Billy Elliot Stereotypes

In every society around the world, gender stereotypes have impacted significantly on the way a person may act and how they may be looked upon by their society. As, most people when they were young were taught the ways of the masculine or feminine roles of their era. This varies majorly on almost everything, such as their choice of toys, clothes, activities and even by the way they act. Although, some of which included the gender stereotypes displayed in a wide variety of films, some examples could include how men are depicted to be stronger and tend to show more courage than the feminine and defenseless ways scripted for women. In turn, in what ways do characters in film challenge the common idea and beliefs about traditional male and female …show more content…
As, Billy Elliot, who is the protagonist of the film, is a young, caring and sometimes-mischievous boy in which, not long into the film, uncovers his soaring fascination and love for ballet. To continue, at this point Billy not only quits boxing, which he was hopeless at, but begins to frequently attend the ballet lessons of the local-middle-class ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson. Throughout the film, Billy Elliot pursues his dream to become a professional ballet dancer, and in doing so, along the way he is seen to challenge the gender stereotypical beliefs mainly of his family, as well as in his neighborhood. Furthermore, in specific scenes seen within the film, Billy is seen to stand up to his father and prove that he doesn’t care of what others may think of him because of the fact that he does ballet and sees nothing wrong with it, especially for a male to have a profession in. Although, in some areas of the film, Mrs. Wilkinson is seen showing Billy the music of the famous ballet, Swan Lake, there this somehow has a major impact in the film. As, amongst the final scenes of the film, where it is approximately 10 years subsequent to Billy discovering his love for ballet, he is found to be the main ballet dancer in the Swan Lake performance. Therefore, in this film, Billy mainly protests against the traditional gender stereotypes of his community by pursuing his dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer, in which he did. Besides, there are also a handful of ways in which Billy Elliot conforms to the gender stereotypes believed in this film. Some of which includes the fact of how he is often found swearing, standing up for him against family members and even trying alcohol. Hence, this protagonist of the film shows multiple