How quickly could a group of ordinary students slip into something that looks a lot like fascism?

In Die Welle (The Wave, 2008), director Dennis Gansel shows it happening in a single school week. Teacher Rainer Wenger sets out to prove a dictatorship could never take hold in modern Germany.

The experiment is based on a real 1967 classroom exercise in California. He asks for uniforms, formal address and group discipline, and the class takes to it a little too eagerly. The group gets a name, a logo and a salute, and the cost of belonging falls hardest on those left outside it.

Our “Power and Persuasion” theme is a good fit for this film, and there is a lot to unpack. So we’ve made a visual guide to help you explore it. Tap any branch of the map to open it, then tap a node for the details. The branches cover the real-life origins, the plot, the characters, the themes, the quotes, the music, the cinematography and the awards.

Bring your thoughts to the discussion. Could something like this happen today?