TODOROV
This film follows Todorov’s theory as the film can be split into 5 stages.
1. There is an EQUILIBRIUM when we find ourselves with Liam as he star gazes using his telescope. We see that he is at peace and is content
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2. There is a DISTRUPTION when Liam refuses to help his mum’s boyfriend and is kicked out of his home. His telescope is broken in the process symbolising how his happiness is also gone. This leads to him further getting into trouble with the wrong crowd of people and gets involved with drug gangs.
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3. This disruption is RECOGNISED when he kills his own friend in order to be part of this new gang showing how much he has changed as a person.
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4. The disruption is attempted to be RESOLVED when Liam tries to get his mother back but fails and tries to stab Stan (her boyfriend) instead.
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5. A NEW EQUILIBRIUM is created when Liam is shown walking along the beach and after everything that has happened, he still has his sister’s love.
PROPP
A few of Propp’s character types can be identified in this film:
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HERO: LIAM is our hero as he is the protagonist who we follow on his journey to make a better life for himself and his family.
VILLAIN: STAN comes back into Liam’s life even after he kicked him out of his home. He is the reason Liam has his dreams broken as his mum leaves him to go back to Stan.
DONOR: “THE GODFATHER” as he is known in the film is the drug dealer. Despite being a bad influence, he helps Liam get his own home which is what he had always dreamed of.
HELPER: CHANTELLE, Liam’s sister, helps him when he has nowhere else to go. She takes him in and encourages him to learn new skills so that he can get a job.
PRINCESS: the CARAVAN acts as the object that our hero desire. He wants a new home and new beginning
THE FALSE HERO: PINBALL tries to help Liam but is quickly turned against Liam and burns his caravan down which was the basis of Liam’s dream; he burnt down the icon which symbolised Liam’s future with his family and a new start.
BILLY ELLIOT
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Plot
The film follows Liam, a 16 year old Scottish boy living with his grandfather and mums boyfriend. His mum is in jail and he ends up getting roped into her boyfriend’s lifestyle of dealing drugs. The two man try to get him to smuggle drugs into his mother’s prison but after he refuses, he is beaten and evicted from his grandfather’s place. Nowhere to go, he goes to his sister, hoping she can provide sanctuary and he is right. He stays with her and tries to create a new life for himself, dreaming of a future where he, his mum and sister can all live together in peace. In his attempts to make his dreams reality, he gets caught up in another drug scheme while trying to earn money. The new drug lord ends up turning Liam against his friend, Pinball, until eventually he ends up killing him in attempts to pledge his loyalty to his new gang. He is promised a new life thanks to what he has done and waits for his mother to come to her new home however, stuck in her old ways, his mother returns back to her boyfriend. Liam tries to convince her to come with him but his attempt fails and he ends up stabbing her mum’s boyfriend. He is alone but after everything he has done, he still has his sister who loves him.
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