''The Wave'' is a

made-for-TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Alex Grasshoff Alexander Grasshoff (December 10, 1928 – April 5, 2008) was an American documentary filmmaker and director who received three Oscar nominations. Along with fellow producer Robert Cohn, he is perhaps best known for writing and directing the doc ...

, based on The Third Wave experiment put on by teacher Ron Jones to explain to his students how the German populace could accept the actions of the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. It debuted October 4, 1981, and almost two years later as an ''

ABC Afterschool Special ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presen ...

''. It starred

Bruce Davison Bruce Allen Davison (born June 28, 1946) is an American actor and director. Davison is well known for his starring role as Willard Stiles in the cult horror film '' Willard'' (1971) and his Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning perfor ...

as the teacher Ben Ross, a character based on Jones.

Summary

Ben Ross, a school social studies teacher, shows his class a film about

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. They question how the German people would have allowed

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

to occur. Unable to explain the question for himself, Ross decides to find out through a

social experiment A social experiment is a type of Psychology, psychological or Sociology, sociological research for testing people's reactions to certain situations or events. The experiment depends on a particular social approach where the main source of inform ...

. He begins in an innocuous fashion with advice on proper

posture Posture or posturing may refer to: Medicine * Human position ** Abnormal posturing, in neurotrauma **Spinal posture ** List of human positions * Posturography, in neurology Other uses * Posture (psychology) In humans, posture can provide a s ...

and a few classroom rules for better efficiency. The students take up the rules with enthusiasm. Ross continues the next day by introducing The Wave, which he describes as a youth movement with a secret salute and membership card. Robert, an unpopular student, is given the role of monitor over the other students, a position which fills him with pride. David, a student, thinks that the Wave's rules will help his football team. With the popular football players now on board, the Wave's popularity spreads across the school. By the end of the week, Robert has developed confidence and authority and reports unorthodox behavior to Ross and the other Wave members. David's girlfriend Laurie is unnerved and Ross's wife worries that Ross has introduced a concept he cannot control. The next day, a

pep rally A pep rally or pep assembly is a gathering of people, typically students of middle school, high school, and college age, before a sports event. The purpose of such a gathering is to encourage school spirit and to support members of the team. It ...

has turned into a Wave event. Two hundred more students join. Laurie writes an

exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

for the school paper. David breaks up with her and friends reject her. Other students are

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbal ...

by members and voice concerns to parents and administrators, who in turn complain to Ross. Ross begs for enough time to complete the experiment. The exposé is published. The Wave denounces the school paper and singles out Laurie for attack. Fearing for her, David warns her to stop speaking out, then gets violent enough to push her to the ground. David realizes now how far things have gone. David and Laurie visit Ross and beg him to speak out against the movement. Ross says he agrees the experiment is out of control. He promises them that he will put an end to it. The following day, Ross tells students that the Wave is a real youth movement taking place in schools all over the country. The movement's leader will give a televised speech tomorrow. The eager Wave students gather to watch, only to be shown a film of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

leading a Nazi rally. Ross tell them that this is their leader and that the experiment proves how quickly a group can give up their individual beliefs. The stunned students throw away their armbands and leave. Robert, who has been given his first sense of belonging by the movement, is left in tears. Ross takes Robert away to comfort him.

Awards

The TV film won a 1982

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Children's Program, and a 1981

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

and a 1981

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for Best Television Special - Family Enjoyment. Writer Johnny Dawkins was nominated for a 1982

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing, and is given to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful way. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of Paulist P ...

in the 60 minute category, and a 1983

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

for Best Children's Show.

Related works

Todd Strasser Todd Strasser (born May 5, 1950) is an American writer of more than 140 young-adult and middle grade novels and many short stories and works of non-fiction, some written under the pen names Morton Rhue and T.S. Rue. Biography Strasser was bor ...

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...

of the same name was released the same year. It originally appeared under Strasser's

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of Morton Rhue. Ron Jones article and the TV movie's screenplay were the basis of the 2008 German film '' Die Welle''.

References

External links

* * http://www.thewave.tk/ Various iterations of the Third Wave story
The Wave Home
Official website: story history, FAQ, links, etc. by original Wave students {{DEFAULTSORT:Wave, The 1981 television films ABC Afterschool Special episodes Peabody Award-winning broadcasts Films directed by Alex Grasshoff American films based on actual events American drama television films Films about fascism American political drama films Films à clef Films about teacher–student relationships Films about school bullying