Dying to Belong | |
---|---|
![]() DVD cover | |
Genre | Drama |
Written by | Ron McGee |
Directed by | William A. Graham |
Starring | Hilary Swank Sarah Chalke Mark-Paul Gosselaar |
Music by | Michael Tavera |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers | Jean Abounader Robert M. Sertner Frank von Zerneck |
Producers | Gregory Prange Randy Sutter |
Cinematography | Robert Steadman |
Editor | Scott Powell |
Running time | 120 minutes |
Production companies | Hallmark Entertainment Von Zerneck Sertner Films |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | February 24, 1997 |
Dying to Belong is a 1997 American television film directed by William A. Graham.
University freshman Lisa Connors has high expectations for a position at the campus newspaper. Her mother pushes her to join Pi Gamma Beta, the most prominent sorority on campus, while her first day. Her plans, however, are derailed when Shelby, a friend of hers, is killed on initiation night as a result of a typical hazing gone wrong at the same sorority. Demanding answers, Lisa tries to find answers and learns that the sorority has a secretive troubled past and how secretive and dirty the Greek system really is.
Lisa tricks the sorority leader and another sister into going to the Bell Tower, where Lisa plays a tape recording of the other girl's account of her near death from Pi Gamma Beta's hazing.
As Lisa, her mother, and Steven walk past Greek Row, the Pi Gamma Betas are all removing their belongings, possibly because Pi Gamma Beta's charter has been terminated. Lisa's mother admits that she enjoyed being in Pi Gamma Beta because of the people, not the actual sorority. Lisa's relationship with Steven endures.
The film was generally negatively received. Variety called it unconvincing and spoke negatively about the cast and crew: "No one's doing much acting, and director Graham seems hung up on the premise that the telepic's serious. Swank's appealing, but the character's a blank; Gosselaar gives his role the old college try, but nothing's there. Von Oy, suggesting there could be more to her part than is apparent, doesn't find it". It continued: "Camerawork and editing are perfunctory, and Roger S. Crandal's production design's conventional. Michael Tavera's score is monotonous". [1]
The New York Times was more approving of Swank's acting, saying that she "gives an excellent account of herself in this made-for-TV movie". [2]
In August 2021, a remake of the film was greenlighted by Lifetime and premiered in the fall of 2021 with Shannen Doherty, Favour Onwuka and Jenika Rose starring and Gail Harvey directing. [3]
Alpha Gamma Delta (ΑΓΔ), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded on May 30, 1904, by eleven female students at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and thus it is the youngest member of the Syracuse Triad of North American social sororities that also includes Gamma Phi Beta (1874) and Alpha Phi (1872). Since its founding, Alpha Gamma Delta has, as of December 2021, initiated over 201,000 members and installed 199 collegiate chapters and more than 250 alumnae groups.
Pi Beta Phi (ΠΒΦ), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867, as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after the men's Greek-letter fraternity.
Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate members and over 300,000 lifetime initiates.
Pi Kappa Phi (ΠΚΦ), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The fraternity has 187 active chapters (168 chartered chapters and 19 associate chapters), and more than 113,000 initiated members.
Delta Delta Delta (ΔΔΔ), also known as Tri Delta, is a global women's fraternity and Greek life organization founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University. With over 200,000 living initiates at 141 chapters and over $450M assets under management, Tri Delta is one of the largest National Panhellenic Conference Greek-letter societies. The Tri Delta enterprise consists of three separate, not-for-profit entities: Tri Delta Fraternity, Tri Delta’s Foundation, and Tri Delta Housing. Together these entities provide the business infrastructure for Tri Delta and its financial assets. The organization partnered with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 1999, and has raised more than $100 million to support St. Jude patients and their families as of 2024.
Phi Mu (ΦΜ) is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States.
Kappa Kappa Gamma (ΚΚΓ), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States.
Shannen Maria Doherty was an American actress. During her career in film and television, Doherty played a number of notable characters, including Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie (1982–1983); Maggie Malene in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985); Kris Witherspoon in Our House (1986–1988); Heather Duke in Heathers (1989); Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994), 90210 (2008–2009), and BH90210 (2019); Rene Mosier in Mallrats (1995); and Prue Halliwell in Charmed (1998–2001).
Washington & Jefferson College is host to 8 Greek organizations and a significant percentage of the undergraduate student body is active in Greek life. With 43% of women and 40% of men of the student body participating in "greek life," fraternities and sororities play a significant role in student life at W&J. The Princeton Review named Washington & Jefferson College 12th on their 2010 list of "Major Frat and Sorority Scene" in the United States. As of 2021, the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life recognized 4 fraternities, Alpha Tau Omega, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Tau Delta, and Phi Kappa Psi, and four sororities, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi. The fraternities are governed by a local Interfraternal Council and the sororities are governed by a local Panhellenic Council, while the Greek Judiciary manages broad policy violations at the chapter-level. All Greek organizations occupy College-owned houses on Chestnut Street on campus. All members of fraternities and sororities must pay the $100 "Greek Membership Fee," a levy designed to fund leadership seminars and other educational events for Greeks.
In North America, fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student but continues thereafter for life. Some accept graduate students as well. Individual fraternities and sororities vary in organization and purpose, but most share five common elements:
American actress Shannen Doherty (1971–2024) appeared in numerous television programs and motion pictures. After her television debut in Father Murphy in 1981, she landed her first major role in the dramatic western television series Little House on the Prairie (1982–1983), and reprised her role in its three television specials. Doherty received two Young Artist Award nominations for playing the oldest Witherspoon sibling Kris in the family drama Our House (1986–1988). She appeared in four films during the 1980s, including the positively-received, animated film The Secret of NIMH (1982) and the cult classic Heathers (1988). Her breakthrough role was as Brenda Walsh in the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994), but she was later dropped from the series because of backstage issues and her negative image as a "bad girl". She starred in television films in the early and mid-1990s, and played Rene Mosier in the romantic comedy Mallrats (1995) in an attempt to rebuild her career.
No One Would Tell is a 2018 film that aired on Lifetime and is a true-story remake of the 1996 film of the same name. It features Shannen Doherty, Matreya Scarrwener, Callan Potter, Chanelle Peloso, Louriza Tronco, Trezzo Mahoro, Ricky He, Sarah Grey, Avery Konrad, Ona Grauer, and Mira Sorvino.
The National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an umbrella council for twenty Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American fraternities and sororities in universities in the United States.