Film Billy Elliot example essay topic

A comparison between Billy Elliot and A kestrel for a knave (the film and the book) To be honest I don't find this particular genre very interesting. The book was one of the most boring books i've ever read; it had no sense of excitement or suspense and could easily have been classed as a biography of an ordinary boy's life in the 1960's. The film was slightly better, but this is due to the fact, that it was designed to appeal to a modern audience; the ending was excruciantly perfect and definitely would not have happened had Billy Elliot been real. Both the film and the book are about a boy called Billy. In the film the boy is called Billy Elliot, he's younger than Billy Casper (the boy in the book), being eleven whereas Casper is between the ages fourteen and fifteen. Both the film and the book are set in mining communities with members of each boy's families working down the pits, in Elliot's family it's his dad and brother and in Casper's his brother.

However there is a difference. In the time the book was written, the 1960's, the mining industry was a thriving business, Billy Casper was expected to work down the pits, when he left school, and mining was the occupation of the majority of people who lived in South Yorkshire, during that period. At the time the film was directed, the 1990's, the mines were being closed down. Billy Elliot's dad and brother spent most of the film on strike and County Durham would eventually become a non - mining community. There are a lot of similarities between the film and the book.

Both boys live in one parent families; in the film Billy Elliot's mum has died and in the book Billy Casper's dad has left home. Both families are quite poor and live in areas of housing which are overcrowded, and dirty. Both boys are passionate about something. In the film Billy Elliot has a passion for dancing. His talent and commitment to dancing enable him to get a scholarship to the royal London ballet school and live his dream. In the book Billy Casper's passion is for his hawk Kes.

Being a boy who no-one has any faith in, except for his English teacher, Billy surprises the reader by teaching himself how to rear and train his adopted 'Kes'. However this book has no happy ending, when Billy fails to place a bet his brother Jud, unable to catch his younger sibling, breaks the neck of Kes leaving Billy broken hearted. I think this is the main difference between the film and the book. In the film there is a strong sense of love.

Although it is very similar to the book, in many respects, Billy Elliot has one thing that Billy Casper lacks: support and love from his family. This sense of love is very clear in three parts of the movie. The first is when Billy's dad sells his dead wife's priceless jewellery to raise money for Billy to audition in London. The second is when Billy is leaving to go to London and his brother says he will miss him, although this might not seem like much this display of affection will have taken his brother a lot of courage to say. The third part is when Billy and his dad roll about in the hay before Billy goes to London. The film has a very positive mood, the end of the film is my favourite part: When Billy's dad and brother go to London to see swan lake.

His brother is eager to get there, hurrying up escalators and dragging his dad along, his dad however walks transfixed by his surroundings. Once, Billy asked him, whether he dreamed of going to London and he replied "why would I? There are no coal mines in London" I think, while walking through London, his dad finally realises why his son dreamt of a new life. In the book Billy Casper has no such love from his family.

Neither his mother of brother take any interest in him both are too preoccupied by themselves. I think the killing of Kes shows this very clearly. Kes is Billy's best friend, he was Billy's only chance to escape a life down the pits the only positive thing in a life full of negativity. Jud didn't take the time to think about what Kes meant to Billy, all that he cared about was his bet. The readers feel a very strong sense of pity for Billy, at the end. Billy has flashbacks of his heartbreaking past and it is clear that Billy won't have the chance of a new life and things aren't going to get better.

I think Kes could be seen as a metaphor for all Billy's hopes and dreams. A bird flying freely in the sky, to the reader, might represent Billy breaking free. Jud killed, not only a bird, but everything that made Billy different and special. The main similarity between both boys is that they both have a passion and a talent. The main difference between both boys is that one's talent gets recognised and he is able to have a better life and a happy ending and the other's talent is stamped on, buried under: hurt, lack of care and neglect. I enjoyed the film the most.

I think this is because I like happy endings, however much of a clich'e they are.