“Two plus two equals four” -Mrs. Wells. The quote from the very first part of the movie, where Mrs. Wells tells to her student, Danny, that two plus two is not equal to twenty two. Basically, this quote is what triggered the problem in the first place. Even though the teacher corrects him, little Danny throws a tantrum and complains to his parents. This tells us what world of education we live in right now. Perhaps one of the smartest and unique way to tell the world the problem that some schools are facing by expressing it using a short movie, Alternative Math. A nine minute piece directed by David Maddox, he was able to express the problem with pieces of comedy, and was able to pack it all together in a short movie. The short film has a great story-line and the actors are able to portray each character really well, in addition, it has a strong message to deliver.
The short movie has a great story-line. The screenplay starts when the teacher, Mrs. Wells, tells her student that he failed a test because he wrote two plus two equals twenty two. When the teacher corrects him, instead of using logical thinking and basic math laws, he decided to throw a tantrum and complains to his parents. What I think the director did a great job on is on the next part, which is when Danny’s parents came to reach out Mrs. Wells. Here, the director was able to layer in some comedy when the parents decides to mock the teacher and accuses her for her biased thinking on her son. How dare this teacher put their son on her biased thinking and restrict his learning. What kind of professional does this? In my opinion the director was able to put in a hidden message where nowadays people only trust in their beliefs. What happens when beliefs are taken too such a degree that basic knowledge is questioned? When she refused to resign from the school, the media blew up, which resulted her to get fired. And for the rest of the story, you’ll have to see it for yourself since there’s a little twist at the end that will put a smile on your face. Another thing that I love about this movie is how the actors are able to portray each character really well.
The actors and actress in this movie was able to portray each and every character really well. Allyn Carrel, playing as Mrs. Well, is the main character of this movie and she’s able to act according to her role and the current situation that she is facing in the short movie, like being outraged when she was fired from her position as teacher because of ‘misconception’. Danny’s parents, which are played by Mykle McCoslin and Bryan Massey, can accordingly to the situation when they confronted Mrs. Wells, although they used up some swear words to increase the comedy factor in the movie. The Principle, played by Paul T. Taylor, reminds me of a character in Big Bang Theory where he was the guy who denies facts and only trust his statement. Overall, the actors and actresses did a really great job on acting according to their roles. Although I would suggest for the actors and actresses that are playing as rioters to give more emotion to make it more realistic, what I saw in the movie was just people walking around with their signs showing no emotions. Through the actors, the director was able to tell the world a message about today’s education.
The film has a strong message to deliver. It tells us that teachers are having a hard time in schools due to problems similar like the one happened in the film. The fact that people, or in his case, students, are using political and biased thinking in school systems are completely inappropriate. Schools are firing and certain communities are attacking teachers due to their misconception on how the teachers are dealing with their students. Under the humor that the movie gives us, the 9 minute film shows a dark reality, which are the lack of respect and trust teachers are given these days. The video shows how modern day society, media, parenting, and school administration have the ability to flip around innocent teachers, resulting in teachers left in fear of doing their jobs.
Overall, this movie is a masterpiece. It has a great story-line, amazing actors, and an amazing message to deliver. In this movie, we can see an essence of political correctness in our everyday lives, presented by the one and only David Maddox. While exaggerated and intended for comic relief, this short film is actually not drastically far from reality. And that’s a sad thing. I think students and teachers needs to see the movie for them to realize the problem that we are facing right now. In addition, there’s a happy ending and a funny twist at the end to leave you with a smile on your face!
Prabangga Satma 