UrbanDictionary defines the ‘bro’ species as “obnoxious partying males who are often seen at college parties. They usually just stand around holding a red plastic cup waiting for something exciting to happen so they can scream something that demonstrates how much they enjoy partying.”
You know the type. And if you are a collegiette™, chances are high you have partied with one, become friends with one, or (gasp) may even date one. Bros aren’t a rare species; they populate and reproduce like crazy (opportune times: fraternity rush, sports team involvement, spring break).
In a society that jumps from trend to trend, the trend of worshipping “bro culture” has always been around. Sometimes it ebbs and sometimes it flows like a newly tapped keg.
And this has been the case for a long time. Your parents probably watched Animal House when it first premiered in 1978. Your boyfriend may have a poster of Animal House star John Belushi hanging in his dorm room in 2011. That’s some lasting popularity for a movie about an awesome toga party.
Her Campus is here with a guide to all things that worship bro culture, in case you were curious.
Online
Bros Like This Site
This site gives you a complete guide to literally almost everything bros like. If there is a place trying the raise “bro-awareness” this is it. Bros Like This Site is run by a bro with the pen name Ned’s Younger Brother (NYB). NYB gives you the bro stance on everything from Valentine’s Day to Charlie Sheen. Written in list form, Bros Like This Site currently includes over 150 posts of bro favorites.
The Bro Bible
The Bro Bible should be the homepage for bros across the country. Featuring things like news updates, a calendar of events, a shop, and a “brommunity” for sharing with your fellow frat stars, The Bro Bible has developed an entire online world devoted to the worship of the lifestyle. The site’s tagline is “every bro has a story”, and if you’re not careful you may find yourself sucked into the site and actually reading all of these stories.
Total Frat Move
It’s crude and it’s rude, but Total Frat Move, more commonly known as TFM, is the new abbreviation catching on across college campuses. A place to share short statements celebrating bro culture and to read columns about the stereotypes of Greek Life, TFM keeps getting hits from college dorm rooms and fraternity houses everywhere. It may not reflect the Greek culture on your campus so well, but it does embody certain elements of bro culture, namely boozing hard and meeting girls.
Movies
Animal House
Animal House is the ultimate tribute to bro culture. The plot focuses on Dean Vernon Wormer and his desire to find a way to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity. The frat boys, pledge class circa 1960-something, won’t go down without a fight. Antics ensue, a huge party in the Delta Tau Chi gives us epic scenes of drunkards dancing to “Shout” while toga-clad, and everyone learns that you work hard but always play harder.
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds focuses its plot around the rivalry of two fraternities, Alpha Beta, aka “the jocks,” and Lambda Lambda Lambda, aka “the nerds.” If you can’t figure out from the movie title which fraternity wins this war, then you probably belong in the Alpha Beta fraternity with all the other meatheads. While the movie celebrates those guys who spend more time writing computer code and playing with their calculators than getting invites to sorority formals, it is still an ode to bro culture. The movie features the frat lifestyle and is all about winning over the perfect sorority debutante.
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Old School
The tagline of this movie says it all: “all the fun of college, none of the education.” Three men, disenchanted with adulthood, attempt to re-create their glory days and return to college to start a fraternity. They host killer parties, run naked through the streets, and take on their university’s dean. The movie highlights what it means to be “bro.” There are red cups galore and the hero of the movie, Will Ferrell, is the brother who holds the title of party animal.
I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell
Okay, so this was a book by Tucker Max first, but let’s face it, bros don’t read all that much. So naturally the book was turned into a movie. Its plot centers on the exploits of Tucker and his various friends. Tucker is rude, sexist, and pretty much an asshole, but somehow it works for him. Sounds a bit like the bros at your school, right? Basically Tucker is a college partier who never grew up and who never plans to. While in reality there is no way you can pull this off, his adventures do make for some entertaining storylines.
The Hangover
This movie might not actually take place on a college campus or even have characters that are still in college, but it does embody the essence of what it means to be bro. While celebrating a bachelor party in Las Vegas four friends drink a lot, meet a lot of girls, play some pranks, and get in (and out) of a lot of trouble with the law. Sounds just like a weekend at the frat house. Imagine the biggest bro on your campus five years from now—he can only hope to be as smooth as Bradley Cooper is in this movie. Frat for life.
Television
Jackass
The cast of this television show has been racking up hospital bills for performing various crazy stunts for your amusement since their show first aired in 2000. Cast members of “Jackass” like Johnny Knoxville, Bam Magera, and Spike Jonez embody an aspect of the bro culture; stupidity. If it’s something dumb or gross, chances are they have done it. Bro humor and elementary school boy humor are about at the same level, and “Jackass” takes full advantage of that.
Greek
“Greek” may air on ABC Family, but don’t let the “family” title make you think this show doesn’t show the “finer” aspects of the bro culture. House parties, pledgeship, and intrafraternity rivalry keep this show entertaining and Omega Chi brother Evan’s ability to dress in frat-boy style keeps us girls watching. If you want to find an hour of entertainment that shows every cliché of Greek and bro culture, then this show is worth your time.
Glory Daze
A new show this season to the TBS lineup, “Glory Daze” already has proven it knows about bro culture, and specifically about the bro culture of the 80’s. The real stars of this show are pink polo t-shirts, side ponytails, and classic 80s pop hits. It also features fundamental elements of bro culture such as theme parties, football tailgates, and what it means to pregame. Watch an episode or two and you might just wish you went to college during the 80’s.
Sources
The Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/
Bros Like This Site, http://www.broslikethissite.
The Bro Bible, http://www.brobible.com/
Total Frat Move, http://totalfratmove.com/