Hi, Im Phai Chaimongkol and today Im going to be covering some

points and giving you some advices on HSC English and how you
can effectively study for it. In todays lesson were going to be
covering Module C: Texts and Society with the elective being
Exploring Transitions. I will be walking you through the way in which
the coming of age film Billy Elliot directed by Stephen Daldry
corresponds to the prescribed text The Simple Gift by Steven
Herrick.
Before we go any further, lets breakdown the ideas behind Module
C
The module is designed to deepen the students understanding on
how a text can communicates ideas, information, attitudes and
beliefs towards issues relating to our society through textual
features. Were required to analyse and explore the ways in which
individuals experiences transition into a new phase of their life and
how it is presented within the texts.
Here are some key words that you will need to place a great
emphasis on in order for you express your ideas effectively: Explore,
analyse, change, growth, transformative, experiences, new,
attitude, information, society, textual features, challenging, exciting,
consequences, ways of thinking, barrier, etc.
So what does it mean to have a transition?
A transition is the moving of a phase within ones life, i.e. growing
up.
A transition can only happen through experiences and these
experiences can be challenging, confronting, exciting or
transformative. The process of transition may also lead to growth,
change and a range of consequences that can affect the individual
and others around them.
In the film Billy Elliot and similarly The Simple Gift, the
protagonist experiences challenges that were very confronting and
transformative. Although, the two are very different in the physical
sense, they share many of the same qualities, as both texts revolve
around the idea of individuals striving for a better life. In the film,
Billy, the protagonist challenges the old school way of thinking that
dancing is only for women. Meanwhile, in the poetic novel, the
protagonist, whose name is also Billy; leave his abusive father and
his hometown in search of a better life.
Billy is faced with many obstacles that he must overcome in
order to fulfil his true passion. He seeks acceptance from his

dad and brother by going to a boxing school, but in doing so

he felt confined, depressed and restricted. This is due to his
lack of passion for the masculines sport of boxing. Billys
growing interest in which he had for dancing is met with
conflicting ideas from his family. The film effectively
highlights the great many challenges in which the
protagonist had to overcome in order for him pursues his
true passion and save himself and his family from a
challenging life.
In comparison the protagonist in the poetic novel The Simple Gift,
is faced with the ever-growing hatred towards his father and the
shithole of a town that he lives in. Fuelled by the desire of a better
life, Billy, the protagonist, set out on an adventure that ultimately
will shape and change his attitude, belief and consequently gives
him a better life.
Now that I have briefly touched on the similarities between the two
texts and how the film can be used to effectively explore the way
individuals experiences transitions, we can finally dive into some
analysis of the film to give you a better understanding of the whole
idea behind the module.
The social context for Billys struggle is emphasises through the
place in which the film is set in, an economical hardship town of
Everington. The film depicts and explores the different phases of life
and the transition in which Billy, Michael and his family experiences.
The town places a strong emphasis on stereotypical roles of men
and women. Billy and his ballet and Michaels sexual orientation are
found to be non-traditional and are met with strong disagreement by
everyone around them. The conflicting ideas and lack of support
from Billys family acted as a barrier to Billys transition into the
world of ballet. Even through all the implications, Billy was
determined to pursue his true passion for ballet.
Juxtaposition is used throughout the film to highlight the conflicting
ideas. This is evident in the scene where Billy first went to the
ballets school. Billy is seen wearing his boxing shoes are juxtaposed
by the white ballets shoes of the other students. Another scene
where juxtaposition is used in was the scene where Billy went to
rescue his Gran from a peaceful and quiet field and how the large
number of riot police blockading a road on top of the hill is then
used to juxtapose this quiet and peaceful field.
Theres also cinematic techniques such as mise-en-scene, which is
used to create an impression of the scene. A great example for this
would be the scene where Mrs. Wilkinson and Tony were arguing
about Billy and the interest that he has for dancing. The scene is

composed with elements such as lighting, camera work, characters

placement, language and sound. The lighting within the scene is
natural, with dim light filtering through the kitchens window; this
gives the scene a vivid atmosphere. Midrange and close-up shots
are also used to reinforce the tense situation. In order for the
director to really express his ideas through his film, the concept of
character placement must be taken into consideration. Character
placement plays a major role in representing the ideas and attitudes
of each character. In this particular scene, Tony is seen standing in
front of the windows, blocking off light to show that he is dominant.
Billy is standing behind a door, centred to the scene but has little to
no voice in this heated argument. Gran is seen sitting on the edges,
signifying her lack of significance in the play. This scene shows
Billys lack of support from his family, while also painting a picture of
Billy, as a kid who is powerless and is suffering from gender
stereotypes.
This is the perfect ORT for those who are looking to analyse texts
that are distinctive but still share many of the same qualities. The
two texts The Simple Gift and Billy Elliot both share the same
common theme of transition. The transition in which Billy Elliot went
through acted as a catalyst for transitions that ultimately extends
from his family to the audiences that are watching the film.
Similarly, the poetic novel, The Simple Gift, and the transition in
which Billy experiences would ultimately shape and transform the
attitudes and beliefs of those around him, this is evidence in his
saying I looked up into the sky, the deep blue sky that Old Bill and I
shared, this is juxtaposing the beginning of the novel where Billy
was describing his town as being run-down and shit. This
juxtaposition shows the transition in which Billy has gone through
and the audiences are left feeling warm hearted as opposed to how
they would have felt at the start of the film.
Through the exploring and analysing of the prescribed and other
related text, the student develop a new sense of understanding that
transition can result in new ideas and knowledge, a change in
attitudes and beliefs, and a deepened understanding of self and
others.
Thank you for listening and I hope this has helped you in some way
or another and if it did then please give this video a thumb up