Billy Elliot Identity

In the film Billy Elliot directed by Stephen Daldry we see many important ideas and presented with one of them being identity. The idea of identity is presented through the use of a number of techniques such as symbolism, contrast, music and dancing. Billy’s characters suffers many consequences because of this challenging time of trying to find his own identity and symbolism, contrast, imagery and music helps us to understand this. Identity is an important aspect for any individual, as it separates one from another. The idea of identity can refer to physical appearance such as gender, nationality, age. The text Billy Elliot thoroughly explores the idea of identity and shows how identity can be shaped, changed and refined through life experiences and social interaction though the techniques of symbolism, contrast, music and dancing.

In Billy Elliot, dancing makes up a major part of Billy's identity as it is not only a means of expressing himself but also a symbol of freedom. Through dance Billy creates his own identity and breaks out of the expectations of his family and community, such as the family tradition of being a miner. Billy emotionally expresses himself through dancing such as in the scene "Dance of Defiance" where he displays his talent and passion through an expressive dance routine. Music is used cleverly to compliment Billy in his quest to become an accomplished dancer. The song "Cosmic Dancer" is used to introduce Billy, and we can see that Billy is enjoying himself in the first scene because of the facial expressions and gestures he used which shows that he has a carefree personality. The music also highlights Billy's moods, such as anger, frustration and happiness. The music links closely with dancing and whenever he returns to his family or social life, the music stops which emphasizes the problems in his everyday life. Dancing and music is closely related in this movie and the character Billy can be seen to be heavily influenced by the idea of