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Billy Elliot Essay
Telecommunication Engineering (ICT51015)
TAFE New South Wales
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Through representing human experiences in texts it encourages responders to challenge their perspective on humanity and the human condition. The power of storytelling such as textual representations of individual and collective experiences allows the audience to gain a better understanding of complex human qualities and emotions within themselves or in the wider world. Stephan Daldry’s film Billy Elliot explores the highly parochial and patriarchal society of the Northern England town of Everington in the midst of 1984 during a mining strike which allows the audience to see the complications Billy faces. Daldry highlights Billy’s struggle to overcome adversity and focus on his determination to follow his dreams. The film reveals how the loss of loved ones can either divide or unite those suffering from the loss, due to the patriarchal environment the Elliot family are divided by the loss of the mother in the family. The film explores how an individual’s passion can lead to growth and transformation for both themself and the people they are around. Daldry enhances the audience's awareness of the complexity of human experiences in their power to both isolate and unifies individuals and communities by adding richness, texture, and nuance to the human experiences he depicts.
Daldry’s film challenges the audience with a compelling exploration of the negative and isolating impacts of the unresolved grief process of reconciling loss. The death of a family member can strengthen familial connections however, in Billy Elliot the loss of the mother causes the Elliot family to feel isolated while going through the process of unresolved grief. Daldry highlights how the citizens of Everington's way of expression is through anger, this is represented when Billy is playing the diegetic piano melody while
the violent behavior of Tony and Jackie can be seen allowing for the audience to understand that unresolved grief can affect how many people react to these experiences. Through the use of music, camera angle, and dialogue in the scene where Billy and Ms, Billy’s ballet teacher, are talking about the letter that Billy’s mom wrote him, Daldry highlights the emotions Billy experiences from the loss of his mother and how he has responded to her death. This allows for the responder to understand the paradoxical nature of grief as Billy reads the letter out loud and is upset. The experiences of grief and loss that we as responders experience and impact us one way or another and make us feel vulnerable through either an individual human experience or as a collective human experience is well and truly represented in Billy Elliot and the loss of someone important.
The film Billy Elliot has created challenges for the audiences to reconsider the way that obstacles and perseverance can empower individuals to confront and overcome. Billy’s love and passion for dance alienated him from his parochial coal-mining community where things such as this “boys do boxing or rugby.. friggin ballet!” are said. The film shows that Billy needs to rebel against his dad and the narrow classification of masculinity before his potential as a dancer can be recognised. In Billy’s first class of ballet, the panning shot which focuses on his blue boxing boots contrasting with the line of the white ballet slippers of the other girls puts the audience in a position to the recognise the strict gender stereotype that billy must cross if he wants to pursue his dream of being a professional dancer. When Billy dances for his father in the boxing
world but also confronts the audience with a message about a way the communities and families can be transformed and share a broadening of their horizons, which allows the audience to see the world differently.
Through the deep exploration of grief and loss, overcoming adversity, and growth and transformation, it allows the audience to gain a better perception of the impact that human experience can have. Daldry’s depiction of the film Billy Elliot highlights the anomalies, paradoxes, and inconsistencies at the core of human experiences and allow for responders to gain a greater understanding of the complexity of human qualities and emotions.
Billy Elliot Essay
Course: Telecommunication Engineering (ICT51015)
University: TAFE New South Wales
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