Introduction
In our communities, literature and film have great power to provoke debate and challenge cultural beliefs and practices. Films act as influences in our societies and can easily change the people’s opinions concerning certain characters, groups, and issues represented by the writers and directors in the film industry. Individuals of all ages are vulnerable to the influence this kind of art has in the society. However, teens and young adults are likely to be more influenced than older adults because they are still developing and shaping their views concerning different topics in the society. The literature and film influences in the community can be positive, negative, or just reflective of circumstances in the community.
The novel The Wave and the film The Wave will be our literature and movie of focus i
...n this speech. The Wave is a novel by Tod Strasser. The novel is based on a real-life experiment performed by high-school teacher Ron Jones in 1967. Some of the themes in the literature are obsession, history repeating itself, bullying, fitting in, and mob mentality. The film The Wave is short made-for-TV movie directed by Alex Grasshoff based on the experiment by the history high school teacher Ron Jones. Just like the novel, the film focuses on issues common in the society. Some of these issues are history repeating itself, bullying in schools, fitting in, and mob mentality.
Robert is the character of focus in both our pieces of art. In the novel, Robert is portrayed as a class loser. He is perceived by the rest of the class as creepy and weird. However, due to his nature of conformity, through the wave, Robert establishes hi
personality and purpose. During the downfall of the wave, Robert is the only individual who stands to lose something because he will go back to being the class outcast. In the movie, Robert is the class outcast who other students in the class avoid to be associated with. In the rise of the wave experiment by his teacher, Robert fully identifies with the movement and establishes a personality in his class. In the downfall of the wave, Robert is disappointed because it was the only space where he could fit in. Both texts efficiently represent Robert’s character. However, the novel challenges the audience with Robert's encounters, and other issues demonstrated in the text more effectively.
Novel Text
Before the wave, Robert is portrayed as the class loser. Meanwhile, Ben Ross, their history teacher is struggling to teach a history lesson about World War Two. Ross is a little bit frustrated because he is unable to answer the students’ questions of why anyone would let the Nazis take power. Mr. Ross devices an experiment to illustrate how life under the Nazis was, he calls the experiment the wave. The wave used the concept of "Strength through Community" where everyone is equal and responsible for helping one another; this is a mob mentality. Robert likes the idea of the wave because now he has found a place where he fits in. He is now liked and is invited to eat lunch with the rest of the students who were the wave supporters, unlike before where he would eat alone. When the wave finally seems like a bad idea, Ross, with the support of the principal, David, Laurie, and fellow
teachers, the wave comes to an end and Ross apologizes for all the negative effects of the experiment. In the final chapter, Mr. Ross notices Robert crying in the corner due to his disappointment of the downfall of the wave. Ross invites Robert out to lunch, where they will discuss The Wave and how Robert can find a healthy way to turn his life around.
The author’s choice to introduce Robert in the novel as a loser sleeping in class and sitting alone during lunch is effective in portraying him as the class outcast. The author clearly shows what Robert is experiencing because he is important to the plot. As the plot develops, Robert becomes more important in the story. In the literature, Robert represents a student that is unpopular in the class. Because of his unpopularity, Robert is easily carried away by the one thing that helps him fit in, the wave. "The whole idea of The Wave is that the people in it have to support it. If we’re really a community, we all have to agree” Robert Billing, page 64. Robert’s mentality is frightening to the fellow students like Laurie. She doesn't object to the wave’s principles, but rather to the irrational conformity it inspires in her fellow students. It is correct to conclude that the author is challenging the idea that the only way to achieve a strong community is for everyone to agree about everything. Using Robert's character, the novel effectively tackles issues to do with bullying, conformity and fitting in in our community.
Film Text
In the movie, Robert is depicted as the class outcast who establishes a personality when the wave
experiment takes off. He gets so absorbed in the experiment to a point where he offered to become Mr. Ross' bodyguard. Later, when the wave comes to an end, Robert is disappointed because he was popular in the wave. His character before the wave portrays a timid and lonely boy. For instance, when he was having lunch alone, his facial expression and body language depicted an unpopular individual. Later in the movie, when the experiment was going on, Robert was a popular individual with quite some influence among his peers. At some point in the movie Robert said, “Laurie Saunders is a threat. She must be stopped.” And a student replied “Don't worry. David and I will take care of it.” This example shows that Robert was now popular among his peers. The structures and techniques used in the film to bring out Roberts character clearly challenge issues in the community to do with fitting in and bullying in the school settings.
Conclusion
The two pieces of art have been efficiently used in addressing common issues in our society like bullying, fitting in, and obsession by the use of the character Robert. In the novel, the author excellently developed the character from his introduction to the plot to the final chapter. Robert's influence to the wave was well documented, and the experiment's influence on his character was well explained. In the movie, Robert's status as the class outcast was well shown and his character changes all through the movie properly displayed. In terms of structure and technique, the novel was more effective in developing Robert's character, challenging, and engaging the audience in the themes discussed in the
piece of art.
References
- Strasser, T. (2005). The wave. New York: Dell.
E. (2012). The Wave. Retrieved August 24, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICng-KRxXJ8 - APA formatting by BibMe.org
