The film Billy Elliot, directed by Stephen Daldry, explores the challenges of adversity, the search for identity and the pursuit of dreams as a collective human experience. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The film is set in a small town in County Durham, northern England, during the 1984 miners' strike. The protagonist, Billy Elliot, grows up in a family of low socioeconomic status and the threat of Closing the mines took a toll on his father, Jackie, and older brother Tony, who relied heavily on mining to support the family's low income. It is through the clever use of camera angles, mise-en-scène and symbolism in the film, that Daldry invites the audience to follow Billy's challenging yet inspiring journey as he challenges traditional expectations and the social paradigms of his society , in order to pursue her love of ballet. An individual who challenges social paradigms and gender role expectations will encounter adversity within their community. This is evident in the film Billy Elliot, as Daldry's use of characterization between Billy and his father reveals to the audience the difficulties both characters experience due to social and personal issues. First, Billy was expected to follow the traditional path followed by his father and grandfather, which was to maintain the family tradition of boxing. In the "You're a disgrace to the gloves" scene, Billy was criticized by his father and his trainer for his inability to box and tendency to swing and dance instead of engaging in physical combat. In this moment, Daldry highlights Billy's struggle to conform to gender roles and expectations, as he fails to exemplify the physical masculinity of his traditional patriarchal mining community. Furthermore, in the film, Jackie is portrayed as a strong activist in the miners' strike, thus contributing to his masculinity and default judgments about what boys should do. In the “kitchen table discussion” scene, the conversation between Jackie and Billy reveals their opposing perspectives as Jackie firmly warns Billy that she doesn't want him to be involved in ballet in any way: “Boys do boxing or football or wrestling, not damn ballet." ”. Daldry's use of reverse shot between father and son highlights the hostility, thus creating an empathetic response from viewers, as Billy has a melancholy relationship with his father. The search for identity is fueled by a place in society where an individual feels a sense of belonging. In the film, when Billy discovers the art of ballet, he begins a new identity despite the condemnation of his family and the Everington community. In the scene "why don't you join too?" Billy enters the feminine world of ballet and is challenged by ballet instructor Mrs. Wilkinson to put on ballet shoes. The use of Dolly's shot in this moment depicts the graceful movements of the ballerinas in their white slippers by juxtaposing Billy dancing in blue boxing shoes. Daldry's juxtaposition of footwear highlights that Billy breaks social and gender expectations by removing the blue male boots and replacing them with white female slippers. The close-up of the ballet slippers symbolizes the beginning of Billy's search for identity by Mrs. Wilkinson and the beginning of a new life. Additionally, through Billy's search for identity, Billy's best friend Micheal experiments with cross-dressing in an attempt to find his authentic identity. In the scene "dancing.