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[filmlover-l] Movie this wednesday: Die Welle (The Wave) Monday, February 06, 2012 6:43:48 PM
From: tbco@mtu.edu
To: filmlover-l@mtu.edu
Hello everyone,

For this week, we are showing a German movie "Die Welle (The Wave)" directed by Dennis Gansel. (More details below).

Please feel free to pass the
message around and invite your
friends.  The more the merrier.
Hope you can join us.

Regards,

Tom Co
=================================
Title: Die Welle (The Wave)

Date and Time: February 8
         Wednesday, 6:30-9pm  

Place: 308 Cooper Ave, Hancock

Director: Dennis Gansel

Partial List of Actors:
  Jürgen Vogel
  Frederick Lau
  Max Riemelt
  Jennifer Ulrich
  Christiane Paul
  Jacob Matschenz

US Rating: not rated (I think it is R)

Language: German (with English subtitles)

Media: DVD color

Length: 107 mins

Summary: (from www.imdb.com)

   "A high school teacher's unusual experiment to
  demonstrate to his students what life is like
  under a dictatorship spins horribly out of
  control when he forms a social unit with a
  life of its own."

My Comments:

  I think the movie is well made and actors do a good job.
  The most popular complaint, however, is that the story is too
  predictable and kind-of by the numbers.  I sort of concur,
  and it could be done a little more artfully,  but there are
  certain elements of the story that might be
  more subtle than critics think.  For instance, when does one
  wake up away from a "tsunami" of emotions and peer
  pressure and form a counter-rebellion - is it just luck?

  The movie is of course fictional, but the events are based
  on a real experiment done by Ron Jones.  If you search
  wikipedia for "The Third Wave" you will find an interesting
  set of events:

    "The Third Wave was an experiment to demonstrate
    that even democratic societies are not immune to the
    appeal of fascism. It was undertaken by history
    teacher Ron Jones with sophomore high school
    students attending his "Contemporary World" history
    class as part of a study of Nazi Germany. The
    experiment took place at Cubberley High School in
    Palo Alto, California, during the first week of April
    1967. Jones, unable to explain to his students how
    the German population could claim ignorance of the
    extermination of the Jewish people, decided to show
    them instead. Jones started a movement called
    "The Third Wave" and told his students that the
    movement aimed to eliminate democracy..."

  A cautionary tale indeed, but like most events,
  when emotions run high, history lessons are forgotten
  immediately.  Perhaps humans are often just too
  primeval for their own good.

  Apparently, a documentary entitled "The Lesson Plan"
  was released in 2010 with interviews of the students
  during that Third Wave and Ron Jones himself, recalling
  the events....I have not seen that movie yet.  
  I think the lessons are still very relevant today.

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Dr. Faith A. Morrison, Associate Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Michigan Technological University
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