The Wave Movie Analysis

Whether one is part of a group – specifically a party – or not, both have important implications. First being a member of a party indicates the relationship between one’s policy preferences and partisanship. Second, deciding not to be a part of group indicates a strong exposition of as to why one chooses to do so. These will be discussed in this paper.
There has been a long debate between the relationship of ideological and political preferences and partisanship; whether the former affects the latter or vice versa. Carsey and Layman argued that both cause changes in each other, however, their causal influence depends not only on how individuals attach importance on the issue, but also on their degree of awareness on the partisan differences towards the issue. It is true, and I agree, that

The movie, The Wave, is a great example where, with the existence of rules, policies, and ‘knowledge,’ party identification overpowered policy preferences. The students argued that dictatorship is not possible to happen again in Germany – where the movie took place – because they are now too knowledgeable to fall into something like that again. However, during the experiment, where they felt identified with their exclusive group which they called ‘The Wave’ – which turned out to have a life on its own – both their innocence and knowledge led to their traumatic experience. The students’ identification with The Wave, uncontrollably and unknowingly changed their attitudes, behavior, preferences, and the way they view their surroundings. With this, I argue that often, it is the identification of an individual to a party or a group that causes alterations to his ideological and political preferences. Nevertheless, it is common that being identified with and being a member of a party is