Homosexuality In Billy Elliot

Individuals undergoing transitions often tend to challenge their own and society’s attitudes, beliefs and perceptions. As such, transitions can act as a catalyst for drastic changes, hence resolving social complexes and enhancing societal understanding. Evidently, ‘Billy Elliot’, film directed by Stephen Daldry shows the pursuit of Billy Elliot, a young male, behind his passion for ballet. In accompaniment, ‘Same Love,’ song by artists Macklemore (Ben Haggerty), Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert addresses the controversial issue of homosexuality within the music video which details the experiences of a homosexual male through a momentous time-lapse thus confronting responders with social acceptance and ability based stereotyping/expectations, allowing …show more content…
This makes Billy’s idea of pursuing his ballet dream rather difficult, due to the dominating presences of Jackie and Tony, his father and brother. Multiple close up shots and diegetic sounds in an opening scene, where union men are yelling ‘Scab!’ towards the passing bus full of workers, is crucial in setting the immediate tone, essentially, showing the unity and male dominance of the society, through the exasperated aggression. Within the crowd, where Jackie and Tony are seen partaking in the protest, Billy’s absence symbolises his reluctance to express masculinity in such commotion, juxtaposing his ideology. This, combined with his overall efforts of becoming a professional ballet dancer, excites audiences to understand that Billy seeks transition, as the mix of these values cannot co-exist. Additionally, Billy argues social acceptance, while initially Jackie refuses Billy’s passion, stumbling across Billy perform later in the film, Jackie’s revelation reveals a major transition in mindset, through the apacing music and mise-en-scene, developing acceptance for Billy’s …show more content…
In Same Love, Macklemore confronts the audience within his first spit through the elaboration of his opinion claiming that his uncles were gay, noting that their unity, being unidentified by the law was a flaw in American society. “America the brave still fears...” fortifies his belief in the weak and incompetent legal system through the intertextual reference to the American national anthem ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ depicting irony through the juxtaposition, conjecturing the flaw as salient, motivating societal transition to a progressive America, ultimately influencing the global outlook. In a similar manner, “Have you read the YouTube comments lately? ‘Man, that's gay’ Gets dropped on the daily,” helps elucidate society’s desensitized nature and disregard towards homosexuals, aided by the rhetorical question to create profound contemplation amongst