The Wave

Based on a real incident at an American high school in 1967, this short TV movie shows the horror of mob psychology and group pressure. The high school teacher gives his students a lesson in the history of Nazi Germany, not by having them read a chapter in a book but by turning them into Nazis -- without their even being aware that it is happening.

The film should be part of every school's curriculum. The tendency toward in-groups and gangs is strong amongst teens, and the tragic consequences can be seen periodically in the news headlines. This film is a warning of the potential that lurks within us all.

I just watched this in my Social Psychology class and I was impressed even though the film is a bit melo-dramatic. Great if you want to see how easy it is to influence young people, those without friends and to see how easy it was for German's to grow under the influence of Nazi Germany.

This kind of thing can happen at any time, and the movie shows just how easy it is.

Doing a study for psychology, then this is a good film to watch

I have so many fond memories of those great Afterschool Specials that ABC used to make. I think they did such a great service to kids becuase they dealt realistically with social issues in a tasteful manner. The Wave is the best special they ever made because it is one of those few tv shows that really required you to think about the message. I think that it is such a shame that people remember Bruce Davidson as the star of Willard because he is outstanding, not to mention chilling, here as a social studies teacher who, to put it mildly, gets carried away when he encourages his students to act like Nazis. It is even more chilling when you think about the Germans during WWII who so blindly ignored what Hitler was doing. We need to remember the Holocaust for this reason and this brilliantly written and superbly acted film should be seen by every decent person who prays that the terrors of Nazi Germany may never happen again!

I normally try to avoid TV movies. I certainly would not have watched this one if it wasn't for the fact that it was for a class and that I'm probably going to be tested on it in a couple of weeks. I've just gotten back from my Social Problems class, the professor had us watch this movie. As soon as it was over I had to come back here and comment on it. The movie may have been at B-level but the impact was pretty solid. It was rather shocking how quickly the students in that class conformed over to the Wave and how they began acting like the people of Germany when Hitler was in power, but probably what shocked me the most was at the end when they said that it was based on a true story! I have to admit I did learn from this movie. I learned how easily history can repeat itself, how not to just follow anybody, and to be an individual and not just go along with everybody else.

I saw this movie when I was in my teens, so it might be cheesy if I saw it now. Part of some after-school special. Have not seen it since. I remember it though, vividly. I just went through "diversity training" at work. We got to do a bit of talking..."Hi, I'm Taj, and I'm not yet diverse..."

I think it was some sort of cynical effort by my company, to avoid lawsuits, but, whatever, it was manditory. There were a few things that got my attention. We saw two films, both of which were disturbing. one had a teacher who conducted an experiment in the 1960's (right after Martin Luther King's assasination). She had blue-eyed students as the alpha-group the first day, and the brown-eyed students the second day. These kids got a first-hand view of discrimination at its finest, and it changed their views radically by the end of the experiment. The second film had two friends(one black, one white) uproot from a major metro area to a small town and the film crew trailed them for a bit to see how they dealt with day-to-day transactions. The results were frightening and pathetically sad. I had to rethink some of my own ideas. I would like to think that growing up in the east-coast, in major cities, that some stereotypes would be dead and buried. But, unfortunately, I'm no longer think that is the case. I wish I could see this movie again, I haven't seen it in a long time, but I remember it. The whole mob mentality thing stuck with me.

I'm sure I would find it cheesy now, but for some reason, I keep thinking about it every once in awhile. And I wish it wasn't a true story.