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Billy Elliot and TPOBAW
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Billy Elliot. A Search for Identity
As individuals age, it is only human nature for them question themselves and everyone around them. The collective experiences of a search for identity is represented in Billy Elliot and its related text through the development of the protagonists.
Billy Elliot?
Who are we on about?
Billy Elliot is a coming-of-age story about a young boy, Billy, who through his unexpected love of dance, embarks on a journey of self discovery in the world of picket lines, cultural stereotypes, a family in crisis and a headstrong ballet teacher
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Related
Text
'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' is a epistolary novel published in 1999 by Stephen Chbosky. The story is narrated in the perspective of Charlie, a young male, as he matures emotionally, physically, and sexually throughout the novel.
Let's
Analyse
Search for Identity
Billy
Outcast
The human experience of a search for identity is visually depicted in Billy Elliot as a lack of belonging.The scene in which Billy first attempts ballet, he is pictured in a line up with boxing gear still on rather than the tutu and leotard of his classmates.
The mis-en-scene uses costumes to visually define Billy as an outcast. This technique is used in the film and text to show innocence and immaturity. Depicting the concept that these individuals are still on a journey of self-discovery and had not yet found a place in their society.
Charlie
Charlie
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower' is also a coming-of-age novel, like Billy Elliot, in which the audience is shown the world through Charlies eyes, developing an understanding of his society in unison with Charlie. It is also through the perception of an outcast protagonist that a search for identity is depicted. Its content and function are attuned towards the aims of developmental fiction. The audience is encouraged to sympathise with the hurdles that the protagonist had to overcome, as the author uses the portray of Charlie as an outsider.
Billy
Progress
In ‘Billy Elliot's "Prepare" montage, Billy is seen repeatedly attempting a pirouette and failing, like Charlie, showing progression. The montage uses a constant change of settings and times to show Billy's dedication to pursue his dream. However, this scene is the perfect example of Billy's development and acceptance of his difference as he practices his skills. The montage emphasizes the hardship and adversities Billy had experience, from societal expectations to financial complications.
Charlie
Charlie
Within the novel, the protagonist depicts his developmental process and self-discovery through his writing. It is imperative that the audience becomes attuned to how the process of writing is Charlies source of artistic expression, much like Billy Elliot who uses dance to escape the confines of his restrictive societal expectations. Charlies writing is reflective of his own development as a person as he searches for his identity. The writing that the audience encounters in the first letter of the book is more scrambled, disorganized, and "immature" in comparison to the final entries
Example
An Example:
Here's an example of Charlies writing at the beginning of the novel: "Aunt Helen told my father not to hit me in front of her ever again and my father said this was his house and he would do what he wanted, and my mom was quiet and so were my brother and sister". This sentence exemplifies the writing style that is predominant during the first letters of the novel; the prose is peppered with run-on sentences, he has not mastered the art of punctuation, and his ideas often lack logic and cohesion. We see that his writing style, and even the topics that he discusses in his letters, begin to evolve and mature as Charlie gains more experience with the art of writing, and as he begins to delve into increasingly complicated efforts to understand himself and the people around him. An example of this maturing is seen in the quote, "I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like all I can do is keep writing this gibberish to keep from breaking apart". In this, Charlies writing is significantly more cohesive and grammatically correct than the previous quote.
Billy
Inspiration
Billy's persistence to perform the ballet manoeuvre is a representation of his desperation to find himself amongst his passion. Ms Wilkinson is crucial to Billy's self-development. She was able to become a guide, mentor, and role model, assuming the position of Billy's late mother. With support and acceptance, Ms Wilkinson was able to channel Billy's natural talent into his passion, providing a creative outlet in which Billy can explore his diverseness and discover his identity. This was conveyed in her comment "Find a spot on that bloody wall and focus on that spot", which symbolizes Billy's need to concentrate on himself and his future
Charlie
Charlie
Charlie’s English teacher, Bill, is a key character in terms of Charlie's search for identity. Like Ms Wilkinson, Bill challenges Charlie to improve upon himself, bettering his writing, later establishing Charlie's dream to write as a career. This improvement develops his passion for literacy and enables his creative outlet to become his platform to experiment with his uniqueness. Bill discusses with Charlie, "do you always think this much, Charlie?" "is that bad?" I just wanted someone to tell me the truth, "not necessarily. It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life." This remark pushes Charlie to further assess his own life and the degree to which he participates in events, talks with other people, and tries to make friends.
Billy
Development
Self-identity is depicted as development in Billy Elliot in scenes such as the "gym dancing scene". In this scene, Billy is seen dancing for his father in an attempt to prove his worth and demand acceptance for who he discovered himself to be. Emergence into the world of figurative adulthood is conveyed through camera angles such the eye-level shot, representing equality amongst the two. His determination to overcome these family ideals resulted in a transformation of family relationships. After Jacky sees what Billy is capable of, he accepts his son for who he is, later encouraging and supporting his decision to attend the Royal School of Ballet
Charlie
Charlie
The phrase ‘wallflower' refers to a shy or introverted individual in social occasions. Much like Billy Elliot, Charlie is seen changing in the film as well as the individuals around him. This term is given to Charlie as he is named friend-less and unable to form connections with others after his only companion commits suicide. As a result, Charlie uses his diary admissions, in which he refers to the audience only as "friend", to confesses his struggles and adversities so that he is able to gain the confidence required to discover himself. As he meets Patrick and Samantha, Charlie begins to form a connection with the characters. The quote "Sam sat down and started laughing. Patrick started laughing. I started laughing" shows his progress in participation. The repetition of "started laughing" indicates unison as Charlie matures, becoming a part of the friendship rather than observing from afar.
Overview
In conclusion:
Individual human experiences are relevant to all. When combined these share common themes that are represented as collective experiences. The collective experience of a search for identity is seen in the text and film as individual experiences such as isolation, self maturing, and skill development. Though adversity and a pursuit of dreams, the protagonists Billy and Charlie find themselves exploring their society and testing their environments. As Charlie continues to push himself to be part of life rather than using the coping mechanism of letting things wash by him, he discovers his own talents. Charlie realizes that he can become an artist such as a writer or a deejay in order to take advantage of his capacity for looking in from the outside while simultaneously being involved in the action from within. Billy discovers this passion for ballet and uses it to escape his adversities. This allows him to discover not only his potential in life but an outlet to express his creative self.