The highly anticipated Vice Media Group documentary “Bama Rush: Acceptance is Everything” was released on the Max (formerly HBO Max) streaming service Tuesday. 

This comes in the wake of the #BamaRush TikTok trend, in which potential new members document the preparations they make and experiences they face before and during the week of Recruitment, colloquially known as “Rush.” 

Directed by Rachel Fleit, the film follows four women from the end of high school as they prepare for Recruitment week in August 2022. It also touches on issues these women faced, such as the death of loved ones, sexual trauma and negative body image, as well as how these issues impacted their decisions to pursue Greek life at the University. 

Hailey Holliday, Shelby Rose, Makalya Miller and Isabelle Eacrett are the four main women featured.  

“I’ve always needed a thing to be a part of as part of my identity. It’s been hard for me to find a sense of self-worth or pride in something, because I feel like I don’t know who I am,” Eacrett said in the film. 

Fleit uses the Recruitment process to highlight the individual stories of not only these four potential new members but also others who have sought social acceptance in college, chief among them Fleit herself, who struggled to fit in during her schooling due to her alopecia, a condition that renders her bald. 

Other notable features include Recruitment consultants Sloan Anderson and Trisha Addicks, who serve as mentors for Eacrett and Miller respectively, as they navigate the Recruitment process. 

Throughout the film, Eacrett and Miller are seen conversing with their consultants about the best strategies to win a bid to their top choices; these tips include strategically chosen conversation topics and advice on creating a winning Recruitment video. 

The film also explores the connections many sororities have to the secret society at the University called Theta Nu Epsilon, more commonly known as the Machine, which is a group of members from the most influential fraternities and sororities that influences campus politics.  

Amid newspaper clips detailing cross burnings and an attack on a non-Machine-affiliated candidate for Student Government Association president in 1993, the film touches on the history of the organization’s alleged actions. 

Vice Media Group did not respond to a request for comment about the purpose or intended outcome of the film. 

Holliday declined to comment about her involvement in the documentary and whether or not she is currently in school. Rose, Miller and Eacrett did not respond to similar requests for comment in time for publication.