Billy Elliot Strictly Ballroom Quotes

Kanye West and Harding’s quotes both relate to the character Billy Bibbit because he was an outcast in society and thought lowly of himself. Billy was different, and because of this, society did not accept him and that caused him to stay sheltered by his mother. His mother was overprotective and did not toughen Billy up, so Billy had a stutter and a deep dependence on other people. When he got to the hospital, he had no experience in the real world, and he suddenly had no help from his mother. This led him to be more withdrawn and allowed people to belittle him because he could not stand up for himself. After being made fun of and thrown aside by society, Billy had no self confidence. His feelings towards himself were only negative, and these feelings rules

"These writers explore both the social roles that confine them and the bodies that represent the confinement". In light of this quotation, compare how the writers explore gender.

Stereotypes are commonly held generalized beliefs that most or all individuals sharing a given trait also should or do share other attributes assumed to be associated with aspects such as race, religion, and physical attribute. While stereotypes can erroneously shape people’s views of others, they can also influence the stereotyped individuals’ behavior as people often attempt to conform to these flawed images, especially in regards to gender stereotypes. Shakespeare’s great play Othello uses its main characters to embody the characteristics of the stereotypical females and males according to society’s liking. The stereotypical woman is loyal and faithful to her husband, while the male stereotype possesses strength, control, and dominance.

Self belief is shown through the realistic dancing of the Spanish community and Fran’s family compared to the exaggerated and unreal images of the ballroom community, dominated by flashy costumes and insincerity. At the Toledo Milk Bar the earthy and sensual colours of reds and browns allows us to feel the real spirit of dancing. When Rico, Fran’s father challenges Scott to dance the Paso doble, Scott is laughed at by the way he dances. “What is so funny about the way I dance?” Fran’s Family and the Spanish community soon teach Scott that the real value of dancing comes from the heart and Fran’s grandmother shows him where he needs to really feel the rhythm in his body.

Herrick shows that a relationship has ‘centred’ Billy. His life has direction, routine and meaning. Billy’s identity at first was seen as a loner, he was isolated and a rebel. His mother was absent and his relationship with his father was intimidating. The lack of connection to family extends to Old Bill, whose daughter and wife died, and to Freya and Danny, who do not have the guidance of responsible adults. Herrick symbolises his disconnection and loneliness in ‘I didn’t go inside for hours./I looked through the back window/watching him/reading the paper/in front of the television/as if nothing happened’. Billy’s sense of belonging allows him to reforms his identity. Herrick shows this by juxtaposing Billy eating like a hobo in the first person narration in ‘And wait for the family of five to leave. / I can see dessert/ waiting for me’ and later eating like a refined mature adult via the descriptive language in ‘with a white tablecloth/and napkins/ and proper cutlery and plates.’ Comparatively, Freya grows up after Danny helps her deal with her miscarriage. This highlights that a person’s identity is defined by their connection to others. Both composers show an understanding of each other, allow them to nourish one another.

Her first challenge comes when Billy himself does not want to do ballet because of his preconceived ideas that only girls and gay boys do it. The teacher pursues her objective by being stern and demanding. This gets Billy to take dancing seriously and she furthers her goal. However, trouble comes when Billy’s father finds out that he is not doing his boxing lessons. The teacher tackles this with her stern tactics from before but intermixes an appeal of sympathy for Billy’s talent. Unfortunately, she is unsuccessful and has to result to being secretive in order for Billy’s father not to find out. The conflict between the two characters was very intense due to conflicting objectives and strong tactics; it raised the stakes and grabbed the attention of the audience. This makes the viewer root for Billy to succeed despite his

In today’s society, men and women are confronted with gender stereotypes daily. In the texts Ten Things I Hate about You, The Big Bang Theory, I’m Glad I’m a Boy! I’m Glad I’m a Girl! By Whitney Darrow and ‘Stupid Girls’ by Pink, the roles of men and women are perceived in different ways. Some characters in each text challenge the typical stereotype whilst others accept it.

Establishing Baz Luhrmann’s acclaimed Red Curtain trilogy, Strictly Ballroom explores the notion that “a life lived in fear is a life half lived,” through his effective use of characterisation, setting, symbolism and cinematography. The coming of age piece follows two ballroom dancers through their battle against conventionality, during the height of the rigorous 1980’s Australian dance culture. Furthermore, an emphasis on exaggeration is portrayed within the film to exemplify the notion of regret, which directs viewers into an animated like perception of theatre, as urged by Luhrmann.

Challenging Authority is another idea shown in ‘strictly Ballroom’ this can be when you choose to do something about following other rules from a higher authority. This is illustrated when Scott is introduced to Fran’s grandmother Ya Ya. She explains that dancing comes from the heart. The close ups of Ya Ya’s hands beating the traditional rhythm of the Paso Doble on Scott’s chest gives both Scott and Fran the inspiration to dance their own moves which demonstrates to the Audience how they are challenging authority and now have somewhere to belong to.

In “Strictly Ballroom” the beginning scenes of the film Baz established the conventional, elegant atmosphere of the ballroom dancing world. Using a combination of techniques such as graceful music, the

3. The setting of the story does appear relevant to the plot of the story. I believe this because the main character lives in a poor community, which would definitely influence the story and add to the various problems and conflicts of the

Billy Elliot explores the concept of identity and how it can shaped and changed through life experiences. It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy named Billy, and his father, Jackie, amidst a mining strike in a town in Northern England during the mid-1980s. Billy creates his personal identity through dance as it is a means of expressing himself. In Billy’s world, strict stereotypes dealing with gender and sexual identity are enforced, which created not only an internal personal battle for Billy, but also an external conflict between him and his family. As a result, he was ashamed of and forced to hide his talent and passion for dance, shown in the quote, “I feel like a right sissy”. The song “Town called Malice” was played in Billy’s main

In Athol Fugard’s play “Master Harold”… and the Boys dance becomes a metaphor for how society can work harmoniously together, yet there are conflicts that prevent it from happening. Specifically, ballroom dance becomes a metaphor to show the conflict between a cooperative society and the disappointment associated with life and our inability to force change. This is expressed by Sam teaching Willie the mastery of dance and also educating Hally on the significance of the championships, and ultimately through the final dance performance.

Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, details the life of an 11-year-old working-class boy who is caught up in the poverty and violence of North-east England during the 1984 miner’s strikes. After a local ballet teacher discovers Billy’s raw talent for dancing, Billy decides he wants to be a ballet dancer. Billy had to overcome many obstacles in order to follow his new found dream. Two of these were family traditions and expectations, and social class. Billy also received help to overcome many obstacles, this help came from Mrs Wilkinson.

“This scene not only expresses Billy’s rage, it visually represents his childhood. Billy is blocked by barriers of gender, class, and