Billy Elliot - Ballet Dancer - Essay Example

Billy’s tap dance scene in the film best conveys the theme of work and vocation. In the scene, he taps and dances away his frustration to the music of a town called malice’ by the jam. Dancing appears as a vocation for Billy as he fights stereotypes from his father and brother to pursue dancing rather than the coalmining embraced by his family.

Billy’s tap dance scene is significant as the dialogue between the four characters in the scene collides. The scene witnesses Billy’s brother, father, himself, and Mrs. Wilkinson. The dialogue between the four characters on Billy’s future informs the audience much about them. Mrs. Wilkinson and Tony hurl abuse at each other showing both their concern and love for Billy, although from varying perspectives (Daldry). Their abuse shows that they both care for Billy’s future albeit from their own narrow views of what he should become and pursue. Both characters are frustrated about each other’s view on Billy’s future yet they all want the best for him.

The scene opens up in the kitchen which provides the audience with a claustrophobic feeling. This setting is vital in displaying Billy’s internal conflict at the time. He struggles to deal with societal and familial expectations placed on him. Mrs. Wilkinson, his dance teacher expects him to become a potential success while he also gets tasked with caring for her grandmother suffering from dementia. He also struggles against the gender role stereotypes entrenched in society.

The camera shots during the scene also indicate the difference in class and discourse between Billy and the three adults at the table. The camera moves back and forth from the high angle of Billy's perspective to the eye-level shots of the adults. The difference in points of view in the scene represents the discourse on Billy’s perception of himself and what the adults think of him.

When Billy taps dances angrily in the scene, it represents that dancing is a vocation for him. His dance alludes to the fact that he can dance his pain away (Daldry). This shows that dance is more than just work to him. It is a calling. It is what he is suited to do. His aggressive tap dance is also metaphorical as it is indicative of the barriers he is trying to tear down. The camera provides an image of rusting corrugated iron and brick walls and this represents the poverty surrounding him that he is trying to see far and beyond.

Billy is passionate about dancing. He goes against the societal conformations of gender roles to realize his dream. The scene shows dancing as therapeutic to Billy even when he is angered by the pressure exerted on him by society and his family. Unlike his father and brother who work in a coal mine, he appears destined to become a dancer. Read More