‘Into the world’ is defined as aspects of maturation and transition into new phases of an individual’s life. To venture into the world, individuals must be challenged and these challenges must be overcome to discover their true potential and deepest passions, which will ultimately define their identity. These profound, compelling ideas are celebrated in Stephen Daldry’s 1999 film, Billy Elliot and Shaun Tan’s 2006 visual narrative, The Arrival. The two texts reveals that obstacles are daunting, overwhelming and often seen insurmountable. However, the protagonist, Billy Elliot, successfully embrace and transcend his obstacles of social, familial and economic hardships and hence, he is able to discover a deeper source of inner strength and progress …show more content…
He expresses himself through his ‘Dance of Defiance,’ a scene where he displays his genuine talent and strong passion through movement. When Jacky finally discovers Billy dancing ballet, the extreme close-up shot captures their gaze and eye contact to create tension between the father and the son. Here, Billy demonstrates his bravery by dancing aggressively in front of his father, challenging his father’s authority. As his exhilaration increases, the screen lengthens and his whole body comes into view. The strong rhythm of the music played in the background emphasises his passion and pride in dance. This scene is crucial where Jacky acknowledges his son’s strong passion and genuine talent as a dancer. It is his confrontation that Billy and his father grow closer together despite their differences. Thus, his love for dance emboldens him in front of his chauvinistic father and lays down a path into a wider more rewarding …show more content…
Ultimately, the protagonist’s successful transition into the world is epitomised as ‘ugly duckling’ evolving to a ‘graceful swan’. In the final scene, the swan imagery and classical masterpiece of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’ symbolises Billy’s transcendence of obstacles and his celebration of successful integration in a new world. The shot of Billy performing a grand jĕte in the centre of the stage signifies his transition and this is reinforced by the dramatic ‘Swan Lake’ playing in the background, and the low angle full shots of Billy leaping triumphantly, with the strong beam of light surround him in a surreal glow. In addition, the jump cut of Billy’s father’s tear streaked eyes and Michael’s evocative language, “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” foregrounds the joy that is felt by all who witness the successful transition of an individual. This pivotal scene conveys the notion that entering into the world allows individuals to realise their full potential and gain significant
The play, “Riley Valentine and the Occupation of Fort Svalbard”, by Julia- Rose Lewis is an exploration of the resilience of teenagers. The play is heavily symbolic and supports the dramatic meaning of the show. Throughout the Queensland Theatre Company’s interpretation of this play, the director, Travis Dowley, expresses forms of dramatic elements to articulate three types of manipulations. These manipulations include the manipulation of body and voice, space and the creation and manipulation of dramatic mood. Through these types of manipulations, it portrays the dramatic meaning towards the performance. Although, the use of space throughout Travis’s performance allows the audience to identify this dramatic meaning.
They would dance contemporary to Holiday’s slower jazz songs, which were also her songs with the most serious stories told in them. Performing this style of dance helped to tell the story of hers songs. The dance truly helped to accentuate the message of the song “Strange Fruit.” This song describes the horrific lynchings that took place in the Jim Crow South. The contemporary choreography to this song showed the sadness and confusion that many people felt towards the lynchings. The dancers would come onto the stage in small groups of two or three, and I noticed many of them would do a slow, controlled grand battement followed by dropping their torsos to their feet when they brought their legs back down. They would then proceed to exit the stage, and be followed by the next group of dancers. When I watched this, I felt as though the dancers were showing the pain and despair that people felt before lynchings, and how they next lynching would happen soon
In Brave New World the social conditioning causes the characters to struggle with their acceptance of their place within society. In Sherman Alexie’s Blasphemy the hereditary ties to the modern and Indian culture causes a strife among the characters. In both works, characters such as Bernard and the narrator from The Toughest Indian in the World are seen to initially struggle with their self-identify through internal thought. However, their internal struggle soon seeps through to the exterior, which causes a defining act. I will argue that in both Blasphemy and Brave New World the characters cope with their identity crisis by internalizing everything until a breaking point is reached causing a defining moment which is something that is out
I loved how Butterfly’s Uncle’s identifying step for me were how he would always seem to be doing jumps such as glissades and pas de chats in his choreography. I was pleased to see that I recognized the temps levés and enveloppés that Sharpless was implementing when he read Butterfly Pinkerton’s letter. I now understand how crucial it is for dancers to spot after I viewed how sharp, straight, and elegant Pinkerton’s pirouettes were in Act one. I also believe in the power of articulating through pliés are to a dancer because I saw how simply beautiful and high the cast’s grande jetés were throughout the performance. How important epaulment for ballet dancers is was very evident throughout, and how much thinking of performing to each individual’s corner of the room was critical in creating and maintain straight and crisp
Li’s passion for ballet shows on and off stage through his arabesques, flexibility, fouettés, grande jeté and pirouettes that were nothing less than perfection. I understood that becoming a dancer requires commitment, passion and having a great memory as there’s many moves, routines and ballet terms that you need to learn. When I was performing on stage, I felt free and that I could own the stage as it felt like it was my second home. I also felt complete within myself just as Li felt. To perform on stage, you need to be light and graceful along with connecting to the music using precise steps, poses and formal gestures. The film used dance, music, scenery, and costumes to portray a story characterised by Li’s dance. Classical ballet dancers require the utmost grace and I’ve found that you also need a tremendous level of concentration and memory. This portrays when his choreographer Ben Stevenson asked Li Cunxin to replace the main male role due to an injury on the day of the performance to memorise new dances and perform them in front of an enormous crowd. Many of my performances have been in a group where we all need to be in sync and work together. This film highlighted that in order to become a professional ballet dancer, you have to prepare to work extremely hard no matter how gruelling the schedule is in order to
It not only opens the eyes of the audience, but it also allows one to quickly learn from Chris McCandless’ mistakes and unintentionally harbor a great deal of respect for the naïve adolescent. Though one may not take such extreme measures to live in the Alaskan wilderness with no supplies, it serves as an emotional punch for life and its casualties. The end the film expresses both the fear and elation of life as individuals struggle to find his/her own path instead of what society tries to dictate to us. Overall, McCandless teaches us that human life cannot be ruled by reason and this unfortunately disestablishes our ability to have any certainty in life. What is the point of knowing exactly how your life will play out? Sean Penn accurately portrays these thoughts and feelings in the astonishing film “Into the
Imagine this. You’re getting exorbitantly dressed and ready to see a performance of Swan Lake at Carnegie Hall. You have been earnestly waiting for months to watch what spectacular talent and beauty awaits. The hype of going to see this show in person has put you in a daze. You finally get into your seats and wait for the curtains to open. At this moment you are about to jump out of your seat and rip those curtains off the latch. They finally open and a ballerina playing the role of Odette appears with her stunning outfit. She gracefully walks out onto the stage to start the show. The orchestra starts and you 're beyond ready to see her elegantly sweep the audience away with the beautiful ballet dancing. She starts
People are unique and therefore discover elements of life in a multitude of complex ways. Charles Dickens 1861 novel ‘Great Expectations’ employs older and younger Pip in a dual perspective novel to display the ways in which he discovers a sense of belonging and acceptance. Gary Ross director of the movie “Pleasantville” uses an adolescent males point of view to show the varying aspects of belonging in quite literally in this instance different ‘worlds’ which displays the destruction of being accepted and the positives of inclusion. Both texts show collectively that a need for a sense of belonging rarely changes over time in which the two texts are set.
As the audience watches the film they can come to realize that sometimes people need to open their eyes to new ideas. They become aware that one person can make a difference in another person’s life. This film is about that, changing your life. Billy Elliot would not have ever thought to become a dancer, yet is willing to take the risk and he discovers that he loves it. The audience can connect to the main character because they understand that sometimes risks have to be taken. Mrs. Wilkinson shows that it is okay to change and do something different.
Perhaps an even stronger testament to the deepness of cinema is Darren Aronofsky’s stark, somber Requiem for a Dream. Centering on the drug-induced debasement of four individuals searching for the abstract concept known as happiness, Requiem for a Dream brims with verisimilitude and intensity. The picture’s harrowing depiction of the characters’ precipitous fall into the abyss has, in turn, fascinated and appalled, yet its frank, uncompromising approach leaves an indelible imprint in the minds of young and old alike.
The story explores many vital concepts accompanied by beautiful illustrations. I felt a strong sense of cultural understanding, spirituality and connection to family and land as though I was on this journey too. I could sense an underlying meaning in each dance, holding great importance to Bertie’s family and a strong connection to their culture. Pryor has attempted to fuse the then and now, by speaking of changes in the land, from a once spiritual gathering place, to a now busy town street where through food, they keep the culture alive (Pryor, 2010).
June, wearing a very feminine outfit, dances to the song of “Let Me Entertain You” while Louise has a more masculine appearance. This gender division continues in the dance, as June seems to be more elegant then Louise. This is a clear example of Frye’s definition of sexism, as both June and Louise are buying into the gender binary. Extrapolating from how June and Louise are contributing to the gender binary, it can be assumed that June and Louise’s guardian also does the same, which is not the case. Rose, their mother, comes onto the stage to critique the children and make it apparent to the director that her kids deserve the part. The dedication and strong will Rose elicits when talking about her kids is empowering, and contrasted by the other stage moms who emphasize the binary by being pushed around and rushed off the stage. Uncle Jocko emphasizes this strength of Rose’s character in his comment “Decisions, Decisions, Decisions” when Rose is talking about the technical parts of the act, implying that he is actually listening to what she has to say (4:50). Rose is different and refuses to fit into this normal feminine category that allows them to be pushed around and get told what to do. This ambiance of individualism is inspiring, but starkly shows how she does not imbue these values on her
Dance has different definitions for each individual. For some it may symbolize beauty, perfection, and struggles amongst many others. The dance movement themselves can be executed in various ways (Ferrufino & Coubard, 2012). Not everyone performs the same exact way there are a variety of different ways to perform and that is what makes dance so special. From those precisely choreographed in advanced to those created on impulse or on the spur of the moment all dances require exploration and creativeness (Ferrufino & Coubard, 2012). Every person who watches choreography by Lizzie MacKenzie is probably surprised that she is not as well known as other choreographers (Nevin, 2013). However, she is identified as an exceptional dancer as well as for her many guest appearances in high profile social events (Nevin, 2013). She is also recognized as the founder and artistic director of Extensions Dance Company, which is one of the most successful and respected dance companies in the country (Nevin, 2013).
...hen you reach the end the boy has taken a turn and instantly matures in the last sentence. Something like that doesn’t just happen in a matter of seconds. Therefore the readers gets the sense that the narrator is the boy all grown up. He is recollecting his epiphany within the story allowing the readers to realize themselves that the aspiration to live and dream continues throughout the rest of ones life. The narrator remembers this story as a transformation from innocence to knowledge. Imagination and reality clearly become two different things to the narrator; an awareness that everyone goes though at some point in their life. It may not be as dramatic as this story but it gradually happens and the innocence is no longer present.
‘Billy Elliot’ has a range of powerful scenes with different contrasting emotions. This enhances the audiences understanding of the story. An early scene in the film which produced this impact was when Billy was unable to concentrate while doing ballet due to his father in the strike. The blue in the gym matched the strike through the clothes of some men and the helmets of the police officers with blue embedded on them. Sound had a dramatic impact on the audience since the delivery of both scenes was conflicting. When Billy was doing ballet in his dance class; the music was calm and peaceful. The environment was also poised and relaxing. However, when the strike was taking place, the atmosphere was loud and blaring with ear-splitting shouts from all the men. There was a lot of anger and frustration in the tone of their voices as they shouted “STOP!” The classical ballet music was edited in with the loud shouts from the strike to convey the feeling of intensity and power versus tranquillity and serenity. Mrs Wilkinson shouts at Billy while he is practicing because it was obvious that he was “…not concentrating.” This suggested to the audience that Billy is distracted, with his father being in the strike. Another technique which was distinguishable was the tone of Mrs Wilkinson’s voice which developed into a rough and...