Themes In Billy Elliot

In the beginning scene when his father enters the room, the camera continues to focus on Benjamin while his father’s image is blurred sitting in front of Benjamin and blocking most of his face. His mother later enters the room and stands in front of the camera completely obscuring Benjamin. These scenes shows that his parents are constantly getting in Benjamin’s way of his feelings and he cannot see past the image of his parent identity like he is destine to become them. Although he tells his father that he wants to be “different”, Benjamin does not have control of his own life. When Benjamin does not want to come down to see the guests and he “needs to be alone for a while” because he is ‘worried about his future’ his parent does not even care a bit and insist that he goes down stair because they are eager to show him to the guest. As he head toward the steps, there was portrait of a clown at the top of the stairs symbolizing that he is headed to a social circus as if he was in a costume putting on an act like they are show casing him for entertainment and no one takes him seriously.

Have you ever thought about the negative and positive interactions you've had with people, and about how they could've helped build the person you are today? Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today I will be discussing the prevalent themes featured in the coming of age Australian novel Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy. After the completion of the book, an interesting question is posed. Are the negative, or the positive interactions main character Paul Crabbe face throughout the book more influential in his journey from young adolescence to maturity?

When we are introduced to the characters, Wilder presents them in a way so that they fit human clichés. This technique allows for the audience to see parts of themselves within young George and Emily, and within their parents the Webbs and Gibbs’. Wilder’s approach with the characters, allows for the audience to develop the drama with their own experiences and memories, practically becoming a part of the play he is staging. Midway through act one, during his monologue the Stage Manager states, “Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about em’ is the names of the kings and some copies of wheat contracts…Yet every night all those families sat down to supper, and the father came home from his work, and the smoke went up in the chimneys,-same as here” (Wilder, 33). He reveals the commonality of human experience, from Babylon to Grover’s Corner, which Our Town tries to capture the essence of to enact and remember it. Wilder connects history to his work to accentuate the perception that daily life remains consistent throughout

The novel begins with a journey, both physical and emotional; the Brennans are physically moving houses and towns, but also moving into new, unfamiliar territory. The leaving of ‘home’ is synonymous with the leaving of what id known, familiar and comfortable, in a literal and metaphorical sense.

Moments in Billy's life change instantaneously, not giving Billy a clue to where he will end up next. In one moment, he is sitting in his home typing a letter to the local newspaper about his experience with the Tralfamadorians, and in the next he is a lost soldier of World War II running around behind German lines aimlessly without a coat or proper shoes. He then became a child being thrown into a pool by his father and afterwards a forty-one year old man visiting his mother in an old people's home. In the novel, changes in time are made through transitional statements such as, "Billy traveled in time, opened his eyes, found himself staring into the glass eyes of a jade green mechanical owl." p.56 In the movie there is no such thing and different moments in Billy's life happen instantaneously. Because scenes are continuous as times change, the movie better displays the author's attempt to capture in the notion of being "unstuck in time." On the other hand, the novel does help the audience follow these time changes better by setting it up for the next scene, offering a background of Billy's experiences before they begin through these transitional statements.

The playwright was trying to get quite a few messages when he created this play. First of all, I believe he was trying to show social change and the power and potential that an individual has inside of them, despite their circumstances. I think that this play/movie reveals the true messiness of life and how with the right mindset, you can make it through anything you

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

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.

The author defines imagery by manipulating the environment to reflect characters’ emotions and describe the importance of sacrifice. When the father quits the house with the cat, Bedard describes that “[t]he kitchen light went off, and the house darkened.” (57) These details inform us that a big moment of fear and tension is felt inside the house, especially the little

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

Another cognition maturity that adolescents reach is the development of adolescent egocentrism—the distorted feeling that one’s own action is the centre of everything. In the movie, Billy showed this distorted feeling. He wants to proof to everyone that he can do anything that an adult is able to do. For example, he wants to steer the bout and explore the world by himself.

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

Theme – the reason behind why the playwright wrote the play. “Patterns of life”, a slice of reality.

Even more stifling to his poetic creativity is his home where Amanda, prompted by her motherly solicitude and her fear for the family’s sole source of income, is the major obstacle to his creative concentration. Home is more like a cage as oppressive as the warehouse by Amanda’s austere parental control and over-protectiveness (Ng). During meals, she insists that he listen to