What repercussions do you think would happen to Robert - Essay Example

The Repercussions that will happen to Robert. In the movie "The wave 1981" directed by Alex Grass off; a high school history teacher notices lack of interest by his students during a topic about Adolf Hitler. Mr. Ross (the history teacher) therefore comes up with an experiment that would help students understand the topic well. Mr. Ross forms a movement called "the wave" which gives the teenagers a sense of belonging. This movement later gets out of hand, as students feel superior to the rest.

Among the students who get very excited about this new movement is Robert. Robert feels he has developed his identity because he feels he is part of the wave. As a normal teenager, he gets too involved in the activities of "the wave.” However, at the end, Mr. Ross embarrasses the students by telling them that what they were doing was in-line with what Adolf Hitler did. After this experience, the students are mentally affected. Erik Erickson’s explains the stages of psychosocial development, the eight stages clearly articulates how a normal human being develops.

His detailed report on human psychology cautions that the happenings of a specific stage of life influences the events of the future stages (Eriksson 131). As for Robert, he is bound to face the following repercussions in future. Robert will have a low self-esteem in future. He had finally found his identity; he felt he was part of something bigger. He felt that he finally could associate with the world fully. In his mind, he had found a way to feel important in the society. However, in the end, he is very disappointed by his teacher.

According to Dr. Martin Neil (27), the previous experiences define who we are. Therefore, the essence of Mr. Ross ridiculing "the wave" movement influences negatively on Roberts psychology and he will probably have a low self-esteem in future.According to Erik Erickson’s stages of psychosocial development, Robert falls under the category of "Fidelity: Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence, 13-19 years)." (152). His role in the society would be affected in future. He is likely to face an identity crisis because of the confusion he had to undergo at this stage.

His leadership skills would be negatively affected because he was among the leaders of "the wave" which later turned to be an embarrassment to him. As a future leader, he would have to exercise extra caution in everything. Such an action would not allow him to develop to his full potential because he would always be afraid of being likened to Adolf Hitler. According to Eriksons, teenagers have super-ego (287). This can be well attributed in this movie. Robert and his friends seem superior to the rest because "the wave" had made them stronger.

They go around and harass fellow students who do not want to be part of this new movement. They feel more special than the rest of the students. However, when Mr. Ross disowns "the wave,” teenagers fell disappointed and unwanted. Such a feeling would result to them being anti-social. Therefore, Robert may turn to be a quiet and lonely person in future. Robert would develop a lot of distrust to people. In the movie, he trusted the teacher so much that he even wanted to be his bodyguard. It is his trust that made him change his perception on education and he started doing assignments.

Through his trust, he was able to answer questions eloquently in class and even do more research. In the end, his teacher rejects the movement. This is a disappointment to him because he had embraced the movement wholly. In the future, Robert would develop a sense of distrust because he would regard everyone a traitor, just as he regarded Mr. Ross. Even though the students achieved a sense of belonging in the experiment, they later could not handle it. This caused many negative impacts to the society.

Since the students were at their teenage life, they later stood to be affected by their actions. Being among the enthusiastic leaders, Robert was among the most affected by the experiment.Works citedEriksson, E. Childhood, and Society. Penguin publishers:Norton.1950. Print.Martin, G, .Psychology study and Teaching. Pearson publishers: London.2009. print.