The third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus” has featured — spoilers forward — adultery, a stolen firearm, an incestuous threesome, a useless physique within the water, faux friendships and white-collar crime.
So it won’t be completely shocking that real-life officers from Duke College are troubled that the varsity has performed a supporting position all through the season.
One of many present’s main characters, Timothy Ratliff, a rich businessman and Duke alumnus performed by Jason Isaacs, is on trip in Thailand together with his household. However issues go south in a rush when he learns that he’s being investigated for his half in a shady monetary deal.
Mr. Ratliff copes by stealing lorazepam, an anti-anxiety medicine, from his spouse’s cache of pharmaceuticals. The capsules go away him in a zombielike state. Later, after filching a handgun from one of many resort’s safety guards, Mr. Ratliff seems to ponder suicide — whereas carrying a Duke T-shirt.
However there may be extra: Mr. Ratliff’s eldest son, Saxon, who works for his father’s firm and is performed by Patrick Schwarzenegger, is a poster little one for poisonous masculinity — and has a disturbing sexual encounter together with his youthful brother and a lady they met on the resort. Saxon went to Duke, too.
Frank Tramble, the vice chairman for communications, advertising and public affairs at Duke, mentioned in an e-mail that the college didn’t approve of the usage of its “marks” in this system.
“Duke appreciates creative expression and inventive storytelling,” Mr. Tramble mentioned, “however characters’ prominently carrying attire bearing Duke’s federally registered emblems creates confusion and mistakenly suggests an endorsement or affiliation the place none exists.”
Mr. Tramble added that the present “not solely makes use of our model with out permission, however in our view makes use of it on imagery that’s troubling, doesn’t replicate our values or who we’re, and easily goes too far.”
However whereas Duke officers could also be aggravated with the varsity’s portrayal within the present, the regulation is probably on HBO’s aspect, mentioned Jeanne Fromer, a professor who makes a speciality of mental property regulation on the New York College College of Legislation.
Trademark regulation, the professor mentioned, is about defending companies — on this occasion, Duke — from their “marks” being utilized in a manner that confuses shoppers. For instance, if somebody tries to open up a college and name it “Duke College,” that may possible violate trademark regulation.
However that isn’t the case with “The White Lotus,” and artists even have sturdy protections underneath the First Modification to make use of well-known emblems for creative and expressive functions — rights, Professor Fromer mentioned, that the courts have constantly defended.
“On the one hand, I perceive that Duke is making an attempt to disassociate themselves from this,” Professor Fromer mentioned. “However, they’re drawing consideration to it.”
David Olson, an affiliate professor at Boston School Legislation College, mentioned that the usage of emblems in fiction and in cultural commentary “enjoys broad authorized latitude.” He added: “A trademark doesn’t give one management over how others reference one’s model, together with in crucial methods.”
Mr. Tramble didn’t reply when requested by e-mail if Duke would contemplate authorized motion. A consultant for HBO declined to remark.
The college’s attire within the present turned a problem, at the very least partially, as a result of the varsity’s extraordinarily profitable basketball program — the Blue Devils have received 5 nationwide championships — makes it a group that many sports activities followers like to hate.
With the college within the N.C.A.A. event this month, “The White Lotus” has offered materials for potential memes — the picture of Mr. Ratliff trying distraught in his Duke T-shirt, with a gun to his head, for one. A put up on X that instructed that the picture would emerge as “an all-time meme” if Duke had been to lose has acquired greater than three million views and has been appreciated greater than 59,000 instances.
The put up prompted a reply from Duke’s account on the platform, which cautioned that suicide was the second-leading reason for dying on school campuses and urged those that wanted help to hunt assist.
“As imagery from the present is being shared extensively throughout social media,” Mr. Tramble mentioned, “we’re utilizing our model to advertise psychological well being consciousness and remind those that assist is out there.”
The present season of “The White Lotus” has two episodes left, and Mr. Schwarzenegger mentioned throughout an look on “The Drew Barrymore Show” that they made him so uncomfortable that he wouldn’t watch them together with his household. A daring assertion — and doubtlessly a troubling one for Duke — since his character already had a nude scene within the first episode and the aforementioned threesome together with his youthful brother.
Making issues worse for Duke: Mr. Ratliff’s daughter, Piper, who’s performed by Sarah Catherine Hook, to date appears to be the least problematic member of her dysfunctional household and hopes to spend a yr at a Buddhist monastery.
She attends Duke’s rival, the College of North Carolina.
In case you are having ideas of suicide, name or textual content 988 to succeed in the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/assets for an inventory of further assets.
