Sorority for as little time as possible

I spent much of this chilly Denver afternoon over at TheWB.com meeting the so-called “sultry vixens of Sorority Forever,” in which the Mean Girls go to College and say things like “you are the envy of every girl on this campus and beyond,” “let’s see it girls: style and smile” and best of all “now hit the gym, nobody likes a fat girl.”  

Once I got the finger dislodged from my throat, I settled down and watched the ten two-minute episodes made available for media. (I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again – two minutes is the absolute perfect length for original Webisodes since that’s about as long as anyone’s attention span runs these days.)

It’s not a complicated concept: being in this particular sorority is akin to being voted Prom Queen for Life, so allegedly every girl on campus wants to be in, except for our heroine, Julie, who is the little sister of a former Phi Chi and thus on the inside track. Evil is represented in this show by ignorance (“Are you registered to vote?” Julie asks her pill-popping, micro-sized roommate. “For what?” mini-roomie responds), being a follower, and discriminating against anyone over a size 2. Good is represented by having a willingness to eat, exhibiting interest in the world around you and rebellion against the sorority system. Behind it all, a secret lurks behind closed doors that seems to include hooded rituals.  

I realize that Sorority Forever is supposed to be a fluffy confection produced for the Web, but it makes Quarterlife – picked up by NBC for prime-time during the strike last year — look like high art. The two things S.F. does best is incorporate hip new music – largely due to its producer creds, I think, because The O.C.’s McG, a former video producer, is the man way behind the scenes – and integrate product placement, such as H&M and Facebook. Wait, it also demonstrates some excellent eye make-up application, which perhaps was assisted by TheWB.com’s Boy Wearing Make-Up. 

I guess I’m also a little disturbed that women are still being portrayed in this one-sided way on any form of media. Of course women can be catty and demanding and judgmental — as can men — and of course this show is meant to be campy. I suppose it remains interesting to watch. But we’ve seen this story told a million times — aren’t there any new stories to tell? Or do we as women keep giving Hollywood producers reasons to tell this story again and again? I fear it’s the latter. 

I still think TheWB.com could and should serve as an inexpensive prime-time incubator for Warner Bros., the TV studio, but this show should go no further than the Web. And that might even be too far.