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Billy Elliot

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Billy Elliot
Describe at least one idea that was memorable in the text.
Explain why the idea was memorable in the text(s) as a whole, supporting your points with examples of visual and/or oral language features.
‘Billy Elliot’ is a film directed by Stephen Daldry that tells of a twelve year old boy called Billy. Raised in a working class family, Billy had always possessed a love for dancing. However, set during 1984 in the small mining town of Everington, his dream of becoming a ballet dancer proves to be difficult. His father, Jacky and brother, Tony are also involved in the miners’ strike, which puts the family in financial difficulties. The main idea of this film is to pursue your dream and not to give up when there are obstacles in the way. Daldry uses Billy’s story to portray this as a memorable idea for the audience.
At the beginning of the movie, Billy attends boxing classes at the local gymnasium. However, we see that Billy isn’t truly interested in boxing. One day when Billy stays behind at the gym, he becomes intrigued by the ballet classes held by Mrs Wilkinson. Rather than attending boxing classes, Billy begins to attend the ballet classes instead. As he spends more time learning ballet, Billy’s determination is also revealed. An example of this is the cross-cutting technique used to show Billy practising his pirouette. The cross cutting involves several different scenes of Billy practising to get his pirouette right. Some scenes are of him in his small bathroom and some are of him losing his patience. This shows Billy’s perseverance and determination as a dancer, a dancer that will keep practising despite not having enough space at home. Other than his determination, his passion for ballet dancing is also further revealed as Billy tries to extend himself as a ballet dancer. Daldry uses this montage to show the audience that you can get better at something with practise, even without the proper tools or environment that you are in. This was also memorable

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