Billy Elliot Stereotypes

Stephan Daldry's 2000s film, “Billy Elliot”, successfully explores overcoming adversities, which are an important part of the human experience. Human experience is influenced by many instances of successes, determination, challenges and adversities that occur within one's life. Daldry's Bildungsroman film effectively emphasizes the effects of overcoming adversities and how that can shape one's development. Billy Elliot is set in 1984 and delves into the challenges faced within his life ranging from family expectations to destroying conventional gender roles. Daldry's successful use of literary and filmic techniques allows the audience to deeply grasp the human experience of overcoming adversity, gender expectations from family and society and

Billy faces gender expectations throughout the film that become a hurdle to conquer. The constant repetition of “poof” throughout the film shows one of many adversities that become a burden towards Billys pursuit of his dreams. Even those who weren't homosexuals, like Billy, were called a “poof” due to that time believing that ballet was symbolic of his sexuality. Billy even states to his father, “just because I like ballet doesn’t make a poof, you know?”, reinforcing the gender stereotypes connected with ballet, that even his own father believes. "Lads do football, boxing, or wresting...Not the Bloody Ballet," Billy's father clearly states. Daldry used close-up views to depict Jackies profound human experience of frustration and its ensuring emotions. This scene highlights Billy's family's difficulty of understanding these preconceived notions, as his father's immediate reaction displays the deep-seated reluctance to divergence from traditional standards. The exploration of overcoming gender expectations highlights the complex dynamics that often exist within families and the need to create one's own path to self-discovery, even if that means becoming an

These family traditions have been made clear time and time again within the film and what is expected of Billy isnt unknown. In a society dominated by mining and masculine pursuits, ballet is viewed as unconventional and nontraditions choice for a boy. Daldry helps the audience comprehend the male attitudes that are held upon his family by emphasising the boxing gloves that Billy wears around his neck, which are a heritage of his grandfathers. This type of symbolism is related to Billy's severe familial expectations and how the "boxing gloves" form an obstacle to his growth. Later in the film, we see Billy replace the boxing gloves with ballet shoes that he wears around his neck. This allows viewers to see how Billy defies his family's expectations of a "masculine" man. Billy's father wants him to follow in his father's footsteps and work as a coal miner, which is a source of pride in his family. The close-up panning shot of many pairs of ballet slippered feet and the focus on Billy wearing his boxing boots reinforces not only Billys innate difference but highlights Billys preparedness to task risks and stand out from his family and societal expectations. It demonstrates the difficulty in overcoming adversities in a society and family that follows these deeply ingrained beliefs. Not only this but it displays Billys desperation to escape the claustrophobic and small