Explores The Dark Side Of The Viral TikTok Phenomenon

Entertainment

A new documentary coming to Max (formerly known as HBO Max) will take viewers into the complex world of sororities.

“Bama Rush” follows several young women behind-the-scenes during the convoluted sorority recruitment process at the University of Alabama.

In the summer of 2021, #BamaRush went viral on TikTok as social media users were captivated by the week-long engagement, known as rush week, in which undergraduate women mix and mingle with current members of various sorority houses.

In a nutshell, things got messy when rumors began swirling about alleged hidden cameras and microphones being planted on girls rushing the university’s sororities.

Naturally, Twitter users had plenty to say once the documentary’s trailer dropped on Thursday.

In August, the University of Alabama officials confirmed reports of “unauthorized recordings” of students involved in sororities, calling it “deplorable.”

Shane Dorrill, a university spokesman, said in a statement to AL.com at the time: “The University is aware of reports that outside parties have facilitated unauthorized recordings of our students involved in Panhellenic recruitment.”

He added that the university “does not condone surreptitious filming or recording of students, some of whom are minors, without their consent.”

According to Dorrill, the recruits were also not allowed to film each other as the Alabama Panhellenic Association recruitment rules “prohibit potential new members from filming or recording inside any chapter houses.”

Directed and executive produced by filmmaker Rachel Fleit, “Bama Rush” will hit Max on May 23.

Watch the trailer below.

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="2997" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":21,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"author":"HBO Max","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx-KWLTKlB83hDI6UKECtJQ","cache_age":86400,"description":"BAMA RUSH follows four young women as they prepare to rush at the University of Alabama in 2022. Against the viral backdrop of #BamaRush on TikTok, and the long-held tradition of sorority recruitment at the University of Alabama, the film explores the emotional complexities and high-stakes of belonging in this crucial window into womanhood. Bama Rush is streaming Tuesday May 23 on Max.\n\n#BamaRushDoc #BamaRush #universityofalabama \n\nAbout Max:\nMax is WarnerBrosDiscovery’s direct-to-consumer offering with 10,000 hours of curated premium content. Max offers powerhouse programming for everyone in the home, bringing together a robust slate of new original series, key third-party licensed programs and movies, and fan favorites from WarnerMedia’s rich library including HBO, Warner Bros., New Line, DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and more. #WarnerBrosDiscovery #streamonmax \n\nSUBSCRIBE TO MAX\nhttp://bit.ly/HBOMaxYouTube\n\nGET MAX\nhttps://itsh.bo/ways-to-get\n\nMORE MAX\nMax: https://hbom.ax/YT \nFollow Max on Instagram: http://bit.ly/HBOMaxInstagram\nFollow Max on TikTok: https://hbom.ax/HBOMaxTT\nFollow Max on Twitter: http://bit.ly/HBOMaxTwitter \nLike Max on Facebook: http://bit.ly/HBOMaxFacebook","options":{"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false},"_end":{"label":"End on","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"_start":{"label":"Start from","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s","value":""},"click_to_play":{"label":"Hold load & play until clicked","value":false}},"provider_name":"YouTube","thumbnail_height":720,"thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxxJRbiwgcQ/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"title":"Bama Rush | Official Trailer | Max","type":"video","url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxxJRbiwgcQ","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://www.huffpost.com","locale":"en_US"},"slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isMt":false,"entryId":"64543af8e4b0ff22e3793354","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bama-rush-documentary-viral-tiktok_n_64543af8e4b0ff22e3793354","entryTagsList":"tiktok,university-of-alabama,sororities,bama-rush","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":"entertainment","sectionRedirectUrl":"https://www.huffpost.com/entertainment","subcategories":"tv","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065"},"customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":3},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_slideshow":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"64543af8e4b0ff22e3793354","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"TikTok","slug":"tiktok","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/tiktok","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/tiktok","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/tiktok"},"department":{"name":"Impact","slug":"impact"},"section":{"title":"Business","slug":"business"},"topic":{"title":"TikTok","slug":"tiktok","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/impact/topic/tiktok"},{"name":"university of alabama","slug":"university-of-alabama","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/university-of-alabama","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/university-of-alabama","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/university-of-alabama"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/university-of-alabama"},{"name":"sororities","slug":"sororities","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/sororities","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/sororities","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/sororities"},"topic":{"title":"Greek Life","slug":"greek-life","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/greek-life"},{"name":"bama rush","slug":"bama-rush","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/bama-rush","permalink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/bama-rush","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/bama-rush"},"url":"https://www.huffpost.com/topic/bama-rush"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

[embedded content]

You might also like More from author

Comments are closed.