2+2=5

2+2=5 is a dramatic short film that's about 7:00 minutes long. It is a short film about a school who are teaching the students that 2+2=5 and not 4 they are teaching this through fear, the students are too afraid to stand up to the teacher and so accept what he says and go along with it, however there are a few kids who question how accurate the teacher is and one in particular argues the case that the answer is in fact 4.

At its core this short film is an allegory for rigid fundamentalism and dictatorships, this is probably the best aspect of this short, it manages to capture such massively pressing problems and cultural issues such as fundamentalism and dictatorships and it condenses them and there meanings into a relatable setting where by the viewer can be shown the harsh reality of these real life issues, as well as that it visualizes it and visualize the courage it takes to stand up to these issues. 

The title of the film is very good, although it doesn't indicate to the viewer what genre of film they are watching it does create an enigma, anyone who looks at it will think its wrong and be drawn in to find out just why the title is the wrong answer to a simple maths equation. 

The structure and synopsis of the film is as follows: Set up students sitting in very run down room are then interrupted by a loud announcement informing them of changes throughout the school and telling them to listen to there teacher. 

The Inciting Incident is when the teacher comes in and writes 2+2=5 on the board and then tells the students that that is correct and forces them to say it out loud. 

Then comes the Rising action which is when one student revolts against the teacher and says he is wrong and the answer is in fact 4, the teacher then gets the top students of the school to come in and reinforce his teachings. 

Then comes the Climax the teacher tells the rebel student to write the answer of the equation on the board under threat of a firing squad, he then writes 4 and is immediately gunned down. 

And finally the Resolution of the film is when the students body is taken out and the camera pans to the book of another student who is chanting that it equals 5 but writing in his book that it equals 4 foreshadowing a future rebel.

This is aimed at everyone over the age of about 16 as the matters and allegory of the story would be difficult to comprehend for young kids as well as parts of it being too graphic, however the film is aimed at all genders and ages above 16 as it is a matter that everyone needs to be made aware of in a way that shows the severity of the issues at hand, whilst showing it in a relatable setting (school) for them to be able to fully comprehend and almost relate to, this is to ensure the severity of the message is clearly put across. 

The students are represented as being scared and afraid for the most part, this is shown through there facial and body expressions (mise en scene) we see them all stand to attention as soon as the teacher walks in and we also see how hesitant the students are to stand up to the teacher on his mistakes, this level of discipline is only gained through fear which tells the audience that the students are scared of the teacher and what he will do if they dont follow what he says exactly. The teacher is shown to be very mean looking he doesn't smile and is extremely rude and threatening to those that revolt against what he says, and this is reinforced when he has a student killed for doing so. 

The camera techniques were simple as to not distract the viewer from the most important part of the film which was the story and so any fancy cuts would have stopped the story being as impactful as it was. Most of the shots were locked off medium or long shots to make it feel like we the viewer were students in the classroom watching the events unfold.