(Source: jetmag.com)
IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THIS MOVIE THEN EXIT THIS PAGE IMMEDIATELY AND WATCH IT. THIS IS GONNA BE FULL OF SPOILERS AND I DON'T WANNA RUIN THE MOVIE FOR YOU. SERIOUSLY. LEAVE.
On my college campus, fraternities are a very big deal. As a African-American woman, however, the black fraternities and sororities are what I pay attention to the most. I usually go to all of the events that they host, full of stepping and good memories. But a tiny part of me has always wondered..."What did they have to do to get there?" "Burning Sands" shows what happens behind the scenes to get into Lambda Phi and it's not pretty. There is A LOT to discuss about this movie soooo let's get started.
THERE WERE SO MANY PLOT HOLES: What happened to the frat after Frank??? Did his parents sue??? What about Zurich's ribs??? Does he ever get back with his girlfriend Rochon (played by Imani Hakim)??? WHY DID HE TAKE SO LONG TO CALL HIS FREAKING FATHER???? And these are only SOME of the plot holes.
WHY WAS NO ONE STEPPING TO "KNUCK IF YOU BUCK"????: I can't speak for other fraternities, but at my school if you hear this song YOU GET OUT OF THE WAY. I can recount multiple times where I have almost gotten kicked in the head at a party. THIS IS THE STEPPING SONG. But in the movie, no one was stepping??? Like?????? I was confused -- they missed a great opportunity.
(source: Blackfilm.com)
THE HAZING HAD ME SHOOK: No but seriously it was horrible. Like everything that they had to go through for this frat had me shaking mad. LIKE THE POOL THING??? AND THEN THEY HAD TO CHUG GALLONS OF WATER (I actually despise drinking water so this was a nightmare for me to watch)?? I knew that there were hazing in frats -- it was no surprise to me that the characters in the movie had to go through this. However, what had me thrown off was how extreme it was. Zurich tried to get help from the dean about the hazing. However, he just said that they all had to go through what he is going through and to basically suck it up. Super helpful. No authorities could help. No supervisors. NOBODY. They just had to suffer through this process, gaining injuries along the way. Zurich broke a rib. Countless bruises were on all of their bodies from being hit by their "big brothers." However, Frank had the worst consequence of all. Which leads into my next topic....
THAT. ENDING.: I am the type of person who likes to guess the ending of movies, so I honestly thought Zurich was going to die from his broken rib during the probate show or something. NOTHING could have prepared me for that ending. As soon as I saw the foam coming out of Frank's mouth and how he was seizing, I knew that he was not going to make it. The part that I found most significant was that all of their so called "big brothers" LITERALLY SPRINTED OUT THE DOOR. There was no brotherhood. They told the pledges to drop him off at the hospital and drive off. WHAT KIND OF BROTHERHOOD IS THAT????? The "big brothers" kept drilling over and over again that by going through this pain, they will be brothers forever and will always have their back. They definitely did not while handling the Frank situation. The pledges did a better job than the people that were supposed to be their role models -- they stayed at the hospital and waited to hear the bad news about their friend. While I was watching that last scene I was only thinking one thing...
(source: youtube.com)
WHAT WAS THE POINT???: They went through hell to be able to be called a brother by the other frat members, to gain recognition and respect from their peers. However, all they gained were countless injuries and the pain of losing a friend. I would be absolutely shocked if the frat didn't get some sort of punishment -- meaning that the pledges are not going to be brothers of the "honorable" Lambda Phi. They did everything (they were almost done with "Hell Night") they were supposed to do in the name of Lambda Phi. However, the negligence of the people they were supposed to respect led to them being more lost than before. The last thing that Lambda Phi deserves after this tragic incident is the respect of others.
Overall, this is a EXCELLENT movie and is super entertaining. I would definitely watch it ASAP. To me, there was one overwhelming lesson: it takes a lot more to be a "brother" or "sister" to someone then just wearing the same letters as them.
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Peace Out Girl Scout,
Maddie the Media Princess