The Wave

“All I can tell you […] is that the Nazis were highly organized and feared. The behavior of the rest of the German population is a mystery—why they didn’t try to stop it, how they could say they didn’t know. We just don’t know the answers.”

After Ben shows the documentary, the conversation focuses on how the German population could have let the Nazi minority take control. Ben doesn’t pretend that they know they answers, but he doesn’t necessarily believe that the answers don’t exist. His description of the Nazis as organized and feared, and these qualities become a key factor in The Wave’s frightening.

“As something horrible that happened once, it bothers me. But that was a long time ago, Laurie. To me it’s like a piece of history. You can’t change what happened then.”

David tells Laurie about the documentary and his reaction to the Holocaust. He doesn’t want to let the weight of something heinous that occurred in the past crush his ability to enjoy life in the present. Letting it dominate his thoughts and moods would be impractical and wouldn’t change anything. The truth is, reflecting on it more deeply would take time that David would prefer to spend on other things.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t bothered by it. I just said it’s over now. Forget about it. It happened once and the world learned its lesson. It’ll never happen again.”

David is mistaken in his certainty that the world learned its lesson from the Holocaust. He’s scarcely able to tolerate speaking about it less than an hour after the documentary, preferring to eat and joke about football. To assume that an atrocity like the Holocaust could only happen once is to assume that vigilance is no longer necessary to help prevent an ideology like fascism from again taking root.

“It sometimes bothered Laurie that underlying their friendship was a constant competition for boys, grades, popularity, almost everything one could compete for. Even though they were best friends, that constant competition somehow prevented them from being really close.”

Laurie describes her relationship with Amy. They share a genuine affection, but this passage foreshadows Amy’s embrace of The Wave, as well as the source of their competition. In Amy’s view, The Wave will give her a chance to be Laurie’s equal, something that was never possible when everyone viewed them as individuals. Amy believes that The Wave elevates her to Laurie’s level while simultaneously robbing Laurie of her specialness.

“She knew Ben was the kind of person who got involved with things. Not just involved, but utterly absorbed in them to the point where he tended to forget that the rest of the world existed.”

Christy is bemused, but not disturbed, when she finds Ben reading a stack of books about Nazi Germany. His primary characteristic is his obsessiveness, his ability to disappear into whatever catches and holds his attention. This is part of what allows him to conceive of The Wave with good intentions—and also to let it seduce him without realizing that he has let it go too far.

“Strength through discipline! Strength through community! Strength through action!”

This motto is part of Mr. Ross’s early address to the class when he begins forming The Wave. The shouted emphasis on strength is easy to remember, encourages thoughtlessness that masquerades as community building, and discourages skepticism about The Wave. Strength and aggression can be positive forces, but left unchecked, they can also lead to destruction and authoritarian regimes.

“A wave is a pattern of change. It has movement, direction, and impact. From now on, our community, our movement will be known as The Wave.”

Ben explains his concept about the wave as a fitting symbol for their movement. A wave is dynamic. It’s also surging, moving, and capable of becoming an undeniable force if it gathers enough mass and momentum. In addition, Ben’s statement implies that because change is innate to a wave, change for the sake of change is objectively good. What he doesn’t state is that waves lack autonomy and motivation. Waves perform a mindless function that is dictated by natural law, not by solidarity, community, and a shared goal.

“Honey, just remember that the popular thing is not always the right thing.”

Laurie’s mother quickly and comfortably expresses her discomfort with The Wave. She sees its fascist leanings and its proximity to brainwashing. She encourages Laurie to think for herself and emphasizes that the fact so many students are embracing The Wave isn’t empirical proof that it’s a good thing. Laurie will eventually see that her mother is correct and that she has raised her to be a brave, independent freethinker.

“Wouldn’t ending the experiment now also cheat the other students who were taking part in it? Ben wondered. They would be left hanging without a chance to see where it would eventually lead them. And he would lose the chance to lead them there.”

Before meeting with Principal Owens, Ben is conflicted. He isn’t sure what shape the experiment will take if it continues, but he also thinks that ending it prematurely shortchange students who are benefiting from it. Then, he catches himself thinking of himself as their leader rather than their teacher. At this point, he corrects himself and laughs about it, but the allure of becoming their leader later grows stronger.

“You have to understand that this experiment can’t go any further than I let it go. The whole basis for The Wave is the idea of a group willing to follow their leader. And as long as I’m involved in this, I assure you it can’t get out of hand.”

During the conversation with Principal Owens, Ben reveals his naivete about The Wave and his control over it. Moments earlier, in the hall, he admitted to himself that it had already surprised him by growing quickly and expanding throughout the other grades. The Wave is already “out of hand,” as he puts it; it just isn’t dangerous yet.

“More and more he’d begun to recognize the position of importance his students were unconsciously forcing upon him—the ultimate leader of The Wave.”

Ben experiences internal conflict when The Wave’s momentum accelerates. He didn’t begin the experiment for power or control. However, his students now treat him as if he deserves power, control, and unquestioning devotion. Rationally, he knows this can’t be healthy, but he isn’t immune to the feeling of importance and power that they give him. Additionally, he’s aware that the students are forcing the position onto him without being truly aware of doing so.

“You’re so intent on creating some kind of Utopian Wave society full of equal people and great football teams that you don’t see it at all. It can’t happen, David. There will always be a few people who won’t want to join. They have a right not to join.”

Laurie tries to convince David that The Wave is frightening. A group that won’t tolerate dissent is a group that can’t accommodate democracy. Coercion differs from recruitment, and intimidation differs from well-intentioned evangelism. The Wave’s members are starting to think of spreading their beliefs as a duty, which morphs into a necessity to enforce those beliefs and eliminate threats to them.

“Laurie, you must learn that nothing is above ridicule.”

Alex skips the rally and jokes about the militaristic tone that The Wave is taking. His statement that nothing is above ridicule is more insightful than might be apparent in a throwaway quip. Social dissidents like George Orwell frequently expressed that humor was sometimes the only weapon that the oppressed could afford, and that mockery was sometimes the last line of defense against totalitarians.

“I’m not afraid of anyone, Laurie […] And you better shut your mouth. You know, a lot of people noticed that you weren’t at The Wave rally yesterday.”

Brad is hostile when Laurie asks him whether he fears what The Wave members will do if he lets her into the football stands without saluting. He responds with a veiled threat and openly tells her that her insistence on speaking her mind is placing her in jeopardy. She has now entered a version of the surveillance state so typical of many authoritarian regimes, which is ironic, given that she’s the editor-in-chief of a newspaper called The Grapevine.

“Amy, I’m serious. The Wave is hurting people. And everyone’s going along with it like a flock of sheep. I can’t believe that after reading this you’d still be part of it. Don’t you see what The Wave is? It’s everybody forgetting who they are. It’s like Night of the Living Dead or something.”

Laurie is shocked to find that Amy has fully embraced The Wave, especially after the special issue of The Grapevine was released. Her comparison to the film The Night of the Living Dead likens Wave members to zombies—beings without autonomy, incapable of thought, wandering mindlessly as a hoard whose only goal is to satisfy its appetites.

“The only reason you’re against The Wave is because it means you’re not a princess anymore.”

Amy finally tells Laurie why she benefits from The Wave and why she thinks it’s threatening to Laurie. Ironically, Laurie—an attractive, popular teen who is dating a football player—doesn’t fit any of the cliches frequently associated with a character with her characteristics. She doesn’t feel entitled to attention, talk down to other students, or think her attractiveness makes her superior; she’s empathetic and kind. She has never acted like a princess.

“I’m their teacher. I was responsible for getting them into this. I admit that maybe I did let this go too long. But they’ve come too far to just drop it now. I have to push them until they get the point. I might be teaching these kids the most important lesson of their lives!”

When Christy confronts Ben about The Wave’s sinister implications, he’s defiant and defensive. Ultimately, he does teach them an important lesson, but this quote also illustrates the grandiose status Ben has given his own actions. In another context, someone claiming that he’s teaching the most important lesson of the students’ lives could be laughable or narcissistic, framing him as the only one with enough insight and power to convey such a lesson.

“David could not believe it. He felt almost as if he were coming out of a trance. What had possessed him these last days that could cause him to do something so stupid? There he’d been, denying that The Wave could hurt anyone, and at the same time he’d hurt Laurie, his own girlfriend, in the name of The Wave!”

After David pushes Laurie down during their argument, he realizes that he has lost sight of what matters to him in the wake of The Wave. He had argued forcefully for The Wave, its benign nature, and its mission, only to find that it made him capable of physically harming his girlfriend. His use of the word “possessed” is apt, in that his behavior would be characteristic of someone whose identity had been temporarily replaced by an evil force.

“Who could have believed that a nice bunch of high school students like those at Gordon High could have become a fascist group called The Wave? Was it a weakness of man that made him want to ignore the darker side of his fellow human beings?”

Ben admits to himself that his experiment has, unfortunately, been too successful. He has successfully introduced a lesser version of Nazi Germany (without the mass murder) to his students, which many have embraced wholeheartedly. Now, he wonders if it’s a natural characteristic of humankind to ignore the darkness in others. This can be a matter of convenience, laziness, or naivete. It’s easier not to contemplate the horrors of which people are capable, and this is partly why some questions remain unanswerable.

“You weren’t dumb, David. You were idealistic. I mean, there were good things about The Wave. It couldn’t be all bad, or no one would have joined in the first place. It’s just that they don’t see what’s bad about it. They think it makes everyone equal, but they don’t understand that it robs you of your right to be independent.”

Laurie reassures David that she knows he didn’t join and participate in The Wave out of malice or a desire to do harm. She further demonstrates her ability to think critically when she admits that The Wave had an appeal. Some ideas work better in theory than in practice. Some of the horrors of the 20th century were ostensibly enacted from a desire for equality. As a concept, it’s hard to argue against equality and for everyone to have what they need, as desirable. However, the fallibility, shortsightedness, and darker aspects of people give them the ability to distort rational ideas into irrational acts of horror.

“If people were destined to be led, Ben thought, this was something he must make sure they learned: to question thoroughly, never to put your faith in anyone’s hands blindly. Otherwise….”

By the end of the experiment, Ben has developed a fatalistic attitude toward some aspects of humanity. He has accepted that people usually choose a leader rather than think for themselves. To teach his lesson, he must show them that sacrificing the right to question, while following the wrong leader, led to the greatest horrors of the 20th century. If humanity’s instinct is to follow a leader, it’s critical that the leader have humanity’s best interests at heart.

“You say it could never happen again, but look how close you came. Threatening those who wouldn’t join you, preventing non-Wave members from sitting with you at football games. Fascism isn’t something those other people did, it is right here, in all of us.”

Ben tells the students at the rally that they’ve proven the Holocaust can’t safely be viewed as a singular event that could never recur. If a group of high school students can quickly morph into a fascist group because of following the orders of a charismatic leader, it would be naive to assume that the fascism typical of Nazi Germany was unique. If anyone can become a monster, then vigilance and dissent are requirements of a flourishing society that pursues positive directives.

“If history repeats itself, you will all want to deny what happened to you in The Wave. But, if our experiment has been successful—and I think you can see that it has—you will have learned that we are all responsible for our own actions, and that you must always question what you do rather than blindly follow a leader, and that for the rest of your lives, you will never, ever allow a group’s will to usurp your individual rights.”

As Ben concludes his speech, he repeats that, while individuals can be right or wrong, they must remain individuals to be of maximum benefit to society. Personal accountability is real in a way that group accountability is not because groups are made of individuals. True change happens at the level of the individual, regardless of the group to which an individual might belong.