Character Relationship Map: The Wave

Characters

• Ben Ross (played by Bruce Davison) — protagonist

  A school social studies teacher who initiates 'The Wave' social experiment to demonstrate how quickly people can surrender individual beliefs to a group movement, ultimately exposing it as a lesson by...

• David (played by John Putch) — supporting

  A student who initially joins the Wave to help his football team, gains popularity, breaks up with Lauree, becomes violent towards her, but later realizes the movement's dangers and helps convince Ros...

• Robert (played by Johnny Doran) — supporting

  An initially unpopular student granted monitor authority within the Wave, which boosts his confidence, but he is left devastated and crying when the movement is revealed as a fake experiment.

• Christy Ross (played by Wesley Pfenning) — supporting

  Ross's wife and a fellow teacher who grows concerned that her husband has unleashed a social concept beyond his control.

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Ben Ross → Christy Ross (Family Husband And Wife) — Christy challenges Ross's handling of the Wave as it grows beyond the classroom exercise he intended.

  Christy is identified as Ross's wife and fellow teacher. She worries that his experiment has become something he cannot control.

• Ben Ross → Robert (Professional Teacher And Student) — Ross gives Robert authority and belonging through the experiment, then comforts him when the movement is exposed as a lesson.

  Ben Ross teaches Robert's class and appoints him monitor of the Wave. At the end, Ross takes the tearful Robert away to comfort him.

• Ben Ross → David (Professional Teacher And Student) — David first participates in the movement, then appeals to Ross to end it after recognizing its dangers.

  Ross is the teacher leading the Wave experiment in David's school. David and Laurie later visit Ross at home and ask him to speak out against the move...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• David → Robert (Social Fellow Wave Members) — Both participate in the Wave, but the plot reference does not establish a specific direct interaction between them.

  David joins the Wave, and Robert is appointed its monitor. The account describes Wave members bullying students and enforcing the movement's norms, bu...

Story Analysis

A classroom experiment demonstrates how quickly group belonging and authority can suppress individual judgment.

Plot Progression

1. A Classroom Question Becomes an Experiment — A Holocaust film prompts students to ask how ordinary people allowed genocide. Ross responds by introducing classroom discipline and then the Wave.
2. Belonging Spreads Across School — The Wave attracts students, including football players, while Robert gains authority as a monitor. Its rules and membership begin shaping behavior beyond Ross's initial lesson.
3. Dissent Meets Growing Pressure — A pep rally becomes a Wave event and the movement draws many new students. Laurie's exposé provokes rejection and hostility, while complaints reach Ross.
4. Violence Forces a Reckoning — David's aggression toward Laurie makes him recognize how far the Wave has gone. He and Laurie confront Ross, who promises to end the experiment.
5. The False Leader Is Exposed — Ross gathers the students and claims the movement has a national leader, then reveals Hitler footage on the monitors. The students discard their armbands, and Ross comforts Robert.