Two Storylines at Once

"Alternative Math" is an award wining short comedy film about a teacher who faces a belligerently anti-fact society. Ideaman Studios published the video in 2017, and it was played in the January 2018 comedy/drama festival.

Under the exaggerated-reality sit com storyline lies some social and political critique that hits home to many viewers. Only nine minutes long, this piece directed by David Maddox is an example of masterful and graceful social commentary.

The use of consistent cut-aways in between the subsequent days this story takes place serves to keep the viewer's attention and give the story its structure.

What we can learn from the film is the art of balancing two storylines at once. There are two stories in this one-story film: one is a lighthearted, exaggerated story that would likely never happen, and another is a sobering warning to Modern American Society and to its ever-growing multi-truth mindset. When a multi-truth mindset that exists already in society grows far enough to reach exclusive truth practices such as math, all chaos breaks loose. Maddox is warning viewers against and at the same time poking fun at the multi-truth, alternative answers-anything goes crowd.

The mastery of this film is not only that it follows dual storylines, but that it also perfectly balances the two. The film is not somber and heavy like the commentary it contains, so it is suitable for a much wider range in audience than it would be if it weren't framed as comedy. This makes it interesting and  fun to follow, earning the attention of philosophy professors and high school students alike. The goal, it seems, was to convey the message to the public. Maddox's move in framing the story in lighthearted comedy was perfect to meet that goal.

Even the actors' cheesy over-acting contributed to lightening the load of social commentary. The exaggerated reactions and facial expressions move the film from a deep, powerful social piece to a slap-stick comedy. These nuances subtly signal to the viewer that this is only a joke, and in effect loosens any tensions or pre-conceived biases.

Some of the acting/storytelling choices are also due to the nature of the question at the core of the film. It's obvious- so anything but over exaggerated sit com may not serve the film's purpose very well.

It may also be worthwhile to note the possible word play off the phrase "Alternative Facts." While the film is about math, the message isn't confined to math, but rather to anything that has a conclusive truth to it. This may be applied to the media, to the sciences, to logic or medicine or machinery, construction, welding, farming, and so on and so forth. The film is broad in nature yet not so broad that it's difficult to see Maddox is making a pointed statement.

One easy take-away to learn from this film is the idea of broadening the audience scope. This may mean making decisions that feel counter-intuitive to the message, especially in a film similar to those like "Alternative Math." In the end, this morph does not cheapen the weight of the social critique, but rather compliments it very well and allows it to stand on its own.

Madelyn Petta