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"Two and Two" is a short film written

and directed by Babak Anvari in 2009.
It is about a young boy's school which
is ruled under a totalitarian regime. It
was nominated for a BAFTA in 2012.
What is the message of this movie?
The short film emphasizes freedom, truth
and love. Education should respect truth
and set no limits for students on
studying. The teachers also need to love
their students whatever their opinions
about knowledge.
WAS THERE SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T
UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE FILM? WHAT WAS
THAT?
2+2=5 is an illogical equation which sometimes
used as an example of an obviously false teaching
one may be required to believe. In this film, it
means untruth things taught by the teacher. In
an authoritarian school, what can students do
when teachers are trying to change the truth?
Some of them will against it, risk their life. Some
of them will accept it . But if everybody believes
the false statement, does that make it true?
 DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING FROM THIS
MOVIE? IF YOU DID, WHAT WAS IT?

The message of this video is an important

one to remember...for many reasons,
especially key points in history where
regimes and regime leaders have insisted
that their vision of the world is the vision -
and people either had to follow, or resist
and pay (often the ultimate) price.
The physical violence, and the failure of the teacher
in the film to stand up against a regime that is based
on fabrications...smoke and mirrors...is chilling. On the
other hand the courage of the young lads to stand
up for what they believe, even in the face of the
ultimate threat, is heartening...while also being
heartbreaking.
Education should be about challenges, discussion,
co-construction, growth, meeting potential,
developing aspirations and challenges on the long
road of learning. Once it becomes about control, I
feel the positive aspects of learning are undermined
and education then becomes about compliance.
 DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
My main motivation to make Two & Two was to
explore the desire which drives people to challenge
authority in a despotic situation. I believe such
desires are within all of us.
I have always been interested in the notion of
resistance. To what extent will people sit back and
accept the forces in power dictating their lives?
Can we define the point when it becomes
absolutely necessary to question orders?
The right to question something is a fundamental
and democratic principle. Just like a child who
constantly questions everything to better
understand his or her surroundings, as adults we
need to be able to exercise our right to question
if we want to begin to dealing with the situations
which challenge us.
These are questions which I have tried to pose in
Two &Two; "Can people's mind-set be changed
by using brute force? Or does it only inspire
further resistance from the people?"
I believe that Two & Two has a universal
message which is not bound to any specific
region or country. We still witness various
forms of domineering powers in today's
world, in both the east and the west, which
hold people back from making progress on
pressing issues.
By making this film I am aiming to point out
the senselessness of absolute authoritarianism
in an allegorical manner. Human beings are
born free and we will strive for global justice
for as long as we exist.
Here is a video about the dark side of education.
This reminds me of how tyrants, cults and extremist
have used learning to contaminate a generation.
Physical death is portrayed here but other forms of
punishment have been used historically to force
children to believe lies.
One of the huge responsibilities of educators is to
protect and defend the classroom from such
abuses.
Teaching is an honorable profession that is too
often under valued.
But historically those with a sinister agenda have
attempted to leverage it for their ends.
Never forget the great responsibility of touching
impressionable lives.
Others in society may have a larger income.
But at the end of the day all they did was make or
market disposable widgets.
They did not have the privilege to touch the wet
clay of learners. The classroom is in some ways
sacred ground for transmitting knowledge and
teaching thinking skills.
This video amplifies the importance of education
by dramatizing the extreme misuse.
SHORT FILM SHOWS BELOW TYPES OF PEOPLE WHO REACT
DIFFERENTLY TO THE TRUTH IMPOSED BY THE SYSTEM:

1. Those that accept the imposed version

of the truth without even questioning it.
[the sheep]
2. Those that do not accept the imposed
truth and speak the real truth loud, clear
and determined, no matter the
consequences. [the hero/martyr]
3. Those that accept the imposed truth out
of fear of what happened to those that spoke
the real truth, and that it might happen to
them if they spoke it. even if they know an
recognize the real truth. [the coward]
4. Those that apparently accept the imposed
truth, but they know and implement the real
truth onto themselves and hope for a day that
they will be able to make others see and
accept the real truth.. [the survivor]