User:Gerald Waldo Luis/Alternative Math

Alternative Math is a 2017 short satirical comedy film directed by David Maddox. Maddox wrote the script with Malcolm Morrison, and produced the film with Liz Cardenas. Spanning over a week, the plot concerns a post-fact, far-left American society wherein an F grade on a math test results in a societal collapse.

Plot
On Monday at an American school, primary student Danny complains on his F-grade math test to Mrs. Wells, who explains to him that the answer for the first question, 2+2, is 4 and not 22 as he wrote. He is unaccepting of Mrs. Wells' explanation. On Tuesday, Danny's parents come to Mrs. Wells and show defense towards Danny; it is revealed that they are living in a post-truth, alt-fact, far-left society. Danny's mother plans on reporting Mrs. Wells to the principal, threatening that she will replace her as the math teacher. On Wednesday, the principal tells Mrs. Wells to apologize to the parents, stating that it's not her job to tell students when they're wrong.

On Thursday, riots erupt in front of the school, criticizing Mrs. Wells. Privately, the court tells her that she is being sued for "emotional distress to a minor". The principal is suspending her due to extremism. At her house on Friday, Mrs. Wells learns that she has been tagged for abusing the First Amendment, with the recent incident called the Mathgate Scandal. Apparently, some experts suggest that math is an open-ended subject. The principal says that she is fired, asking her to go tot the school the next day.

On Saturday, Mrs. Wells is given her last paycheck. The principal combines her last pay period, $2,000, and her recent, $2,000, summed to $4,000. Seeing the coincidence, Mrs. Wells sarcastically argues, "No! It's $22,000." The principal is speechless in shock.

Production
Dallasite filmmaker David Maddox composed the initial idea of the film two years prior to release, when he was amid a "frustrati[ng]" conversation with someone who loves alternative facts. "Used to be, as they’d say, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but now it’s like everyone’s entitled to their own facts", he elaborated to the Dallas Observer.

Reception
The Video Suite, in a short review, said that "In a world of fake news, alternative facts and you know, lies, it’s good to see a short film tackle these issues with a good sense of fun." D Magazine 's Lyndsay Knecht opined that "Alternative Math is certainly American in the most current sense", if by "American" it refers to a main character struggling that became victorious in the end. She praised Maddox for his "smooth" work, viewing it as a "sad document" of the Presidency of Donald Trump. Following a salute on Carrell's acting, Knecht said that its costume design and humor "add[s] levity to material for something of a heartbreaker. By the end all viewers know they can hope for is Wells’ emancipation. Anything more has shown itself to be impossible." Similarly, the Dallas Observer called it "a timely commentary on the [United States]'s discourse".

Some reviewers, however, said that the film has a way different message. Yeahflix 's Matkai Burmaster stated that Alternative Math is a commentary on the overburdening towards teachers. He said that the casts portray their characters "extremely well", and noted that Carrell's acting is "Oscar-worthy". The cinematography, timeline, and score were marked "beautiful".

Indonesian news website IDN Times recommended the film for viewers leaning towards the sarcastic genre. Meanwhile, Her World opined that the film "looks so serious but actually isn't".