billy elliot practice essay questions

Paper 1 - Section I - 10 Full-Length Reading Tasks

Paper 1 - Section II - 60 Practice Essay Questions

This article contains several sample HSC questions for all modules of the year 12 Advanced English Course.

5 minute read

Last updated 

October 8, 2021

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

www.wikipedia.com

HSC English Final Exam Seminar

Join Premier Tutors' Year 12 Final HSC English Masterclass, run by our top tutors who placed $1^\text{st}$ in NSW for English.

Six Second Summary

Introduction.

As regular practice is essential to effective study regimes, students should utilise these questions in the lead up to trial and HSC exams. Questions are best practised under timed conditions to best prepare for the exams in an authentic environment.

These questions have been prepared by top state-ranking tutors at Premier Tutors with several years of experience teaching the new syllabus, including three tutors who have placed 1st in NSW for English Advanced.

Common Questions

“Through the language of emotion, texts may provide timeless and universal portraits of humanity.”

To what extent does this statement relate to your own understanding of your prescribed text? In your response, refer to the quotation and your prescribed text.

“Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it but moulds it to its purpose.” – Oscar Wilde

Assess the effectiveness of your prescribed text in providing an authentic image of reality. In your response, refer to the quotation and your prescribed text.

“It is difficult to maintain individual identity in the face of homogenous collectives.”

To what extent does this statement relate to your own understanding of your prescribed text?

How does your text represent the paradoxical nature of human behaviours and motivations?

Literature’s power comes from its ability to confront the reader’s assumptions by representing new perspectives on the human experience. How does your understanding of your prescribed text reflect this statement?

“One’s identity is a culmination of their individual and collective human experiences.”

To what extent does this statement align with your understanding of your prescribed text? In your response, refer to the quotation and your prescribed text.

How does your text represent the inconsistencies between morality and human behaviours?

“The medium is the message” – Marshall McLuhan

How does the composer of your prescribed text communicate their perspective on the human experience through their form choices? In your response, refer to your prescribed text and the above statement.

“Despite our different behaviours, human motivations are all the same.”

How does your composer respond to their context to represent enduring ideas about the human experience? In your response, make close reference to the given statement and the prescribed text.

Question 10

“If the world were clear, art would not exist.” – Albert Camus

How does your prescribed text use storytelling to clarify the uncertainties and inconsistencies of the human experience? In your response, refer to the given statement and your prescribed text.

Question 11

How does the composer of your prescribed text experiment with form to challenge readers’ perspectives about the human experience?

Question 12

“The only constant within the human experience is change.”

To what extent does this paradoxical statement reflect your understanding of your prescribed text?

Question 13

How does your text use storytelling to deepen the responder’s understanding of the power of human relationships?

Question 14

How does your text develop a strong voice to shape the reader’s perspectives about the nature of individual experiences?

Question 15

“The most powerful and transcendental human experience is love.”

Love can come in many different forms. How does your text represent the impact of this emotion on individual and collective human experiences? In your response, make close reference to the above statement and your prescribed text.

Form Questions

Question 16 - prose fiction.

“The primary purpose of prose to create an authentic representation of the human experience.”

To what extent does the given statement align with your understanding of your prescribed text? In your response, discuss how narrative voice and structure help create this authenticity.

Question 17 - Poetry

“The power of poetry is not so much in the literal meaning of the words, but in the feelings that it evokes through imagery and other creative choices. It is through those feelings that we learn about the human experience.”

To what extent does this statement align with your understanding of your prescribed text?

Question 18 - Drama/ Shakespearean Drama

Analyse your prescribed text’s use of performance devices in representing human emotions.

Question 19 - Nonfiction

Analyse how the narrative voice of your prescribed text deepens your understanding of the individual experience represented.

Question 20 - Film & Media

Analyse how visual techniques work in conjunction with dialogue to accurately portray the interaction between individual and collective human experiences.

The following are all text-specific questions:

All the Light We Cannot See (Doerr, Anthony):

Question 21.

How does Doer represent the impact of adversity on the individual and collective behaviours?

Question 22

“So how, children, does the brain, which lives without a spark of light, build for us a world full of light?”

How has Doer’s representation of hope deepened your understanding of the human experience? In your response, make close reference to the given quotation and your prescribed text.

Question 23

How does Doer’s complicated portrayal of heroes and villains reveal the universality of our underlying humanity?

Vertigo (Lohrey, Amanda):

Question 24.

How does Lohrey represent the importance of connection with place in shaping the individual human experience?

Question 25

“To awaken human emotion is the highest level of art.” – Isadora Duncan

Discuss how Lohrey’s representation of the range of human emotions has enhanced your understanding of the human experience. In your response, make close reference to the given quote and your prescribed text.

Question 26

How does Lohrey represent the impact of loss and grief on individual human experiences?

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Orwell, George):

Question 27.

“Don’t let it happen. It depends on you.” – George Orwell

How does the above quotation resonate with your understanding of Orwell’s authorial intent?

Question 28

How does Orwell represent the power of collective narratives to homogenise individual human experiences?

Question 29

How does Orwell represent the nature of human emotions within a totalitarian regime, and how does this representation help support his authorial purpose?

Past the Shallows (Parrett, Favel):

Question 30.

“No man is an island entire of itself.” – John Donne

Does the above quotation affirm or challenge Parrett’s representation of isolation in Past the Shallows?

Question 31

Analyse how Parrett’s representation of fear shapes your understanding of human behaviours and motivations.

Question 32

How does Parrett represent the influence of setting on individual and collective human experiences?

Rosemary Dobson Collect Poems

‘Young Girl at a Window’, ‘Over the Hill’, ‘Summer’s End’, ‘The Conversation’, ‘Cock Crow’, ‘Amy Caroline’, ‘Canberra Morning’

Question 33

How does Dobson experiment with form to examine the impact of internal conflict on the individual human experience? In your response, refer to AT LEAST TWO of Dobson’s prescribed poems.

Question 34

“His eyes lit windows facing west / to the lemon-coloured light.” - Over the Hill, Rosemary Dobson

How does Dobson’s poetry engage with the different human reactions to change? In your response, refer to the above quotation and TWO OR MORE of Dobson’s prescribed poems.

Question 35

How does Dobson use her poetic form to explore the depth of human emotions? In your response, make clear reference to specific FORM choices made by Dobson in NO MORE THAN TWO of her poems.

Kenneth Slessor Selected Poems

‘Wild Grapes’, ‘Gulliver’, ‘Out of Time’, ‘Vesper-Song of the Reverend Samuel Marsden’, ‘William Street’, ‘Beach Burial’

Question 36

How does Slessor use imagery to evoke confronting emotions and experiences? In your response, refer to AT LEAST TWO of Slessor’s prescribed poems.

Question 37

How does Slessor highlight the paradoxes and anomalies inherent within the human experience? In your response, refer to NO MORE THAN TWO of Slessor’s prescribed poems.

Question 38

How does Slessor’s use of poetic personas allow him to shine light on complex aspects of the human experience? In your response, refer to AT LEAST TWO of Slessor’s prescribed poems.

The Crucible (Miller, Arthur)

Question 39.

“Whilst The Crucible is clearly a response to Miller’s context, it also contains enduring messages about human behaviours and motivations.”

How does the above statement reflect your understanding of the human experience represented in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible?

Question 40

How does Miller represent the power of institutional narratives to overwhelm and shape individual and collective human experiences?

Question 41

“Fear is the primary motivator within the human experience.”

To what extent does this statement reflect your understanding of the human experiences represented in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible?

The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare, William)

Question 42.

How does Shakespeare represent differing motivations and their impact on human behaviours?

Question 43

“Life itself, my wife and all the world / Are not with me esteemed above thy life.” (Bassiano to Antonio, IV.i.275-276, The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare)

How does Shakespeare represent the importance of connection with others in providing value to human experiences?

Question 44

How does Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice represent the influence of social laws and norms on both individual and collective human experiences?

The Boy Behind the Curtain (Winton, Tim)

Question 45.

How does Winton’s memoir form invite the reader to reflect upon the impact of past experiences in shaping individual identity? In your response, refer to AT LEAST TWO of Winton’s stories prescribed for study.

Question 46

To what extent does Winton engage with the tensions between individual motivations and collective expectations? In your response, refer to NO MORE THAN TWO of Winton’s stories prescribed for study.

Question 47

“For many, certainty has become the new normal, but it’s an illusion…We’ll forever be vulnerable to havoc.” – Havoc, Tim Winton

How does Winton represent the illusions within the human experience? In your response, make specific reference to above quotation and AT LEAST TWO of Winton’s stories prescribed for study.

I Am Malala (Yousafzai, Malala & Lamb)

Question 48.

“We realise the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” – I am Malala, Malala Yousafzai

How does Yousafzai represent the importance of storytelling to empower individuals and collectives? In your response, make close reference to the above quotation and your prescribed text.

Question 49

How does Yousafzai represent the importance of maintaining individual values in the face of challenging individual and collective human experiences?

Question 50

How does Yousafzai in I am Malala represent the emotions and behaviours associated with experiences of inequality?

Question 51

How does Yousafzai in I am Malala represent our underlying, universal humanity despite our different beliefs and backgrounds?

Billy Elliot (Daldry, Stephen)

Question 52.

“We cannot change who we are, no more than we can change the rising of the sun or the coming of the tides.”

Does the above statement affirm or challenge your understanding of the representation of individual identity in Daldry’s Billy Elliot?

Question 53

How does Billy Elliot use visual techniques to engage with the difficulty of overcoming social expectations?

Question 54

How does Daldry in Billy Elliot represent the importance of acceptance to the human experience?

Go Back to Where You Came From (O’Mahony, Ivan)

Question 55.

How does Go Back to Where You Came From use documentary techniques which confront the viewer’s expectations to reveal the range of human experiences?

Question 56

How does Go Back to Where You Came From represent the power of new experiences to change existing perspectives?

Question 57

How does Go Back to Where You Came From represent our underlying, universal humanity despite our different beliefs and backgrounds?

Waste Land (Walker, Lucy)

Question 58.

“A powerful artistic vision is undeniable.”

Does the above quote affirm or challenge your understanding of Waste Land’s representation of the importance of artistic purpose for individual identity?

Question 59

How has your study of Waste Land enhanced your understanding of the power of creative expression to unite communities?

Question 60

How does Waste Land use visual techniques to shape our understanding of the timelessness and universality of human concerns and challenges?

Essay Marking by State-Rankers

Get your essays and practice exams professionally marked by Sydney's top achievers and state rankers.

About the Author

Fionn is a humanities tutor at Premier Tutors. Fionn attended Cranbrook School on a full academic Academic Scholarship and graduated as Dux with a perfect ATAR of 99.95.

Explore More Articles

Paper 2 - module a - practice questions.

13 Sample questions for Module A

October 6, 2021

Prepared by Premier Tutors' top tutors, this series contains 10-full length Practice HSC English Advanced and Standard Paper 1 exams.

Popular Articles

Premier tutors.

Personalised tutoring, homeschooling and consultancy.

Australia, United Kingdom, Internationally Online

Join our Newsletter

Stay up to date with us and get early access to our events and publications. You will not receive spam!

Thank you, we have received your submission!

Thank you! We have received your submission. We will be in touch soon with an email/text to confirm.

Didn't receive an email?  Please check your junk folder and add [email protected] to your contacts.

Quick Links

© 2021 Premier Tutors. All rights reserved. ABN: 80 904 625 939.

Generate a reference

Citation style, your citation.

Billy Elliot

By stephen daldry, billy elliot summary and analysis of part 2: pirouette.

Billy eventually successfully lands a pirouette, smiling proudly. Even then, however, Sandra scolds him about his arm, and his face falls in disappointment. On her way out, she winks at him to let him know she is proud of him. The accompanist then comes up behind him and says, "You look like a right wanker to me, son."

On his way home from class, Billy dances and bounds down the street triumphantly. At the miner's strike, the boxing instructor tells Jackie that he hasn't seen Billy for months. "Send him round to my house. I'll sure enough knock some sense into him," says the boxing instructor, and Jackie looks concerned.

Shots of the strike are interspersed with shots of Billy Elliot in ballet class. Later, Jackie and Tony are at the store and Jackie asks his older son if he's noticed anything weird about Billy. Suddenly, Tony spots his best friend, who crossed the picket line, and fights with him about how much food he has in his cart and his betrayal of the miners.

The next morning, Billy sneaks out of his house, pretending to go to boxing. As he leaves the house, Jackie comes out of the bathroom frustrated with his son's evasiveness. In the middle of ballet class, Jackie comes in and sees his son dancing with all the girls. When he spots his father, Billy's eyes widen in fear and shame. Jackie yells at Billy angrily to leave the class, much to the chagrin of Sandra. Billy obeys, and goes outside to talk to his father.

"What's wrong with ballet? It's perfectly normal," Billy says to his father when they sit down together for a meal. Billy's grandmother chimes in and tells Jackie that she used to go to ballet, but Jackie insists that boys don't do ballet. "I don't see what's wrong with it!" says Billy, upset, but Jackie is insistent that Billy stay home and watch his grandmother rather than waste his time dancing. "They used to say I could have been a professional dancer if I'd had the training!" says the grandmother and Jackie yells at her to shut up.

Angry, Billy calls his father a bastard and flees the house, running down the road and throwing a tantrum. Later, he wanders to Sandra's house, ringing the doorbell. When she answers the door, she tells him to stand up to his father, but he insists that he cannot. She invites Billy in and he talks to her husband, Tom. Tom alludes to the fact that Billy's father is a miner and on strike, and suggests that the strikes are impractical—"just a couple commies stirring things up." Billy asks, "What do you do, Mr. Wilkinson?" and Debbie says, "He's been made redundant."

In her room, Debbie tells Billy that her father is under a lot of pressure, that he drinks too much, and that he and Sandra sleep in different beds. As she watches an automated ballerina statuette turn and turn, Debbie tells Billy that her father had an affair, but that her parents don't think that she knows about it. Sitting beside Billy, Debbie asks if he misses his mother, and he tells her that it makes him sad sometimes. The two of them have a pillow fight, and Billy eventually ends up perched above Debbie as she touches his face tenderly. All of a sudden, Sandra calls to Billy to bring him home.

When she drops him off at the corner, Billy asks Sandra, "Miss, what have I blown?" and she tells him that she had hoped he might audition for the Royal Ballet School. He insists that he wouldn't be good enough, but Sandra tells him that they would teach him to dance, and the auditions would be more about seeing how he moves and how he expresses himself.

"But I'm banned," Billy says, and Sandra tells him that she would teach him herself. When he counters, "What about boxing?" Sandra gets angry, insisting that he has real potential as a dancer and he ought to take it seriously. She tells him she'll teach him privately and he asks if she fancies him. "Funnily enough I don't," Sandra says, smirking, and tells him to "piss off."

Billy goes to Michael 's house and knocks on the door. Michael answers the door in a dress, which surprises Billy, and they both go inside. Inside, Michael tells him that he wears his sister's dresses when she's out, but she doesn't know, and he puts on some lipstick in the mirror. Billy closes the door and looks confused, as Michael sits him down on the bed and puts lipstick on him. "Won't we get in trouble?" says Billy, but Michael insists that it's fine and his father does it when he thinks everyone is out of the house.

"Do you think being a ballet dancer would be better than being a miner?" Billy asks Michael, telling him that he's going to audition for ballet school that would take him to London if he got in. "Can't you be a ballet dancer here?" Michael asks, to which Billy responds, "Don't be stupid!" Billy tells Michael that his father doesn't know, and Michael tells him that he ought not to audition since he would miss him.

Billy goes to rehearse with Sandra alone at the gym, who has asked him to bring in objects that are special to him as a way of inspiring a dance. He shows her the objects, which include a letter from his mother. He hands Sandra the letter and she reads it aloud: "Dear Billy: I know I must seem like a distant memory to you, which is probably a good thing. It will have been a long time...and I will have missed seeing you grow, missed you crying, laughing and shouting and..." Billy takes over reciting the letter, having memorized it, "I will have missed telling you off. But please know that I was always there with you through everything. And I always will be. And I am proud to have known you. And I'm proud that you were mine. Always be yourself. I'll love you forever."

He hands her a tape of her brother's, T. Rex, and he and Sandra dance to it. Shots of Billy dancing with Sandra are interspersed with shots of Tony listening to it at home, and his grandmother doing ballet moves against the wall in the living room.

As Billy becomes more and more involved in ballet class, his ambitions grow and he works harder and harder to become successful at dance. We see a montage of him practicing a pirouette—in class, in his bedroom, hidden away in the bathroom at home. While his desire to dance might be strong, he is sometimes still quite clumsy, his body betraying an as-yet-unachieved dream of gracefulness.

Billy's ambitions are raised even higher by the high standards of his difficult-to-please ballet instructor, Sandra, who alternates between secretive encouragement and public disappointment. She is hard on Billy because she sees so much potential in him, and she wants him to become a great dancer. When he lands a pirouette in her class, instead of encouraging him, she immediately scolds him for his form in his arm, then sneaks him a wink on her way out of the class. Her belief in him, in combination with her high standards, are what propel Billy to keep practicing and excelling.

The contrast between Billy and the men in his family is heightened now by their starkly contrasting experiences, and director Stephen Daldry heightens this contrast in the way that he portrays Billy's ascension in ballet class. After the boxing instructor tells Jackie Elliot that Billy hasn't been coming to class, we see shots of Billy in the center of a cluster of girls in tutus, interspersed with images of the heated and violent strikes going on at the mines. Placed beside one another, the discrepancy between the contentious and hyper-masculine working life of Jackie and Tony and the more fanciful and artistic inclinations of Billy is put into perspective. This discrepancy raises the tensions, as we wonder what the community's reaction to Billy's interest will be.

Jackie's discovery of Billy's inclination for dance is indeed catastrophic, and he pulls Billy out of class, insisting that boys are not meant to dance ballet. His protestations are twofold: he does not think that his son should dance ballet on the basis of his gender, and he also thinks it's inappropriate on the basis of class. According to his logic, the problem is not only, who ever heard of a boy ballet dancer, it's also, who ever heard of a miner's son who was a ballet dancer. The Elliots' working-class status and the precariousness of their financial situation only makes the thought of ballet that much more impractical and untenable.

With no mother to encourage him in his artistic pursuits, Billy turns to Sandra Wilkison, who, while not exactly maternal, nurtures Billy's creative impulse. She is a chain-smoking, toughened woman who curses liberally in front of her students, but her toughness also informs her belief in Billy, her stubborn belief that he has something special. Additionally, as we learn in this section of the film, Sandra is herself unfulfilled at home, and her tutelage of Billy provides inspiration and fulfillment for her as well.

Billy Elliot Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Billy Elliot is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

“Lads do football…or boxing…or wrestling. Not friggin’ ballet.” How does the film challenge the traditional notions of masculinity and femininity?

This movie takes place a long time before Harry Styles donned a dress and looked "way cool".

Gender is at the center of Billy's problems, even though he sees no issue with his interest in ballet. In the town where he is from, boxing is for boys...

Does Mrs. Wilkinson want Billy to come to boxing class next week?

Chapter please?

How does Billy Elliot portray the theme of being masculine?

Gender and masulinity is are at the center of Billy's problems, even though he sees no issue with his interest in ballet. 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...

Study Guide for Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot study guide contains a biography of director Stephen Daldry, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Billy Elliot
• Billy Elliot Summary
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for Billy Elliot

Billy Elliot essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry.

• Young Men and Their Chosen Paths: Stephen Daldry's film Billy Elliot and Seamus Heaney's poem 'Follower'
• Making History Personal in 'Billy Elliot': Social and Cultural Upward Mobility under Thatcher’s Government
• Human Experiences Can Be Difficult but Transformative: Comparing 'Billy Elliot" and ‘Deng Adut University of Western Sydney Advertisement’

Wikipedia Entries for Billy Elliot

• Introduction

• International
• Schools directory
• Resources Jobs Schools directory News Search

HSC Common Module: Billy Elliot essay AND Talking Points

Last updated

21 September 2021

• Share through email
• Share through twitter
• Share through linkedin
• Share through facebook
• Share through pinterest

Resources included (2)

Talking Points - HSC Common Module: Billy Elliot

HSC Texts and Human Experience Sample Essay & Essay Analysis: Billy Elliot

TALKING POINTS: Memorized essays betray a lack of confidence and an unwillingness to commit to authentic answers. Examiners have always advised students to prepare ‘talking points’ instead - a selection of ideas that they can draw on and which convey solid analysis and interpretation of the text.

These talking points can be used by teachers, to focus discussion on higher-level or less-noticed features of the text and context. They also form effective student revision materials for formal assessment. Each point is supported by a piece of evidence from the text, and there are sufficient points to generate solid responses to almost any essay question. The Talking Points also model how students can articulate more complex thoughts about the text, and adduce evidence in natural and well-integrated writing.

ESSAY: This is a three-part resource for students undertaking the NSW HSC Common Module Texts and Human Experience.

A generic essay plan shows students how to compose an essay suitable for Stage 6, progressing them from the simpler PEEL/TEAL models of Stage 4 and 5.

A sample essay for the prescribed text, Stephen Daldry’s film Billy Elliot, answers the 2019 HSC question: To what extent does the exploration of human experience in Daldry’s film invite you to reconsider your understanding of commitment?

There is also a second copy of the essay, marked up to show how it follows the plan, and with five short questions which require students to engage critically with the essay and its form.

Tes paid licence How can I reuse this?

Your rating is required to reflect your happiness.

It's good to leave some feedback.

Something went wrong, please try again later.

This resource hasn't been reviewed yet

To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it

Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.

Not quite what you were looking for? Search by keyword to find the right resource:

Hello Tutor

Common module essay questions: billy elliot practice questions.

Here are some text specific common module essay questions on Billy Elliot. These are questions for the more capable student – if you are not feeling confident in your understanding of the prescribed text or feel a bit insecure about your essay writing skills generally, it is better to start practising with the generic essay questions . They are the first port of order for skill building and developing your preliminary understanding of the topic. 

Text specific questions are a bit more advanced. These essay questions require a holistic understanding of the novel and may prompt students to focus on any aspect of the text whether it is a specific theme, character, event or textual element (i.e. set design, cinematography, etc) So if you haven’t watched the film, you may feel somewhat bewildered upon reading some of these questions…

Writing essays are an important bit of practice for your HSC exams and while an essay only requires a focus on two or three ideas and approximately 8 – 12 quotes, students will need to increase their understanding and general knowledge of the overall text in order to adapt well to text specific questions.

These questions can also be a creative exercise for improving your pre-existing arguments and testing the adaptability of that pre-existing argument.

Here are those questions.

• Tony and Jamie Elliot go to their seats in the theatre 
• JAMIE [to Usher]: Can you tell Billy Elliot that his family’s here? 
• Tony fusses in seat, disturbing person [Michael] next to him TONY: Sorry mate MICHAEL: It’s alright Tony. It’s me Michael. Remember. TONY [turns to father]: It’s Michael 
• TONY [to Michael]: What the hell are you doing here? MICHAEL: I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. 
• Backstage: camera behind the lead male ballet dancer (Billy) as music rises.
• SOUND ENGINEER [to Billy]: Billy, your family are here 
• Edited shots from the Billy’s face preparing himself to go on stage and the proud father in the audience as music soars and the dancer leaps onto the stage. 
• In what ways does the quote above contribute to a lasting impression of the complex nature of human experiences represented in Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot ?  (ETA 2019)
• Explore how historical context in Billy Elliott has been used to shape your perception of the challenges of the human experience.  (Baulkham Hills, 2019)
• To what extent does the exploration of human experience in Billy Elliot invite you to reconsider your understanding of commitment? (NESA, 2019)
• How has your understanding of the challenges of the human experience been shaped by the director’s use of mise-en-scène in your prescribed text? (NESA, 2019)
• To what extent does Billy Elliot represent the human qualities and emotions that arise from the complexities of love? (Abbotsleigh, 2020)
• Write a personal reflection on the insights this film gave you into Billy’s human qualities and emotions. Base your reflection on his experience with father and ONE other person. (Catholic Paper, 2020)
• How does Billy Elliot illuminate the role of passion in the human experience? 

Do you have any interesting questions that are not given here? Why not post them in the comments and share them with everyone else? I will add more over time as well.

Share this:

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Blog at WordPress.com.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

2x Essays on Billy Elliot

DOWNLOAD THE RESOURCE

Resource Description

Snippet from the first essay;

Stephen Daldry’s film Billy Elliot is a film that highlights the struggles and opportunities that arise in an individual’s everyday life. Billy is living in a society where ‘football, boxing or wrestling’ are the typical masculine activities a boy could participate in. Although Billy finds himself interested in ballet, but is faced with many obstacles including the society he lives in, his family’s lack of support and his family’s financial situation. Throughout the film Daldry uses music to support the meaning and mood of each scene.

The non-diegetic music played in the scenes with the police and strikers was ‘London Calling’ by The Clash as it represents anger and discontent. The fact that Billy’s father and brother were miners on a strike adds to the difficulty of gaining their support to attend the London Royal Ballet School. The music emphasizes the tension and aggravation of the situation and identifies how serious Billy’s family is struggling financially. This is a major obstacle for Billy as even with the struggle to gain his family support, it is not enough to make his dream come true.

Before Billy gained his father and brothers support he was faced with many confronting experiences. His father was paying 50 pence for him to attend boxing classes although he didn’t particularly thrive in boxing. Billy found himself being knocked to the ground by an opponent and as he lay on the ring floor, non-diegetic music played over the scene capturing his intriguing stare towards the ballet dancers. The sounds exaggerate the scene and cause the audience to stop and be captured, feeling the same experience as Billy did.

Although he was facing many adversities, especially in boxing class being called ‘a disgrace to them gloves, your father and the traditions of this boxing hall’, he was on the verge of a transformation. It was at this moment that Billy knew there was something special about the ballet and that he was intrigued by it. This is reinforced in the following scene where George gives him the keys to hand to Mrs Wilkinson and orders him to stay back and practice hitting the bag. As Billy was doing this he was once again attracted to the diegetic music of the dancers at practice and began to move in sync with the swinging boxing bag and the music. Although Billy was faced with an obstacle and a negative experience in boxing class, an opportunity flourished from his after class punishment and he began to join ballet classes instead of attending boxing with the 50 pence his father would give him.

As Billy begins to attend the ballet lessons the audience begin to see a transformation in his spirit and everyday mood. Billy begins to feel satisfaction, excitement and rebelliousness. The song ‘Get It On (Bang a Gong)’ by the T Rex begins to play and continues throughout the next few scenes of Billy at school, looking in the mirror with a new sense of self respect, and on the cross country run taking a detour into a tunnel under the bridge. The music and the scene reflect the rebelliousness and this transformational nature that Billy has experienced since joining the ballet lessons. This sense of rebelliousness and transformation is reinforced in the scene where Billy visits the Durham Country Library Bus. He steals a book about ballet by putting it down his pants as the librarian is distracted. This scene reinforces the change in Billy’s attitude as the thrill and rebelliousness he feels is highlighted in the background music.

It is then in the next scene that the audience notice that the song begins to fade out as Billy makes his way up the staircase to the practice hall. This warns the audience that his thrilling nature will not last long and that he will soon face an obstacle. The following scenes show Billy doubting his abilities and turning his positive and exhilarating attitude into a weak and negative one. Mrs Wilkinson pushes him to learn a difficult pirouette and he is doubtful as he is struggling to make the turn. It is here that the audience appreciate and understand the role that diegetic and non-diegetic music plays in complementing the themes of the film.

As in Billy Elliot, the text Midnight Train to Georgia identifies that there are obstacles and opportunities in every individual’s life. Everyone’s journey may be unique, but it is a universal thing to experience obstacles and transformations due to the experiences in your life. The song composed by Jim Weatherly has a voice of a woman whose partner experiences a negative transition. The composer has used symbolism through the title and main aspect of the song. The simple use of ‘midnight’ train itself expresses a sense of obstacle or adversity. The slouching time of midnight highlights that the transition or journey to Georgia is going to be a long and difficult one. It also shows that the transition may not be welcomed as it is being delayed to midnight. This also fits in well with the mood of the music as it has a smooth tempo and rhythm. The song does not have a rock or pop genre, it is quite calm which emphasises the unknown journey of what may come ahead.

The man that is being sung about was originally from Georgia and travelled to Los Angeles with a dream to become a ‘superstar’.  He finds himself looking grip of his dreams and facing reality where he is heading back home to a ‘simpler place and time’. His transition to Los Angeles was not a positive experience for him as things did not go to plan, although he met a devoted women ‘who’s gonna be right by his side”. Although this transition has been a negative one for the musician, it has transformed him. He met a woman who supports his dream and would ‘rather live in his world than live without him’. Although it has been a challenging transition for the two of them a positive opportunity has occurred. Now they are both on a journey to transition back to Georgia where she will stay by his side and they can build a life together in a place he knew not so long ago.

Report a problem

Popular HSC Resources

• Speech on George Orwell ‘1984’ – Human Experiences
• How To Survive the HSC
• One Night the Moon – Analysis (Video)
• 2020 – Physics – PHS (Trial Paper)
• Business Studies Influences on HR (Quiz)
• Sci Ext – Portfolio Pack
• 2020 – Science Ext – Exam Choice (Trial Paper)
• Domino’s Marketing Case Study

Become a Hero

Easily become a resource hero by simply helping out HSC students. Just by donating your resources to our library!

What are you waiting for, lets Ace the HSC together!

Join our Email List

No account needed.

Get the latest HSC updates.

All you need is an email address.