Billy, an ever-sympathetic protagonist, accepts Michael and encourages his friend's effeminacy, bringing him up to the gymnasium after hours and putting him in a tutu. While Billy's discipline of choice, ballet, marks him as subverting gender expectations, Michael grapples with the fact that he isn't like other boys in key ways. Their perceptions of gender prevent them from accepting what is right before their eyes.Īdditionally, Billy's best friend Michael is coming to terms with being gay, experimenting with cross-dressing and his own effeminacy. They are convinced that ballet is for women and gay men, and their bigoted attitudes prevent them from seeing Billy's immense talent. At first, he himself is confused about whether his interest in ballet belies some kind of effeminacy, but soon learns that male ballet dancers are some of the most athletic men in the world, which reassures him.Įven though it doesn't take Billy long to learn that ballet doesn't make him less of a man, it takes his brother and father awhile longer to catch up to him. In the town where he is from, boxing is for boys and ballet for girls, yet Billy's deep love for dance draws him towards ballet nonetheless. Gender is at the center of Billy's problems, even though he sees no issue with his interest in ballet.
Thus political conflict is a major theme in the film, as we see that Billy's interest in ballet is set in stark contrast to the heated political issues of the times. On the occasion of Billy's first audition for ballet school, Tony gets arrested and Billy has to miss his audition. Jackie doesn't like how violent and radical Tony has become, while Tony sees his father as passive and not fighting hard enough. While they share many of the same beliefs, we see them come into conflict about certain details of the movement. Jackie and Tony are both miners who are on strike for their beliefs. The film is set against the backdrop of the miners' strike in Northern England that occurred in the 1980s, a battle between the unions and the government under Margaret Thatcher. The theme of class is not directly addressed, but it informs Billy's narrative in the film. Billy's mismatch with ballet is put into contrast when he goes to audition for ballet school and finds himself surrounded by much wealthier applicants, even punching one of them that is too friendly to him.
His father is a simple miner, fighting for the rights of the worker, but Billy just wants to dance, a pastime that is perceived as frivolous. Class is a major theme of Billy Elliot, as part of what makes Billy's interest in ballet so disruptive to his family and his community is not only that he is a boy in a girl's discipline, but that he is a poor boy in a rich boy's discipline. Classīallet dancers don't typically come from little mining villages in the north of England. While he is not the typically polished or posh student of the ballet school, he demonstrates a passion that is unique and special. His description, so visceral and passionate, catches the attention of the judges. Later in the film, when it seems that he has almost ruined his chances of going to ballet school, he answers a question posed by the judges by saying that dancing is a sensation of having electricity running through his body. In moments when life seems hard to bear, Billy turns to dance, and movement bubbles up in his body at key moments in his life. All of these instances demonstrate his passion for dancing, the fact that it is an insistent urge throughout his life. Throughout the film, we see Billy dancing almost in spite of himself, and at times, he cannot help but kick his feet in the air and do a dance. While the beginning of the film paints a portrait of a fragmented family, one whose members do not support or understand one another, eventually it becomes a film about the power of love in a family, and how even in turmoil, family can come together.
Tony, too, becomes supportive of Billy's passion, and they work hard to help give Billy the opportunity to escape their small town. Throughout much of the film, he hates the idea of Billy becoming a dancer and actively tries to thwart Billy's dream, but he ultimately realizes that his son has an amazing talent and eventually works hard to give him the opportunity to go to ballet school. After the loss of his wife, Jackie is determined to keep his family together, but he often has trouble understanding and accepting his sons, providing the nurturance that their mother did. Throughout the film we see Billy and his family members having trouble connecting to one another, and having to find allegiance to one another in spite of their huge differences. One of the major themes in the film is family.