A Synopsis of the Movie Billy Elliot

Social Exchange Theory: This theory is based on the idea that in relationships benefits must outweigh cost to have a compatible relationship. In the movie of Billy Elliot, this is extremely obvious in the relationship of Billy and Mrs. Wilkinson. These two put in time and effort so that they can reap the benefits later in the movie, Mrs. Wilkinson teaches Billy how to dance for free during her free time. She wishes nothing more then for him to succeed and in turn he lives out the dream she never could. In the opposite, Billy works hard because he see’s that Mrs. Wilkinson’s dream was never achieved and he wishes to do well not only for himself but for her as well. He also sees that if he does well, he will later be able to use his talents to make a living while doing what he enjoys. In both situations the work put into the relationship between the two is outweighed by the benefits which come from the effort put in. This is also very obvious in the the strike itself, the union feels as if the costs of working are not worth what they get in return so they decided it was time to do something about it. On the other hand, the government feels the opposite, in that the work the minors put in is either equal to the benefits or more then what they deserve to have. The government also feels that even without the striking men they still receive what they need for the remaining workers, so their needs are being met by the workers costs while those remaining minors have the same feeling towards the government.

Conflict Theory:

The conflict theory is the idea that, there are levels in society and there will always been conflict between those. Such groups as the bourgeoisie who are the rich and powerful control the proletariate who are the working people. These two groups are always fighting to better themselves which creates conflict between the them. In the example of Billy Elliot, Billy’s brother Tony and father Jackie work as minors who represent the proletariate.