The Oddly Connected Worlds of Talk to Me, The English Teacher, and Everything Everywhere All At Once

I teach a class at Columbia University Film School called Resilience and Opportunity in a Changing Entertainment Landscape, where we explore how disruption in the industry creates both challenges and new possibilities. Recently, I brought in an executive from one of the major streamers—a brilliant thinker with an uncanny ability to read the room when it comes to the future of storytelling. During our conversation about market shifts, I asked what I thought was a throwaway question: “How has social media influenced narrative storytelling in film and television?”

To my surprise, he was not only attuned to this phenomenon but had a deep understanding of how social media is shaping the rhythm, tone, and structure of modern content. We ended up dissecting examples across genres, and three pieces of content stood out: the horror film Talk to Me, the surreal comedy series The English Teacher, and the multiverse epic Everything Everywhere All At Once. Though wildly different, these stories all reflect the same underlying truth: the influence of social media has become a transformative force in storytelling.

The Multiverse of Digital Chaos: Everything Everywhere All At Once

The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once is a maximalist masterpiece that thrives on the disorienting chaos of infinite possibilities. The film’s narrative structure, which ricochets through absurd humor, heartfelt drama, and philosophical musings, is a direct reflection of the sensory overload of social media.

Daniel Kwan has spoken about how the film’s fragmented storytelling mirrors the overwhelming experience of life online, where countless tabs, videos, and posts clamor for our attention. Just as scrolling through social media juxtaposes memes with life-altering news, the film seamlessly shifts between universes where hot dog fingers exist alongside emotional reckonings. This storytelling rhythm—a rapid-fire mix of surrealism and sincerity—feels deeply influenced by the unpredictable flow of online content.

Virality and Danger: Talk to Me

While Everything Everywhere uses social media chaos as a metaphorical lens, Talk to Me embeds it directly into its plot. The embalmed hand at the heart of the film becomes a viral sensation among teenagers, much like the dangerous challenges that have gained traction on platforms like TikTok. The hand, a literal conduit to the spirit world, becomes a tool for thrill-seeking and peer validation, echoing the addictive and often reckless nature of online trends.

The film’s creators, Danny and Michael Philippou, come from a YouTube background, and their understanding of viral content deeply informs the film’s pacing and tone. The rapid escalation of danger in Talk to Me mirrors how quickly things can spiral in the digital world, where virality can turn harmless fun into something far more sinister.

The Quick-Witted Humor of The English Teacher

The English Teacher, while far removed from horror or multiverse madness, reflects the influence of social media in its comedic rhythms. Creator Brian Jordan Alvarez, known for his viral sketches and online humor, brings the sharp, surreal style of digital comedy to the series.

The show’s humor thrives on quick, unexpected tonal shifts and deadpan delivery, much like the internet’s penchant for meme culture and absurd juxtapositions. Its surreal moments, where the bizarre becomes laughably mundane, feel like extensions of the online world’s ability to make even the strangest concepts go viral.

The Digital Thread

What unites these wildly different works is their shared resonance with the rhythms and anxieties of the digital age. Whether through horror, comedy, or multiverse storytelling, Talk to Me, The English Teacher, and Everything Everywhere All At Once reflect the chaotic energy of social media. They echo its fragmentation, its surreal humor, and its ability to connect the unconnected in surprising ways.

Each of these stories stands on its own as a groundbreaking piece of content. Yet, together, they paint a larger picture of how creators are grappling with the digital world, embracing its chaos and making sense of its impact on modern storytelling. In doing so, they offer audiences not just entertainment, but a mirror to the lives we now lead—fragmented, interconnected, and full of surprises.