In this blog post, we explore why Billy, a boy from a coal mining town, chose ballet over boxing, and the significance of his choice.
In 1984, a boy named Billy Elliot lives in a coal mining village in County Durham, England, with his miner father, his older brother Tony Elliot, and his grandmother, who has dementia. The miners in the village are currently on strike, and Billy is forced to attend boxing lessons, which hold no interest for him. Michael Caffrey is Billy’s close friend; possessing feminine traits, he sometimes steals his mother and sister’s clothes to wear. One day, Billy glimpses a ballet class taught by Sandra Wilkinson next to the boxing gym and becomes captivated by ballet.
In 1984, during a period of instability, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced the closure of 20 out of the nation’s 174 coal mines, resulting in the layoff of over 20,000 workers. The film’s central theme revolves around this very situation, set in a village gripped by this tense and violent strike movement, where a young boy discovers ballet. The core of this film lies in its use of ballet—an elite art form—as its primary subject during the turbulent period of the strike. By employing contrasting themes and settings, it crafts a moving story that perfectly suits the theme of growth. A prime example is the scene near the film’s end, contrasting Billy Elliot’s departure for London to study ballet with his father and brother returning to the coal mines.
When Billy Elliot first began ballet, his father completely failed to understand and opposed it. However, the father later recognizes Billy Elliot’s talent. Realizing the harsh reality that even Billy Elliot must live as a miner, the father resolves to give him the opportunity to pursue ballet. The scene where the father abandons the strike for his son and returns alone to the coal mine is profoundly moving. When Tony Elliot discovers Billy’s ballet practice, his father weeps, declaring, “I can’t give him the same future we had,” starkly revealing their bleak reality. Billy’s secret practice for the Royal Ballet School audition with Sandra Wilkinson at the boxing gym feels beautiful even in that shabby space. Ballet in a coal mining town might seem like an unrealistic story, but it’s portrayed as both realistic and fantastical through the growth tale of a boy’s dream.
This film might appear to be a simple coming-of-age story about a coal mining town boy growing into a ballet dancer. Yet, it holds much deeper meaning. The film’s backdrop starkly depicts Britain at the time, filled with social unrest like the coal miners’ union movement and unemployment issues. Moreover, it seamlessly integrates this historical context into its central theme of ballet. By setting the village in a coal mining community and establishing the protagonist’s father and brother as miners, the film naturally shapes Billy Elliot’s environment.
The imagery contrasts ballet and mining—the beautiful, pure white of ballet dancers versus the grimy, blackened miners—yet this film uses that contrast to amplify the sorrow. This is because Billy Elliot’s dream required the sacrifice of the miners. Facing his father’s opposition and unable to pursue ballet, Billy Elliot dances while running through narrow alleys. In those bleak, cramped alleys, Billy Elliot channels his pent-up anger through dance. Furthermore, the inclusion of strongly masculine images like miners and boxing serves to highlight the feminine image of ballet. By casting the protagonist as a boy, it breaks down the existing image of ballet and creates a film with a new image. Billy Elliot’s friend Michael Caffrey dresses in women’s clothes, wears makeup, and even asks Billy Elliot to get him a ballet skirt. Michael Caffrey is a character who shows pure, innocent affection towards Billy Elliot, warming his frozen hands against his chest on a cold winter day while offering him a drink, and even kissing him.
Thus, while this film could be seen as a coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of Britain’s difficult society, it is also a unique coming-of-age film that breaks down images distinguished by male and female. Moreover, the lighthearted and exhilarating nature of dance infuses vitality into the film’s potentially somber backdrop.
Similarly, the 1997 film ‘The Full Monty’ depicts fathers who suddenly lose their jobs due to restructuring and resort to performing a strip show to earn money. This film also portrays the journey of unemployed men who come together to engage in strip shows, an activity outside conventional moral standards. ‘Billy Elliot’ similarly uses ballet as its subject matter to show the protagonist’s growth.
The most crucial element in this film is the protagonist, ‘Billy Elliot’. He secretly listens to his brother’s records and loves to dance, yet is forced by his father to learn boxing. He cares for his grandmother with dementia and misses his deceased mother, yet he is a spirited and responsible young boy who lives bravely.
Billy Elliot is not weak at all. He speaks his mind clearly and expresses his emotions honestly. He hides his ballet shoes under his bed to escape his fearsome father and secretly attends ballet classes instead of boxing. When caught by his father, he stands his ground and states his opinion confidently. The scene where he drinks milk while listening to his mother’s nagging shows Billy Elliot’s tender longing for her. When asked by a Royal Ballet School audition judge how he feels when dancing, Billy Elliot answers, “It’s like being electrocuted, like I disappear and become a bird.” Billy Elliot knows exactly what he loves and is honest about it. This character, Billy Elliot, with his boyish, pure charm, is well portrayed in the film. Thanks to this setup, the film was able to be completed as a coming-of-age story for Billy Elliot.
