Netflix's recent film about black Greek life, Burning Sands, has been the talk of the town for going on two weeks now.
Here are five lessons that I learned from it:
1. “Quitters walk alone, man. Simple as that.”
As you know, this Netflix original focuses on the intensities of pledging for historically black fraternities and just how dark it can get. Whether you went to an HBCU or a PWI, if you were in the black community, you’ve heard about someone who didn’t see their pledging process through. After getting a visual of their lived experiences, I wonder, can you really blame them? Initially, the scene this quote accompanies encouraged me to sympathize with the quitter. Without spoiling the movie, I’ll say his reason for dropping is definitely warranted.
Then I thought again.
He chose to quit on his own accord. Nobody has to stand by you to make you feel better about the decisions you make without them. That’s how the world works. You do what’s best for you, everyone else will do what’s best for them.
2. “Find out what just any people will quietly submit to, and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue until they are resistant, with either words, or with blows or with both.”
It’s not uncommon for people to abuse their power, often times we do it subconsciously. If someone is testing your limits, you let them know just how far they can go. As inspiring as this quote is, we don’t actually get to see an uprise in this particular Netflix tale. I can’t say I wasn’t hoping for it, but what the writers hit us with in the end is definitely a stronger table to turn.
3. “You don’t always choose to be a leader, people gravitate to you. You can’t run from it.”
A natural leader doesn’t walk around with a sign that says, “Look at me,” or “Follow what I do.” They are who they are and people just feel it. Because of that, often times those who are put in leadership positions can become intimidated by the pressure and attention. If that is you, don’t be scared of who you inherently are. Something about you is glowing and you’d be doing the world a disservice if you dimmed that light. Our main character in Burning Sands has to grow comfortable within his light as well, but it is obvious that his line brothers see it in him all along.
4. “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
With a nearly all-male cast, we get a glimpse of the differences in how men can be raised. You can’t help but think that some are so broken they have to break others, the old “hurt people, hurt people,” saying. In contrast, there are some brothers armed with the strength to repair those that are breaking down. Now we don’t get any access into the home lives of these young men, we can only base these assumptions on the way they treat one another, but that is enough.
The end of the movie is a testament to the quote, with all the men we are introduced to, we only see a glimpse of change in one. Even when things make a turn for the worst, most characters don’t budge. They either show compassion or pray to get away with it.
5. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful rawr of its many waters.”
If you can’t handle struggle, you can’t handle success, the two go hand in hand. In Burning Sands, struggle is used as a means of measurement for the young men. It tests how committed and connected they are to their goals. Our main character, Zurich, has one of the tougher pledging experiences while on the line. Coincidentally, he is taking a class with current topics that align with his reality. Between reading Frederick Douglas and the tough love he receives from his professor, he never loses sight of his goal and embraces the trying moments that come with it, as many before him have done. He is repeatedly reminded that anything worth having is not going to come easy.
