I found that the most significant aspect in human experience, as described by Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot and Becky Albertalli’s Love Simon, is the ability overcome adversity. Adversity can be described as the ability to overcome hardship and to succeed in solving a problem or defeating an opponent. ‘
Love Simon tells the story about Simon Spier who keeps his sexual orientation hidden from his family. A blackmailer threatens Simon with disclosing his sexual orientation. He embarks on an emotional journey to face the challenges and accept his identity. This idea of coming to terms about identity is similar to Billy Elliot’s. Billy Elliot focuses on a young boy’s passion for dance and his struggle to accept the masculine values of his society. The symbolism technique is used to show how Billy overcomes adversity. Billy Elliot’s doors symbolically signify the transition into new life experiences and stages. These doors are also used to show the resistance characters face when entering new worlds. Billy’s father, who finds him at the lesson for ballet, pushes him aggressively through the doors to get into the familiar world. The medium shot shows Billy looking back at the new world that he has discovered, ballet. Jackie is looking forward. This shows that Billy’s desires are changing and they are different from his dads. Billy is expected not to be normal and must learn to accept who he really is. This idea is contradicted in “Love Simon”. Simon describes himself in the film as “normal” at the beginning. He describes his family, friends, and his daily life as normal. Simon isn’t normal. Simon is homosexual. Simon is openly gay. Simon fears that he will be exposed to others because of the school’s intolerant attitude towards him. Simon was surprised to find someone who understood him after a classmate left a post anonymously on his school blog about the hardships that gay people face. Simon’s correspondence with Blue, another student, helps him to get to grips with his identity. Most films lack LGBTQ-identifying character. However, when there are, the gay male will be confidant and sassy. “Love, Simon” has a gay protagonist who is also able to identify with a wider range of identities than his sexual orientation. Simon shows more self-confidence in the movie. These seemingly masculine actions, while not common in movies that depict stereotypical characters, help Simon to build on his originality. Simon’s character challenges almost all expectations about homosexuality. Simon’s mannerisms, clothing, and appearance are not typical and reinforce the idea that identity is inside and not outside. Simon shows how overcoming adversity can be done. Simon accepts his homosexuality and doesn’t feel pressure to conform to stereotypes of gay men. Billy Elliot is a great example of how not to conform to expectations can be overcome. The father of Billy, as he auditions to The Royal Ballet School, is shown in the long shot. The judges are arranged in a neat row. Jackie and Billy sit alone in the middle, in silence, in the vast and empty room. Their isolation is further enhanced by this juxtaposition. Jackie’s deep feelings of love for Billy never diminish, even though he is continuing to do so for Billy’s benefit. Jackie is a popular character in the audience because his son loves dancing and forces him into confronting his prejudices and beliefs. Jackie acknowledges that his son must release the limiting beliefs and masculinity-based values that have hindered his success. He can then move on to a new way for thinking.
This scene is a great example of Jackie and Billy overcoming obstacles. Billy overcomes the challenges of being a ballet dancer and commits to the hobby. Jackie also overcomes masculine beliefs and values about ballet and accepts that ballet is part of his identity. My studied texts, Billy Elliot and Love Simon by Greg Berlanti/Becky Albertalli, highlight the importance of human experience. This aspect of human experiences is displayed in the journey the protagonists take, which includes the use of techniques like symbolism, juxtaposition, paradoxes and juxtaposition.
