The Wave

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A feature film with the title The Wave, from the ABC Afterschool Special television series. It consists of a single reel of 16mm color polyester film with optical sound. The film follows a high school class whose social studies teacher, Ben Ross (Bruce Davison), attempts to teach them a life lesson through a weeks-long experiment called The Wave. It begins with the class watching a film about the Nazis. At the end of the film, some of the students admit that they find the fact that the German citizens were unaware of the Nazi's crimes incredulous and they didn't understand why people followed Hitler. In response, Mr. Ross devises an experiment where he incrementally indoctrinates the students. Lauree (Lori Lethin), one of the students in Mr. Ross' class, informs her parents about how impressed she is with the impact the game is having on the rest of the students.

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