Billy Study notes PDF

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Summary

Billy Elliot movie by Stephen Daldry...

Description

ENGLISH STUDY NOTES Billy ELLIOT Big IDEAS: IDEA

Collective

Individual

Techniques

Loss

Billy losing mother at young age, meaning he doesn’t have an advocate to support his “own Path” Within themselves, E.G. Jackie going back to the mines

Family dynamic shows loss through fractured relationships, distance between them all

Recurring piano song The letters on the piano show that someone had been teaching him piano “mother would have let me” - Mis-en-scene of billy’s boxing gloves around his neck. - Jackie going to the mines

Conflict

Commitment Tony’s commitment to the mines. Commitment to society Mrs Wilkinson to Billy’s dance career Struggle Billy’s ability to learn dancing Conformity

Sacrifice

Love SelfActualisatio n

Minors vs GOV fight, Billy vs the community (metaphorical and physical). War within Jackie of supporting his son or holding onto family tradition. “mother would have let me” Communities commitment to give money for Billy’s dance audition Billy’s father crying at Christmas time Families lack of income to support Billy’s dream

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Billy’s struggle to conform as a boxer for the sake of family traditions

The family standing against the mining industry

Billy’s dad sacrifices his reputation & dignity to get alongside Billy Billy’s love for dance

Family sacrifice food and piano to make it through he strike,

Billy finding his purpose through dance and following it no matter what fam and community says

Billy & Michaels love for each other

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“We love to boogie” Mrs Wilkinson dancing with Billy. Dancing for dad: camera angles

Boxing and dancing community hall scene Symbolism of Billy leaving his hometown for the first time, Jackie never did Jackie breaking the piano for firewood

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Fight with Jackie “Ballets not for lads”. Camera angles.

Anomalies: Billy & Michaels friendship. Together they defy the norms of society and find them true selves. Parallel: between Billy & Tony! Juxtaposed in bedroom to show societies expectations and an anomaly.

MOTIFS & SYMBOLS Piano – Maternal Figure, hopes Leitmotif: music plays in moments of heightened emotion or realisation. Cages – Challenges & obstacles of society Boxing ring is a confining cage Miners go back to work in the cage Barriers in relationships Shoes, Feet, gloves- Expectation vs reality Boxing gloves around his neck gets replaced for ballet shoes Hides his shoes (also his mums letter) showing the parts of himself he wants to hide.

Important ! “I don’t want a childhood, I want to dance” – Billy “What’s London like?” - Billy “IDK son, I never made it past Durham”. “there’s no mines in London” – Jackie. “We love to boogie” – T-rex, contrasting scenes. “cosmic dancer” – T-rex. Dancing when I was 12 foreshadows the film Piano music – recurring motif. Audience recognise mothers song and feel Billy’s loss, connecting them to his story. Whenever it is played, the audience feels empathy. Music tells the story… Camera angles – Dancing for dad: The cut back to Billy dancing involves some panning of the camera to fit in his moves. This movement of the camera again creates a sense of freedom but also the idea that Billy will not be constrained . In this shot, there also seems to be a slight shift in his emotion. This theme carries into the following shot from behind the fencing. As Billy runs up and jumps onto the fence, he takes up a lot of the frame compared to his father, giving him power. However, the physical obstruction of the fence in the frame suggests that Billy is still stuck. Swan lake: Mis-en-scene. Billys wearing green = new beginnings. Mrs Wilkinson wearing purple = wealth/ loyalty. Acceptance letter: Mis-en-scene/ symbolic as it sits on the table with the staples E.G. sauce. It has become and essential part of the household. It fits in and is an accepted aspect of their world. The only dialogue in the scene: I got in.

QUOTES FROM ESSAY Paragraph 1: Adversity & struggle T- Jackie inconsistent in behaviour. E – Juxtaposition of anger in smashing the piano vs crying silently to himself E - AUDIENCE learns how to respond to grief T – Gender expectations, Billy doesn’t accept traditional gender roles. E - 'She killed herself because the Prince didn’t love her?”. Billy is inconsistent as traditional gender roles are rigidly entrenched in the town of Durham. Paragraph 2: Self-actualisation in the pursuit of dreams T- Billy is the obvious character that undergoes a self-actualisation. Billy’s actions and desires which are paradoxical considering he is raised and socialised in a patriarchal and conservative mining community E – billy describing what dancing feels like with the intertextuality of swan lake. E – Audience to consider own dreams T - Mrs Wilkinson is inconsistent through nurturing Billy’s talent as a teacher but rarely giving praise E - Mrs Wilkinson isn’t excited and states “best of luck Billy”. This correlates with her not being in the final scene. E - Mrs Wilkinson fulfils her dreams through Billy’s determination for dancing T - Jackie, the anomaly, highlights his love for Billy as he is driven back to the picket line. E - The over the shoulder shot shows the inconsistencies of values in order to fulfil a loved ones dreams. The inconsistent behaviour of Jackie is proven as Tony cries “you can’t go back, not now!”. E- both men counteract stereotypes by showing true emotions & crying. All characters undergo character development. It shows that times of desperation is when were most vulnerable. T - Billy experiences a lot more than anyone his age E - There is a mid-shot scene of Billy attempting to jump over the wall. This shows his desires to escape. He covers his ears and gives into his desires to be himself despite all the pressures he endures E – we all experience pressures & adversities in pursuit our dreams. By overcoming these adversities will lead to self-actualisation

Paragraph 3: Defying stereotypes T - . Billy is constantly seeking the support from his family despite their opinions and stereotypes of boy dancers

E - Jackie proves his stereotypes for boys when he states “ballet is not for lads” E – Jackie reflects the traditional thoughts of his generation. Within this scene it is clear that billy would not gain the support of his father. T - Once billy proves himself to Jackie, Jackie’s personality completely turns E - His inconsistent behaviours are proven by the end of the movie when the panning shot shows Jackie proudly running to tell the community that Billy made it into the Royal Ballet School E - This encourages the audience to not give up despite others disharmony. T - Michael is the pinnacle of defying stereotypes E - The long shot of Michael dressed up in his sisters clothes with his mother’s makeup shows his disregard of others opinions. E - Michael cross dressing despite being called “poof” and “sissy” shows the audience how gender expectations have developed since 1984 and how it is largely accepted...