Movie Madness and/or Mania: The Wave (1981)

A number of ABC’s Afterschool Specials (and CBS’s School Break Specials and NBC’s Special Treat) have been made available on YouTube; while usually associated with heavy-handed renderings of TEEN ISSUES (DRUGS! DRINKING! SHOPLIFTING! CULTS! ALL THE GREATEST HITS!) a number of these specials adapted contemporary YA literature, and while not always dealing with ISSUES, also sometimes the ones dealing with ISSUES…

…Such as “Jesus, what was in the water in Palo Alto 50 years ago?”

The Wave originally appeared as a short story written by social studies teacher Ron Jones, based on his real-life classroom experiment where he turned a bunch of nice kids into Hitler Youth (which like its spiritual successor, The Stanford Prison Experiment, really makes it seem like the Bay Area was a hotbed of methodologically dubious research on fascism).

In 1981 ABC produced a 1-hour made-for-TV movie retelling the story, which aired simultaneously with the publication of a novelization by Todd Strasser (writing under his pen name, Morton Rhue). Both film and novel remained a classroom staple well into the AV cart-and-trade-paperback era of my own high school attendance.

We briefly discussed The Wave here 8 years ago when looking at Strasser’s fine YA thriller The Accident, in which I noted that despite its sensational premise, The Wave was kind of letdown for me.  Additionally, I have a few minor corrections to my 2016 piece: “The Wave” film originally was planned as an ABC Afterschool Special, but ended up running first in primetime as a stand-alone movie; it was later rerun under the Afterschool Special umbrella. And while a number of sources (including the official site for the original experiment and all things-Wave)  name the legendary Norman Lear as the film’s producer…  he is actually not credited by name on the production and the only connection I can find is that the copyright is held by T.A.T Communications Company, which was co-founded by Lear in 1974.

Despite the ominous, Trilogy of Terror-like opening, we open not on terror, but on a bunch of bored high school students watching documentary footage of World War II, while dedicated history teacher Mr. Ross is concerned that the kids these days are clearly not understanding the gravity of the lesson.

At lunch, class couple Lauree and Dave and their churchy friend Amy avoid class creep Robert, who is clearly primed to become a Kommandant the first chance he gets.

Mr. Ross really wants to inspire his students, he first stops at the library and then is later shown in bed reading a volume entitled Hitler! while his long-suffering music teacher-wife is less than enthusiastic about his scheme.

Bruce Davison is a solid actor and fine Mr. Ross (he’d be nominated for an Oscar for his role in Longtime Companion in 1989), but believability is strained as the events quickly unfold: the next morning Ross starts lecturing on “power through discipline”, conducting posture exercises and occasionally slipping into a German accent; within the week his whole class is going around sieg heil-ing all over town (Lauree: “He doesn’t even go to our school!”) and Ross is wearing a three piece suit in the classroom… and maybe seeming a little drunk with power? He dubs his classroom organization The Wave.

Lauree’s mom is concerned her daughter has joined a cult, but her dad is just glad that kids are being quiet and sitting still. Mrs. Ross is concerned that she might be married to a baby Hitler.

Meanwhile, all is not well with Creepy Robert. Obviously. After Ross appoints certain students to The Wave’s Snitch Corps, Creepy Robert volunteers himself as Ross’s personal bodyguard, declaring “Mr. Ross for the first time I feel like I’m part of something great!”

Lauree manages to retain her skepticism, even going so far as to write an editorial for the school newspaper that is critical of The Wave’s chanting, marching, saluting and recruitment.

This makes “waves” (I’M SORRY) in her relationship with Dave, who accuses her of being jealous that she’s no longer viewed as special and the top intellectual in school.

While Mr. Ross works the crowd of high school kids, collecting sieg heils in the hallways and forever shadowed by Creepy Robert, his wife is less than pleased, complaining that students are cutting other classes to attend his lectures (look, it was a different world in 1981) and she’s hearing rumors that the administration has had enough. When Mr. Ross protests that the students will be confused if he suddenly stops being a strong leader and telling them what to do, she retorts “Let them be confused.”

After her latest anti-Wave article appears in the school paper, Lauree is confronted by Dave, and the two physically tussle, Dave knocking her to the ground. Now deeply remorseful, they go together to confront Mr. Ross about ending The Wave and the viewer learns that all of this action has taken place over a mere 2 weeks.

The next day, Mr. Ross announces in class that there will be an exclusive Wave rally after school, and a “national political figure” will appear via satellite TV to endorse the program and give instruction on the next steps.

While Dave and Lauree scheme to disrupt the rally, students make makeshift uniforms and banners and tension builds as the AV carts are wheeled in for the televised message. Is it going to be Hitler? It is going to be Hitler. Mr. Ross yells at them for thinking they were special and being about 5 seconds away from sending their neighbors to the gas chambers and… did he get parental permission slips for brainwashing everyone? Everyone soberly files out of the auditorium, having learned a lesson about the personal responsibility of not becoming actual Nazis.

Oh, except for Creepy Robert, who obviously has been psychologically destroyed by this reveal. Ross pauses to give a sobbing Creepy Robert a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but can we please get this kid some therapy?

Visually, it is filmed almost entirely in the Afterschool Special house style, which consists mainly of close-ups of people yelling at one another.

As I said, it strains credulity that all of this unfolds over only two weeks, but there are a couple of scenes that hint at something more morally ambiguous. The most obvious one being that Mr. Ross is clearly enjoying being a popular dictator- for a story about how easily the youth can be morally corrupted, it is kind of nice to see that the adult in charge is just as susceptible.

Additionally, Lauree’s BFF Amy is established as upfront about her involvement in church and Jesus as her personal lord and savior… but is this the kind of Christianity that too-easily meshes with fascism? Before the big rally at the end she declares that she feels like she has been “born again!”

And Lori Lethin, the actress playing Lauree, has a nice moment as she looks over her latest anti-Wave editorial with satisfaction, even a little smugness: maybe Dave isn’t far off when he says that her contrary views aren’t only about morality, but about regaining status and recognition within her peer group.

Major Award Department: the film won both an Emmy and a Peabody award.

Stylin’ Department: Amy and Lauree are outfitted in enviable Gunne Sax wardrobes.

Availability: Book remains in print (now with Strasser credited as the author)

The film is available in an OK transfer on YouTube. The 16 mm print sent to schools, etc. is available to view at Archive.org

TheWaveHome.com has a wealth of information on additional adaptations of the story.