Billy Elliot is set in a mining village in England during the 1984 miners' strike. 11-year-old Billy discovers a hidden talent for ballet but faces resistance from his father and community who expect him to box instead. He perseveres with lessons secretly while his family deals with the stresses of the strike. After his father discovers the truth, Billy earns a chance to audition for the Royal Ballet School in London.

1. +
Billy Elliot
Directed by Stephen Daldry

2. +
Setting
■ It is important for a film to establish itself in time, place and social group.
■ As you answer the following questions, consider not just what you are told, but
how it is made clear. A signifier is any item that signals time , place or
character.
OPENING SCENES

3. +
Plot
■ Billy is no boxer. He is different to Jacky and Tony, which makes
them despair over him.
■ It's the 1980s. Thatcher's government is closing down mines. As the
son of a striking miner, Billy should be sticking up for the pits and
traditions. Link to info on Margaret Thatcher
■ He discovers a hidden talent which ignites a fire in his spirit. So he
spends his boxing fees on ballet lessons.
■ His dad has burnt his mum's piano for firewood, and Billy wants to go
to London to audition for the Royal Ballet School. This is unheard of
for a boy from his class and his area.
3

4. +Setting: WATCH OPENING SCENES AGAIN
■ Where is the movie set?
■ And when is it set?
■ What is the age group the story is centred on?
■ What is the socio-economic group?
■ What signifiers tell us that Mrs Wilkinson and Debbie come from
different social backgrounds?
■ What sort of mood is created at the start?
■ How is the mine setting first shown?

5. + The kitchen in the opening scene.
■ List the details that you can see. What do these details tell us
about the people who live there?
■ yellow sliding doors, strongly patterned wall paper
■ clothes hanging inside to dry and peg bag
■ formica-topped table with sauce bottle, teapot
■ bottle of beer on mantelpiece, the iron
■ general clutter
■ Mise-en-scene gives you more than setting:
■ They tell us that this is a male-run house, not too well off,
working class. Role of females in this film?

6. +Setting answers
■ 1.Where is the movie set? Everington, a mining village in County
Durham, North East England
■ Durham is mentioned a few times; Billy tells the panel he is from
Everington; it is on the door of the hall; Geordie accents
■ Click on this link for more information

7. +
Answers continued
■ 3. What is the age group the story is centred on? How do we
know this?
■ Billy is 11; his brother old enough to have left school (at 15) but looks
about 18 or 19; Dad in his 40s; Grandma in her 70s.
■ 2. And when is it set? During the miners’ strike in 1984-5.
■ The presence of the police, the strike posters, shots of the mine , the
snippet of radio news.
■ A link to more info on the strike
■ Wikipedia link to the strike

8. +4.What is the socio-economic group? How do we know
this?
■ Coal miners. Lower middle class. Billy’s mother has a piano,
and her pawned jewellery earns enough for them to get to
London – but the strike has meant no wages coming in and
this has hit the family hard.
■ The type of home they live in. Two up, two down. Joined and
made to look stifling and claustrophobic.
■ When his Dad smashes his late mother’s piano with an axe,
we assume this is yet another act of aggression. But then we
see the piano hammers burning as firewood. The gulf of class
and culture which Billy will have to cross if he is accepted at
the Royal Ballet School is never discussed; yet we only have
to see Billy and his father cowed by the school’s neo-classical
interior to feel that Billy will never join this world.

9. + Mood
■ 5.What signifiers tell us that Mrs Wilkinson and Debbie come
from a different social background?
■ Mrs Wilkinson has a car; Debbie speaks with less of a Geordie accent;
their home. Ballet epitomises sophistication. Boxing is symbolically
seen as savage and primitive.
■ 6.What sort of mood is created at the start? How is the mood
created?
■ Lively, exhilarated, bouncy. The music and Billy’s bouncing. His
lively and bright breakfast making technique. Sudden change when he
discovers his Nana is missing.

10. +Mood
■ 7. How is the mine setting first shown? What
is the effect of this?
■ Although we see the picket lines, the buses and the
police presence, the first time we see the actual
mine and the slag heaps is when Jacky goes to sign
in. It is dreary and depressing – all black and grey,
no green.
■ Tough existence and the strike makes it tougher.
■ The police seem to be omnipresent. That coupled
with the tight shots of the houses, the strikers, the
road, the cages, all combine to create a
claustrophobic feeling.

11. + Main scenes
■ Opening titles
■ A disgrace to the gloves
■ The ballet class
■ Dad finds out
■ Private lessons
■ Tony seen as a union leader
■ The chance to dance
■ Christmas
■ Dance of defiance and dad's decision
■ Audition and interview
■ The letter
■ Billy's big night
11

12. +Theme: Social Class
■ The ultimate failure of the struggle is implied in the clashes between police and
strikers. The faceless, inanimate riot police are far more imposing and
formidable than the passionate workers.
■ However, the story does not focus on this clash, merely uses it as a background
against which Billy’s personal struggle takes place. Ballet is both an escape route
out of this limiting world and also a betrayal of his class: “What are you trying
to do – make him a scab for the rest of his life?”.
■ Describe a scene that emphasises this theme.
■ Include both a visual and verbal example.

13. +
Theme:Social class /
Unusual relationships
■ To begin with Billy tries to fit into the world of his father and brother. He persists
with boxing even though he is hopeless and his heart is not in it, and when Tony is
arrested, his automatic loyalty is to his brother. Earlier, we see him try to warn
Tony that he is running into the police presence.
■ That his father’s world is limiting is articulated by Mrs Wilkinson in a stereotypical
way: “He won’t grow up to race whippets, grow leeks or piss his wages up the
wall.”
■ During the film, Billy's family face a number of crises. What are they?
■ Is Jacky ultimately a good father? Discuss.
■ Was it right for Billy to have the responsibility of looking after his Nana? Discuss

14. +
Themes continued
■ Perseverance in following one’s
dream
■ Sacrifice
■ Family violence
■ Breaking gender stereotypes
■ Conflict between different
socio-economic classes
Choose at least ONE theme and
discuss with reference to a
particular scene. Include
techniques

15. +
Music: Make a YouTube playlist
■ Fred Astaire: Top hat, white tie and tails
■ T Rex: Cosmic Dancer, I love to Boogie, Children of a Revolution,
Get it on, ride a white swan.
■ The Clash: London Calling
■ Stephen Gately: I Believe
■ The Jam: Town called Malice
■ Eagle Eye Cherry: Burning up
■ NOW think of ways you could use music and lyrics as techniques in
an essay
15

16. + Symbols and motifs
■ Shoes and gloves : opportunity and tradition
■ The piano : was mum's. Firewood= necessity
■ Cages : tight confines of society
■ Mirrors: symbol of identity
■ Swans: dreams
■ Police : juxtaposition of children's point of view and harsh
reality of strike
■ Discuss the importance of these symbols with reference to
particular scenes
16

17. + Use of parallel and contrast: Discuss
■ Boxing versus ballet
■ Houses and buildings
■ Police versus strikers
■ Mrs Wilkinson versus Jacky
■ Billy versus Michael
■ Billy versus Tony
17

18. + Link to a site with good technical terms
It is a TECHNICAL essay. You need to effectively use
film techniques. Read through the link below for some vital
terms.
Aim for one visual and one verbal technique per paragraph.
18
+ Link to NCEA exam questions
You should now be ready to tackle a text essay

19. +
Important dialogue
■ Listen. I boxed. Me dad boxed. You box.
■ They were my father's gloves.
■ Just because I like to dance, I'm not a poof.
■ Leave it Billy. / Mum would've let us.
■ Scab! Scab! Scab!
■ Lads do football or boxing or wrestling.
■ I hate you!
■ She must've been a very special woman, your mum. / No, she was just
me mum.
■ 'The sun will come out tomorrow.' Fat chance.
■ I don't want a childhood. I want to be a ballet dancer.
19

20. +
Sources
NZQA website
Artemis teaching guide
BBC History
The Guardian