The Wave

Tonight, Day 6 (is it? I lose track) I watched a German film titled 'The Wave'. It's about a social studies teacher in a German high school who conducts a week-long social experiment with his studies to illustrate the temptation and power of fascism. As students who have been taught about the Nazis their entire lives, they are an apathetic lot, but by the end of the week they are an unstoppable force that the teacher can barely control.

The film is described as 'based on a true story', which is both a slight exaggeration and a very apt description. In the late 1960s, a Palo Alto teacher conducted a similar experiment, and in a week's time his class's fascist gang had expanded to 800 students spread across three high schools. In the film, they only expand to 150 students, but in addition to the beatings there is one attempted murder, one shooting and one more traumatic event that I won't detail for those who will see the film.

This film is a very powerful story, and the German context heightens the relief. I wholeheartedly recommend this film.