Billy Elliot Film Analysis

The opening scene where close up is used showing the trembling fingers whilst placing the record onto the player leading into the tilting shot of Billy jumping up and down showing his excitement emphasises Billy’s love for dancing and symbolises the way in which it embodies him. Long shot of Billy making him look much smaller on the screen is used to foreshadow the harm and prejudices Billy might get from the society as he pursues his dancing career. The swinging door at the gym symbolises a barrier as well as an opportunity of his dream. Panning of the camera,close up and the low angle shots passing ballerinas feet before focusing on Billy’s reinforces that he is different as well as emphasising his preparedness to take risks for him to be able to pursue his dream. Shifts on the expressions of Billy and Jackie while they were arguing about ballet as well as the close up shot of Jackie grabbing Billy and holds him against the door highlighted Jackie as both physical and psychological obstacle of Billy’s

The biological sex of a person, in most cases, today can still be considered one of the main identifying characteristics of an individual. In the past the sex of a person was more than an identifying characteristic, it was who they were. They were either men or women, there was no in between or changing it. Society today has come a long way in terms of gender identity and gender roles, but the concept of patriarchy still has the upper hand when it all boils down. Allan G. Johnson’s, The Gender Knot, provides for a more diverse outlook on the women’s expected roles in life, how they are expected to handle difficult situations in marriage, and how they demonstrate courage, in Mona Lisa Smile.

While many will agree that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is critically acclaimed to be one of the most entertaining and well-liked pieces that he has written, there tends to be a discrepancy over how the characters in the play are portrayed when it comes to the importance of gender roles. After reading James C Bulman’s article over the Globe’s more recent performance of Twelfth Night and Shakespeare’s original written version, I realized that there are many ways that this famous piece has been portrayed and each has its own pros and cons.

Fences is a drama film directed and starred by Denzel Washington, along with Academy Award Winner, Viola Davis as well as adapted from the play Fences by August Wilson. The movie Fences focuses with elements of distrust and change among a working-class African-American father Troy Maxson, works as a garbage collector during the 1950s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maxson’s dream was to become a professional baseball player, but he was considered too old when the league began recruiting black athletes. Sullen by the truth, Troy creates more problems in his family when he dismisses his son’s chance to play professional football. The director’s perception of African American experience during the time period is very fluent. The characters

Nathanial Ayers portrayed the “textbook” diagnosis of schizophrenia appropriately throughout the movie. During The Soloist, Nathanial experienced hallucinations and delusions. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia can experience symptoms. Nathanial would hear voices inside of his mind, telling him he was not talented enough to perform at Julliard. Nathanial also had delusional thoughts about his family trying to poison and kill him. There are positive and negative symptoms related to schizophrenia (Reed, 2014). Nathanial displayed signs of more positive symptoms of schizophrenia rather than negative symptoms. Nathanial would get overly excited about Beethoven and classical music. When Nathanial talked about

Life requires us to move to new stages, each with its own set of obstacles and challenges which, if successfully overcome, can enrich one’s experience. A significant role in this process is played by familial and social values and external interventions. Stephen Daldry’s film ‘Billy Elliot’ (2000) depicts the protagonist’s growth as he discovers a passion for ballet which drives him to break free from traditional masculine stereotypes in his mining hometown. This similar drive traces the quest of the Brennan Family in the Australian Documentary “Proof of life”, when their son Nigel, a war photojournalist, is captured and held hostage in Somalia for ransom. Both texts illustrate the importance of determination, persistence and tenacity in

Billy Elliot was a story of adversity and struggle. It follows a young boy who becomes a great success at ballet after he starts attending dance classes instead of his boxing classes. The play uses parallel storylines of the struggle for coal mine workers’ rights and Billy’s struggle to become a great dancer. It takes place in an impoverished town in the UK during the 80’s but it was performed in 2017 at the Berkeley playhouse. The play is impactful because it satires gender stereotypes and advocates for the payoff of hard work.

The concept of gender is evolutionary and difficult to define, though it can be argued that traditionally females have been predominantly defined by their desirability, and males by their masculinity. The way a director presents gender in film can either inspire social change and conversation, or alternatively it can further reproduce social norms. In the case of the film’s discussed in this essay, it is clear that Baz Luhrmann captivates a younger audience and intentionally uses actor selection and the presentation of gender to transform a well-worn Shakespearean story into something new and evolved to inspire a younger audience. On the other

It also shows the higher social status of elders in the community. In performing the rituals and traditions of the wedding, which are gender segregated, a performance of gender is embodied. Cowan uses the phrase ‘entering the dance’ to denote entering the field in which knowing what is and isn’t appropriate action, in potentially sexualised and physically intimate scenario is imperative. Therefore, meta-narratives and framing equips participants with the knowledge of appropriate codified norms of behaviour, to be employed in the time and place of the dance rituals. Furthermore, the performers become the dance, putting on the persona of the dancer, adopting the metaphorical masque to ‘perform’ the dance. Cowan argues that social dancing poses specific ‘problems’, as well as pleasures, for women and girls, which differ from the problems and pleasures it poses for boys and men. For the male, the pleasure and problems both stem from alcohol, and maintaining the dominant male status attached to consuming large amounts of alcohol (Cowan 1990: 110 – 112), whilst simultaneously making oneself vulnerable to illness or embarrassment resulting from drinking and drunken antics. For woman, it also concerns how identity is managed beyond the dance. However, concerns revolve around

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 the movie boys of St. Vincent’s it shows how One of the biggest reason why child and adolescent victims may be reluctant to cooperate with the criminal justice system is that they are afraid of what their attacker may do to them if they report the attack, in the movie Brother Peter Lavin frightened the kids telling them that if they say something to the police they would end up in the street. Also when 10 year old Kevin Reevey say to brother Lavin that his not his mother brother Lavin “punish” him by beaten him, so we can assume that Kevin is terrified to say something against Brother Lavin because he is afraid of all the physical abuse he may receive thinking that if he speaks against brother Lavin the punishment is going to be even

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

The film Matilda, created by Raold Dahl, tells the story of a gifted young lady named Matilda Wormwood, played by Mara Wilson, who was born into a very unaccepting and unsupportive community. She began her life in a very close-minded family. Her family did not support her thirst for knowledge and learning but rather were constantly pressuring her to be more like them; dishonest and unmotivated. When Matilda was of school age, she was overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of beginning school until she met Agatha Trunchbull, the school’s principal. Even from their first meeting, their relationship was a difficult one and this tension tainted Matilda’s school experience. As Matilda continued to grow and learn, she realized that her power of telekinesis could be used to negate the effects of Mrs. Trunchbull’s behaviour on both herself and all of her friends. Throughout the movie, Matilda continues to realize the power within her and the love she has for learning. This film analysis will be reflecting on three different developmental lenses including John Bowlby’s attachment theory, Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development and Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and considering how each of these lenses relate to the film Matilda.

Matilda is a movie about a young girl named Matilda Wormwood. Matilda had been neglected as a young child and then forced by her parents to learn how to take care of herself. A major part of the story is based at the school where all the students who attended the school were not treated very nicely by their principle Miss Trunchball. Matilda is based on the Roald Dahl novel ‘Matilda’. The film director is Danny DeVito who believed did a great job. This film did a great job displaying a few themes in this film some of those themes are… family, friendship, rules, bully, fear, talent and sibling rivalry. This movie was realized in 1996 and was a big hit there and still is a big hit to this day. There were many film techniques used in this film and here are some examples.