"The Real World," with beer bongs

While such shenanigans are often chalked up to the bizarre nature of group dynamics -- which have been blamed for everything from the Bay of Pigs to the space shuttle Challenger disaster -- in the case of frat boys, we never really want them to pay a serious price for their stupidity. Quentin Tarantino capitalized on such sympathies best when he placed three clueless college guys in the path of Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in the early scenes of "Pulp Fiction." Just when you think these young bozos might get away with their reckless behavior -- just like you did way back when -- they're lying dead on the floor and their assassins are blithely resuming their discussion about cheeseburgers.

Like any group that depends on its members' ability to shelve their personal needs for the greater good, the members of the fraternity deride those who don't subordinate themselves completely. Pledges of Sigma Chi Omega have countless responsibilities, one of which is to show up for military-style lineups, during which the overzealous pledge master interrogates them as they stand at attention. Of course, those who volunteer for this role are notoriously power-mongering sadists, and this guy seems to fit the stereotype. During one lineup, he says to Earl, "You remember when you left your bid party early, you went to a bar with some chicks? That was a very special night, but you said you wanted to leave because there were too many guys there. I'm not gonna forget it, and you have that much more to prove to me." Similarly, those who abandon their personal lives for the group are rewarded: "It impressed me a lot that he was willing to leave his girlfriend on his one-year anniversary," one brother says of Alex.

The self-seriousness of these lineups is hilarious, and impossible for even the participants to maintain. At one point the pledges are supposed to make pledging T-shirts for themselves that are half gold and half blue. Tim gets his mother and grandmother to help them cut gold and blue T-shirts in half and sew them back together. Later, at the lineup, the pledge master notices a hole in one of the guys' shirts.

Pledge master: "What's this?"

The camera gets a close-up on a rip in the seam between gold and blue shirts.

Dan: "I must've ripped my shirt, sir."

Pledge master: "Why is your shirt ripped?"

Dan: "I do not know, sir."

Tim: "Sir, it's my fault, sir!"

Pledge master: "It's your fault?"

Tim: "Sir, my grandmother messed up, sir!"

Pledge master: "Your grandmother didn't mess up! Don't ever blame your grandmother again! Your grandmother did a great job."

Absurd military inquiries aside, the conformity of the group serves a purpose, particularly at a giant state school like SUNY-Buffalo that has the population of a small town, and where it's easy to get lost among the crowds. Kids straight out of high school aren't necessarily prepared to figure out how to rent a place, make friends and date on their own. You make it into a fraternity, and you have an automatic social life -- a place to live, a group of men that have your back and hang out with you around the clock, a good way to meet women and, most important, an identity. It's easy to deride the mannerisms and rituals of these kids, but it's also easy to understand why they'd participate.

The question is, do aggressive, conformist fraternity boys grow up to be aggressive, conforming men? Ultimately, what's remarkable about the kids on "Fraternity Life" is that many of the pledges already show evidence of strong-willed, independent behavior in the face of enormous pressure from their closest friends. Despite constant ribbing, Earl says his new girlfriend is "the most honest person" he's ever met, and he refuses to look down on her no matter how vehemently the others urge him to do so. Every pledge in the house imitates Alex on the phone with his girlfriend, but he still considers quitting the frat because it's threatening his relationship. Even Tim, who has a sadistic streak a mile wide, can be remarkably understanding and sensitive. When Alex insults Earl for having a hot temper, Tim tells him to remember that Earl's an only child, but he's a "good kid" and he'll mature eventually.

Fraternities may heighten and aggravate the swagger of young men. But as with any socializing force, some will buy it lock, stock and barrel, and others will veer far from the norm at the first opportunity. For every blustery adult frat boy who spends the rest of his God-given days barking about psycho chicks and whipped little pussies, there will be three or four guys who have discarded the affectations and attitudes of a culture that doesn't fit outside the sacred bubble of college life. Sure, there will always be guys who remain nostalgic for the comforting certainties of Greek life. But if anything, the kids on "Fraternity Life" reflect the challenge of balancing life in a homogeneous inner circle with the complicated requirements of the wider world.

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