The film, “Billy Elliot”, by Stephen Daldry,
A Spotlight Amidst the Darkness Canadian Film Reviews portrays a young British boy in the midst of the miners strike of 1984, who falls in love with ballet despite the unacceptance and chaos surrounding his immediate family and community.
Billy pushes the gender norms as he is a young 11 year old boy, who’s father, brother and community believe that men should be masculine and women feminine. Nevertheless Billy falls in love with dance and ballet; which is typically seen as a feminine sport, despite being pushed into typically masculine sports such as boxing. Billy's passion and ambition to resist the gender norms are seen more so in todays time, thus proving the significance, strength and sheer dedication it took this young boy to continue to fight for what he wanted and to break stigmas during the 80’s; in a time filled with narrow-mindedness and unacceptance to not being able to purse what you wish regardless of stereotypes and stigmas.
Another instance of Billy pushing gender norms is his acceptance and support of his friend Michael and his coming out homosexual. During
…show more content…
this time homosexuality was looked down upon and many were forced to keep it a secret. Once Billy found out his best friend Michael was homosexual, he showed his support and kept his secret for him. Billy did not react or seem to care, further proving his efforts to break stigmas and gender norms. The film also depicts the struggles Billy’s family and community had to face during the 1980’s. The setting was in East England when the miners and its union were on strike due to unfair wages and a lack of workplace protections/benefits. This was seen as heavily impacting Billy’s father as he is a widower, struggling to take care of his two sons in a town filled with despair and poverty, having to deal with picketing, low sources of income, keeping his family together and finally Billy wanting to dance ballet in a community that does not accept it. The film points out the labour issues, which connects to lecture as during the miners strike, the union choose to use solidarity as a tool to try and stand up and fight for their rights. This proved detrimental however as some workers crossed the picket line, which undermined the union’s strength and in the end the union caved, the employers won and Billy’s father and brother went back to work, regardless of their efforts. Another instance of solidarity shown in the film is when Billy’s father finally accepts and supports Billy’s love for ballet. Despite his stigma’s regarding men in dance, he realizes it is what Billy truly wants, and with his support came the families and finally the community. This was seen when the news broke out of Billy’s acceptance of The Royal Ballet School in London, and the final scene of Billy’s friends and family supporting him as he dances lead in Swan Lake. Even though I argue Billy does not engage in typical child labour, I think there are instances in the film which prove Billy engages in a certain type of child work. One instance is where Billy has to provide care work towards his grandmother. Billy’s job in the home is to take care and provide for his grandmother while his father and brother provide the wages. Another type of work Billy engages in is emotional work, Billy lies to his father about ballet in order to avoid confrontation, and has to hide his emotions in order to do what he loves instead of boxing. Billy also has to do body or physical work in order to be able to effectively perform for his ballet audition. Billy spends hours on end training for ballet leaving him psychically drained, and then must come home and hide his secret. Billy also uses dance as an escape for his mental work. When his family is fighting Billy uses dance as a tool to escape and cope with the high emotions running in his family, such as his mothers death and the miners strike between his father and brother. Overall I think Billy has to do a wide range of work in the film in order to live everyday life and to pursue his passions. Looking beyond the screen, the film connects to todays world as both touches on the realistic class struggles that are present in the movie, connections such as to todays workforce. An example of this is the struggles facing the working class. The working class struggles present to the film is with Billy’s dad and brother and community between the miners and employers. It shows how Billy’s town was filled with poverty, which differs to his dance teachers class and the majority of the students attending The Royal Ballet School. Billy’s family had to struggle financially to afford Billy to move to London. His father debated crossing the picket line, and ultimately selling Billy’s mothers last possessions in order for Billy to live his dreams. These class struggles are also seen in todays workplaces as many workers use solidarity and strike tactics in order to demand fair wages or benefits. Also, being a dancer myself, I am well aware of the class differences in the dance community, and how it is catered for the rich, it allows few working class families and children the opportunity to emerge themselves and include themselves in this culture. The film again connects to todays world in the use of stigmas and stereotypes. As mentioned above, Billy ignored and pushed to break the stigmas regarding gender and its norms. This is seen today as we are now in a time that is starting to understand the limitations and ignorance behind gender norms, stigmas and stereotypes. They are damaging, and in no society should older men be telling young boys they can not pursue their dreams because ballet is for women and homosexuals, and so forth. Today we need to follow in Billy’s footsteps and disregard what men or women are supposed to do, and instead do whatever makes you happy. There is nothing wrong with liking the same sex, such as Billy’s best friend Michael, just as there is nothing wrong in preferring dance over boxing. By the end of the film I argue Billy succeed in helping to break the stigmas and gender norms present in society and I think people today need to take this young boys advice, so that we can truly abolish negative stigmas and gender norms. Another aspect in the film I think needs to be looked at beyond the screen, is the blindspots and certain ways women are depicted in the film. There are not many female characters in the film, and those of them who are, are often looked down upon. Example of this is Billy’s grandmother who has Alzheimer’s, she is seen as a burden, often yelled at by the men and seen to need great care and assistance from the family. The other woman in the film is Billy’s ballet teacher. Although Billy I would argue friends his strength and passion from her, the men including Billy’s family look down on her, calling her nasty sexist names degrading her based on her sex. I think this element in the film needs to be looked at in greater detail as it connects to todays issue of women in the workplace and women in feminized segregated jobs. Today women and their work are still typically depicted as inferior or unimportant when compared to the men. Overall, the film “Billy Elliot”, by Stephen Daldry touches on the importance of eliminating stereotypes and gender norms within the Character Billy, which also connects within todays young people.
The reality of the movie moves beyond the screen as it shows viewers the importance of acceptance. How anything is possible through dedication, hard work and faith. The film connects to todays world and touches on issues and topics that are still present today, such as; gender norms, homosexuality, class struggles, labour issues and unionization, stigmas and stereotypes. I think in order to learn from this film to better ourselves as a society we should follow Billy’s ambition and acceptance, while implementing the idea that anyone can do whatever they dream of, regardless of what society says you should do. Because isn't that the right thing to
do? Written By: Holly Mathews
There are many more examples throughout this movie that can be connected or assessed to the many different concepts that was learned. There are many real-life events and these concepts are important because they allow people to see how different types of people and families deal with stress and problems and it is important not to judge or jump to conclusions and maybe take a step back and take time to consider what others may be going
... that the film opens with. While the story may be slightly dramatic and pieces of the story “coincidentally” seem to fall into exactly the wrong place at the wrong time causing the tragedies in the film to happen, the events in this film are entirely capable of being a reality. Racism and prejudice continue to be prevalent issues in our society, but like Anthony, we can learn to overcome anything that holds us back from putting unity into practice and making our world a better place for everyone.
When a woman or man joins a non-traditional sport for their gender or sex, it can have drastic social and cultural costs. These impact not just the individual but also the entire community. When a person challenges the gender roles of society, then they change the perceptions of what men or women are capable of doing, they further androgynize cultural norms, and they open up sports for others.
This movie was inspiring and encouraging to anyone who is struggling with something. Overcoming his controversies in life became the main point of the movie. Knowing that this movie was based upon a true story inspires the people even more.
The movie teaches us to look beyond the cover and into who someone is as a person. We also learn that sometimes contact with people makes us reconsider our judgement towards them, to find out the real person underneath.
Girls are told to stay indoors and play with their dolls or bake, while boys are encouraged to go outdoors, get dirty, and be adventurous. Wade and Ferree also state “sports are squarely on the masculine side of the gender binary” (Wade and Ferree, 174). Hence, we are brought up with the understanding that playing and talking about sports is a boy’s thing, which further promotes the notion that sports are a very masculine thing. Furthermore, as playing sports is competitive and is a way to show excellence, young boys are considered as “real boys” and “real men” later on. However, when boys do not talk about or play sports, they are considered feminine or “not real men.” The same rule applies for young girls. If young girls are too into sports, they are considered to be “too masculine.” This is true for me too. When I was younger, I was told to not play too much outdoors and to behave “like a girl.” The stigma that only boys should be allowed to play sports and it is not a feminine thing needs to be erased for us to welcome a more gender-equal
This movie is a wonderful production starting from 1960 and ending in 1969 covering all the different things that occurred during this unbelievable decade. The movie takes place in many different areas starring two main families; a very suburban, white family who were excepting of blacks, and a very positive black family trying to push black rights in Mississippi. The movie portrayed many historical events while also including the families and how the two were intertwined. These families were very different, yet so much alike, they both portrayed what to me the whole ‘message’ of the movie was. Although everyone was so different they all faced such drastic decisions and issues that affected everyone in so many different ways. It wasn’t like one person’s pain was easier to handle than another is that’s like saying Vietnam was harder on those men than on the men that stood for black rights or vice versa, everyone faced these equally hard issues. So it seemed everyone was very emotionally involved. In fact our whole country was very involved in president elections and campaigns against the war, it seemed everyone really cared.
Although there were many concepts that were present within the movie, I choose to focus on two that I thought to be most important. The first is the realistic conflict theory. Our textbook defines this as, “the view that prejudice...
Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to
...s is a good motivator. I believe that the purpose of this film is to show people that no matter who you are or what people tell you, you can always do what you set your mind to. No matter how many people tell you that you can?t do something for whatever reason, you yourself have the ability to prove them wrong, if you have the will power and the motivation you can get anything you set your mind to.
In order to better understand the conflict, first we must define what conformity and self image are in the story “Boys and Girls”. Conformity is action in accordance with prevailing social standards, attitudes, and practices. In the time frame of the story, as well as through much of history, it was the social norm for women to be housemaids, and to rarely venture outside of the house to perform “man’s work”. The narrator however, has a different idea as to about how she wishes to live her life. She does not enjoy “work done in the kitchen” as she finds it tedious and “endless”. She does view the work of her father though as “ritualistically important” and far more interesting. This tomboy state of mind of the girl is part of her self image, defined as the idea, conception, or mental image one has of oneself. Upon reading the story, it is clear that her views come into direct conflict with her parent’s beliefs, and even mainstream society’s. While the protagonist’s self image of herself is a driving factor in the nature of her adventures and leisure, with enough outside pressure it can b...
... supremacist gang, to rioting in an Asian owned grocery store, to finally brutally murdering someone. We observe as family ties become increasingly strained in every way, the viewer can easily conclude that Derek’s racism as well as his eventual influence on his younger brother ultimately contributed to their own downfall. As controversial as this movie maybe for the offensive language and brutal violence, it is a movie that deserves to be seen, and even discussed. It really provides insight into some factors within society that cannot be contained by the law or even deterred by even the harshest punishments. Even though American society is becoming more modernized as time goes by in terms of tolerance, racism will unfortunately always be prevalent in society and inevitably it will also lead some individuals to violently express their distorted mentalities.
I believe this movie does a good job incorporating what we have discussed in class in terms of adolescent development. Although the movie is greatly exaggerated and blown up, the movie does emphasize on key factors to the development of an adolescent. Aside from the self-identity and friendship, the film incorporates parental relationships, academics, teacher-student relationships, risky behaviors, and moral development during adolescent
What changes would you like to see in society as a result of this movie?
Not only does this movie deal with the issues of society, but it points to biblical scriptures that help lead us in the right direction. The biggest lesson that this film taught me was that if I put my complete faith in God, then no matter what happens, he will provide, watch over, and take care of me. I learned that expressing belief in God is not enough. I have to live everyday believing and trusting him and I have to show my trust and faith through my actions and my words.