Lesson Plan
Movie · Documentary · History

Spring, 1967: Disillusionment, anger and confusion bubble to the surface of the nation’s psyche. American youth are on the precipice of a social revolution and, for a few tumultuous days Ron Jones, a young, gifted, and charismatic high school history teacher attempts a startling social experiment that will inspire comment and analysis to this day – along with a TV movie (The Wave), a novel, and the 2008 award-winning narrative German film Die Welle (Sundance, 2008). In 1967, Ron Jones was in his first year teaching at progressive, upper-middle class Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California. To explain the appeal of fascism in Nazi Germany, he created a classroom setting wherein students subjugated personal freedom to the good of the community, following almost without question. Replete with salutes and Gestapo-like informants, the so-called Third Wave soon attracted scores of students throughout Cubberley and neighboring schools, spiraling out of Jones’ control. This moving recounting by Jones, school administrators, former students, and Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment) enthralls with the force of inescapable conclusions, and demonstrates how its theme has only grown in relevance.

2011 · 1h 15m
Starring Ron Jones, Philip Zimbardo, Scott Thomson
Director David Jeffery, Philip Carr Neel

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Cast & Crew

  • R‌J
    Ron Jones
    Actor
  • Philip Zimbardo
    Actor
  • S‌T
    Scott Thomson
    Actor
  • S‌T
    Sherry Tousley
    Actor
  • R‌S
    Richard Schloss
    Actor
  • N‌W
    Nancy West
    Actor
  • D‌J
    David Jeffery
    Director
  • P‌C
    Philip Carr Neel
    Director
  • R‌D
    Robert Del Valle
    Producer
  • D‌J
    David Jeffery
    Producer
  • P‌C
    Philip Carr Neel
    Producer

About

Lesson Plan

Documentary

Spring, 1967: Disillusionment, anger and confusion bubble to the surface of the nation’s psyche. American youth are on the precipice of a social revolution and, for a few tumultuous days Ron Jones, a young, gifted, and charismatic high school history teacher attempts a startling social experiment that will inspire comment and analysis to this day – along with a TV movie (The Wave), a novel, and the 2008 award-winning narrative German film Die Welle (Sundance, 2008). In 1967, Ron Jones was in his first year teaching at progressive, upper-middle class Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California. To explain the appeal of fascism in Nazi Germany, he created a classroom setting wherein students subjugated personal freedom to the good of the community, following almost without question. Replete with salutes and Gestapo-like informants, the so-called Third Wave soon attracted scores of students throughout Cubberley and neighboring schools, spiraling out of Jones’ control. This moving recounting by Jones, school administrators, former students, and Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Experiment) enthralls with the force of inescapable conclusions, and demonstrates how its theme has only grown in relevance.

Information

Studio
Journeyman Pictures
Released
2011
Run Time
1 hr 15 min
Rated
PG-13
Region of Origin
United States
© 2010 State of Crisis Productions

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (United States) (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門 (廣東話–繁體)
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
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  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
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  • Vietnam

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