Theme of Conflict in Billy Elliot Movie and Dearly Poem (Essay Example)

The representation of conflict, particularly within families, conveys that inner conflict is an inevitable human experience. These experiences of conflict are portrayed through the powerful vehicles of film and poetry which, through their formal devices, engage the audience. The representation of human conflict is shown as an individual and a shared experience, communicated in Stephan Daldry’s 2000 film ‘Billy Elliot’ and Margaret Atwood’s 2020 poem ‘Dearly’.  In ‘Billy Elliot’, family conflict is represented through dramatic techniques such as visual camera angles and shots, as well as diegetic and nondiegetic sounds to heighten the audience’s sensory response. Similarly, Atwood in ‘Dearly’ conveys the experience of family conflict through language and poetic techniques to engage the audience by utilising a different medium. Additionally, both texts represent inner conflict that arises from family loss as well as societal and familial ideals through their respective forms. Therefore, the power lies in the text’s devices that serve as a vehicle to communicate these experiences whilst engaging the audience.

In ‘Billy Elliot’, the shared human experience of the loss of Mrs Elliot triggers family conflict, of which the director represents through the use of techniques such as symbols and lighting to invite the audience into the cinematic realm. 

The first time Mrs Elliot is introduced to the audience, is when Billy is playing the piano which has a picture of her and Billy on top of the piano. As Billy is playing chords repeatedly on the piano, Jackie says “Leave it Billy, she's gone”, immediately showing the audience Mrs Elliot is a distant memory to their family. Jackie then slams the piano down, highlighting how the piano is a symbol for the mothers death and the individual emotions Jackie, Billy and Tony are feeling, due to the void in their hearts and family. Daldry used dimmed lighting and close up shots in this scene to further illustrate the family issues experienced due to loss and grief as a shared human experience in the Elliot household. The symbolism of the piano is further delineated in the scene ‘Christmas’, where in the beginning, Jackie is destroying the piano outside the house, then shortcut camera cues to the next shot where Jackie is putting the wood from the piano into the fire, symbolizing the long gone distant memory of Mrs Elliot and burning passion that Jackie and the rest of the family is clearly feeling, as a close up shot is used while Jackie breaks down crying, showing the audience this is a breaking point and the built up grief has been replaced with family tension and conflict. 

Similarly, in Atwood’s ‘Dearly’, she conveys her own grief dealing with the loss of her husband and the inevitability of the cycle of death through poetic devices, showing that language is a powerful vehicle to engage the audience in confronting family conflict.

Atwood distinctly captivates the reader through poetic devices such as similes and metaphors to express her grief due to the loss of her husband. It is clear the absence of her husband is slowly fading into a distant memory of someone who served and fulfilled her life, making her realise the inevitability of death. “The shape of an absence in your place at the table, sitting across from me, eating toast and eggs as usual or walking ahead up the drive, a rustling of the fallen leaves, a slight thickening of the air.”

In the film ‘Billy Elliot’, the individual experience of inner conflict is shown through an accumulation of techniques throughout the film, as Billy tries to reject his passion of dancing due to the societal expectations of gender stereotypes. Furthermore, it is clear to the audience that Billy’s inner conflict stems from family conflict that has yet to be confronted or addressed in the Elliot household. From the beginning of the film, we are introduced to the conflict Billy experiences as the opening song is a gradually quickening, upbeat tempo showing how the tension Billy faces through his decision to pursue dance escalates. The lyrics in this song, “I danced myself right out the womb”, convey Billy’s inner conflict as his passion for dance was like a primal, instinctual calling that he could not wrestle against. The use of non-diegetic sound engages the audience in an entertaining, thought-provoking way.

In Atwood’s ‘Dearly’, her language choices reflect her individual experience of inner conflict as she attempts to make sense of the world after her world has been shattered.

Thus, the formal features of a text is a powerful vehicle in which the composer can convey important human experiences in a way that is digestible for the audience and easier for them to engage with. This is represented through Daldy and Atwood’s portrayals of both family and inner conflict that, although differ in form, are still equal in engaging the responders. Therefore, conflict is an innate human experience that all audiences can identify and connect with.