Rapoport believed that most researchers were mistaken to focus on terrorist groups and individual attacks, rather than the psychological explanations behind larger movements.
It seems that although waves 1-4 in the movie are not the same as Rapoport’s, the film may define the fifth wave the same way Rapoport does: as a group seeking purity by training the younger generation. We know that the plot of the film revolves around Cassie’s attempts to retrieve her little brother from alien capture. What does this mean for the film? Well, a quick shot in the trailer shows Cassie’s little brother sitting on a bunk bed in uniform, presumably at some kind of militant training camp or holding facility. ISIL uses social media to recruit younger members, and has used the promise of hard-to-find toys or candy, including Kinder eggs, in its marketing materials. It is worth noting here that ISIL trains child soldiers, which the group calls “lion cubs”.
Fifth wave terror groups, according to Rapoport’s theory, place special meaning on women and children, training the latter as weapons. Some have outlined ideal characteristics for terrorists subscribing to a fifth wave mentality, including: radical thought and a departure from existing terror groups, withdrawal into under-inhabited wilderness areas, a quest for racial, tribal, or ecological purity, internal violence within the group, using rape as a signature tactic, charismatic leaders, and religious or apocalyptic leanings.