Why you shouldn't leave the arts.
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- A video essay you didn't ask for about Billy Elliot, Rishi Sunak, and why we need artists more than ever. JOIN THE GUMPTION CLUB: / thegumptionclub
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Watch Billy Elliot The Musical, it's the best six quid you will spend this year! • Billy Elliot the Music...
Rishi was misquoted: fullfact.org/e...
Ways to help!
Direct ways to donate to UK theatre:
theatreartists...
theatresupport...
Sign a petition - these ones look good, but any you can find! petition.parli...
petition.parli...
If you work in the arts, donate your time: arts-emergency...
Look up your favourite theatre shows, musicians, galleries and see what they're asking for. Emilia is having a pay what you can streaming session! / 1316418227883380737
More arts streaming! Make sure you tip them! www.timeout.co...
How to help struggling artists - and take in some great culture
www.theguardia...
Financial Relief Resources for Artists During COVID-19
www.artworkarc...
How to Support Artists and the Arts During COVID-19
www.artworkarc...
Or even just have a browse on patreon and make someones day by cold-pledging to them! :) www.patreon.com/
Articles referenced!
Billy Elliot: Class Traitor (feat. Ben Tippet) - Mandatory Redistribution Party
play.acast.com...
Arts Council report ‘Contribution of the arts and culture industry to the UK economy’ www.artscounci...
Gov.uk report ‘Evidence summary for policy: The role of arts in improving health and wellbeing’ www.gov.uk/gov...
The arts aren't a luxurious hobby, Rishi Sunak. They're a lifeline for millions
Tim Burgess
www.theguardia...
Tate staff left “alienated” and “disheartened” after gallery announces 313 redundancies
www.newstatesm...
Tate galleries to make half of commercial workforce redundant www.theguardia...
England arts bailout a 'gamechanger' - but some will miss out
www.theguardia...
Airlines and carmakers benefit from UK Covid relief scheme
www.theguardia...
BANK OF ENGLAND PROVIDES £7.5 BILLION IN BIG BUSINESS BAILOUTS - HIDDEN FROM PUBLIC VIEW
positivemoney....
‘Last year the public standards committee found that 119 MPs declared an annual total of £3.35m from second jobs’
www.theguardia...
COVID-19 Pushes Up Internet Use 70% And Streaming More Than 12%, First Figures Reveal
www.forbes.com...
Educating Rita!
teachreal.word...
This isn’t in the video but if you’ve read this far I’m assuming you’ll enjoy this…
Musicians protest lack of Government support: • Musicians protest lack...
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always thought hogwarts was dodgy because they didn't teach art or textiles or music regularly. no wonder why voldemort wanted absolute power, hogwarts was literally a police academy for 11 year olds. anyway, that's my first reaction to the title, ready to watch. already given a like. love ya leena.
That's private education got you 😅 (kidding, mostly!)
You're onto something here! Wasn't the only class with "art" in the title specifically just defense against it?
They don’t appear to teach maths or regular sciences either. I get that magic complicates those, but they still live in a world were it could be nice to know algebra and physics and what not.
Even the classes that resemble science like Potions and Herbology is all about how you use this to turn your enemies purple, instead of developing a deeper understanding of why it is the way it is.
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
- Dead poets' society
IM VERY HAPPY TO SEE THIS QUOTE I LITERALLY SOBBED FOR A WEEK AFTER WATCHING DPS WOOOO
I need the Arts to survive. I'm doing a STEM PhD and honestly, I don't know where I'd be without the consumption of Art. Arts are just as important as STEM, everything is a balance and we can't succeed in one without the influence of the other.
Exactly, people condemn animation or anime with the typical stereotypes. Which I won’t go into cause you know stress and all, also I don’t want to get idiots arguing and giving them value for their ignorant opinions as well as validating their hate and bullying, that and I don’t want to trigger people’s stress and such.
BUT, whether it’s painting, music, literature, graphic novels ( the same thing as literature) animation/anime, theatre or whatever you can come up with. I think Art has a purpose and value!!!
Those that don’t or are snooty to the arts and look down on them, well I feel sorry for those people. Remember to never hate and show love ❤️ that’s how we win people!!
"If you are in the arts, or if you want to be, if you make the frivolous, if you create instead of produce, if your craft isn't seen as practical, if you can't roll up what you make and shrink, wrap it and reproduce it on mass, you are perhaps in the trade of dignity"
This made me tear up
'Fund the Arts: I dare you' - I feel like this should be the tagline for any protests to do with this. Absolutely cracking and emotional video Leena!
Thank you! x
Put it on a tshirt and i’ll buy it
Overwhelmingly important content
I have already packed away my dreams of being an illustrator in favour of stability and security. But in my free time I have a million projects, sewing clothes, painting, baking and cooking and gardening and every single bloody one of them has my family going "why don't you monetise that?"(which is a whole rant on its own). But as a person who would be in the arts sector if I could, the idea of it being somehow less vital than somebody like me pushing money around for corporations is just. god. If being trapped in my own home for months taught me anything, it's that I cant live without creating, and without the things other people create.
hopefletchfan I feel this. My family always asks why I don’t sell my art. One, I have no confidence that it’s good enough to be sold, but two, I have a strong visceral reaction against it. I’m not painting with money in mind. I’m just painting because it’s what I’ve always done. I applaud those who live off their art, but for me right now, I’m just not interested. Non-artists don’t seems to get that!
YES! sure, i’d love to be financially stable off art...but i’d just like to enjoy it.
as one of the people that "shuffles papers" for a small meaningful arts venue and charity this video made me well up several times. This video is so perfect and articulated so well, I wish it could be sent to all of those ministers who really do not seem to even understand what the arts is.
I respect your paper shuffling too! ❤❤❤ Glad you liked it x
"Boxers and Ballet Dancers" is a great name for a book
The ending really got me... The Arts are the ONLY sector that can connect, unite, and inspire the country post-covid. Global conglomerates will be the ones receiving government funding to control our consumerism society. We need a change. I'd love to encourage any creators/makers/artists to comment so we can all support each other. ❤️🙌
When I grew up in Germany and someone asked me what the UKs main selling point is, I'd always reply 'arts and entertainment'. That opinion hasn't changed. If Brexit (sorry, yes I have to say it) is a sinking ship then asking people in the Arts to retrain is taking all the lifeboats and using them as fuel for fire.
Wow, what a powerful metaphor
Facts!
I'm genuinely considering moving to Berlin or somewhere in France because the way the UK treats their artists is disgusting. Germans and French people actually care about us.
The government posters with ballet dances etcetera 're-training, re-booting' are pretty laughable. In a way 'the arts' label makes it sound lofty, inaccessible to the general public; the arts are music, movies, books - freaking Netflix and chill ! - and are part of what make life worth living. Without these things deemed important... we're just machines.
(THANK YOU for this video)
I think it's disputable whether the crap on Netflix counts as "art", and it's certainly not what people are referring to when they use the term "the arts", at least not in the UK.
What a way to begin the morning crying. My parents help run multiple local operetta, and musical groups. Their audience is almost exclusively the elderly who have little other community left. The groups have lost members to the pandemic, and the community has lost a hub. The email my dad gets from audience members asking when they may next be able to perform make me cry. It is all utterly heartbreaking.
(yes obviously these things need to be shut for now, but they worry if they’ll be able to return. whilst most roles are volunteer, the spaces the perform in can’t afford rent to stay open, and the musicians they hire are the very musicians being encouraged to retrain)
I just wept through the whole Billy Eliot essay, I love that story so much. God I love the arts. If you need a lil case study for hope, in Ireland the arts was on the same political roller coaster as every other country. But in the last Government change-over in May, Catherine Martin was appointed to by Minister for the arts (and other things), and earlier in her life she was a classically trained opera singer, and music and English teacher. Her appointment, combined with incredible lobbying and campaigning work done by a voluntary organisation called The National Campaign for the Arts (check out their website and twitter if you need an injection of motivation), resulted in the creation of a task force for saving the arts, and in the new government budget just announced this week, the arts has been given an extra €50 million compared to last year (€130 million overall) specifically to support live entertainment. So, where ever you are, if you care about the arts, keep making noise!
Forgot how much Billy Elliot makes me sob but I guess before 9AM on a Friday is as good a time as ever. Jesus Christ. There’s so much good in this video. 👏
Never not sobbing about Billy!
Yep I’m sobbing too.
In Australia (where I am) the government is going to double the price of Arts degrees (humanities). The importance of Arts is something that I am very passionate about, and so it is awesome to hear you talk about similar things on the other side of the globe.
We need to support the arts! Even if our governments won't. My president tried to justify his lack of support by a statement that 'artists created their best work when they were starving'. Really?! Gosh, I can't wait for his term to end, now that I'm finally old enough to vote, and vote for someone who won't be a disgrace to my country. Please support your local starving artist. Artists do whatever you need not to starve but don't sacrifice the arts.
Erm, why am I crying? Definitely watching Billy Elliot in all its forms this weekend.
I'd forgotten how much I love Billy Elliot.
This video is hitting me hard...I've spent the past 20 years only ever working towards a life in the theater, but a few years ago, when I moved to New York City, I discovered that the life of an actor is deeply unsustainable in its own way. Unless I'm willing to wake up at 4am and be in line on the street no matter the weather, BY 6am, 5 days/week waiting for the chance to maybe audition, I will not make it as an actor. I should be willing to do that "for the love of the craft." Unless I'm willing to spend a whole summer working for $200 (total. the whole summer. $200), I won't make it as an actor. "I should be grateful for the experience."
I really appreciated your point about the ecological sustainability of the arts, and that is true, a theater performance has much lower carbon emissions than the jets that people take to get to NYC or London to see these shows. But the human toll of life in the arts has only really hit me since stepping away due to COVID. I've been thinking a lot about the concept of the "survival job:" the generally accepted part-time work that actors are expected to "survive" on while also spending ALL of their time off in auditions. This part time work means that unless you're in the actors union, you don't get healthcare (in the US, obvi if you live in a civilized country, thats not a problem for you). It also should be something you're willing to quit in a heartbeat if you get booked. For my survival job, I worked reception at a studio space where broadway auditions would be hosted. It was, to say the least, eye opening.
I would see the same people showing up day after day, hundreds at a time, for the handful of roles that were being considered. I would see people fretting over having their resume stapled to their headshots PERFECTLY only to find heaps of these resumes and headshots thrown in the garbage after the audition was over (also the concept of headshots in general is a little....gross). Also, and this might just be covid brain talking, the public health implications of open calls and "Holding rooms," where hundreds of people could be packed in, again, waiting to MAYBE be seen for an audition are HORRIFIC. I'm pretty sure I caught coronavirus from an open dance call where 500+ people showed up like a month before lockdown.
All of this is to say that the people who care about the arts REALLY CARE about the arts. People don't jump through all of these stupid, expensive, and downright dangerous hoops for something they're only so-so about. But we also need to make sure that as the arts reopen, we have some tough conversations about how often the fact that we care so much is weaponized against us.
Yeah, I feel in the past actors had a relatively more stable starting job in rep and smaller scale regional theatres. Ok, it meant being very typecast by age and looks, but it meant a reliable walk on part every week, something to fall back on if you didn't get into the bigger, better company. Hollowing the support structure out was a financial win for the theatre, who didn't have to keep on a core of salaried actors, but they have suffered in the long term because the quality and reliability has gone down.
Like where I live, the opera company got rid of its paid chorus, obviously cheaper to run, but in the long term, productions are really hampered. They couldn't get rid of the community outreach stuff etc because of governmental pressure to be relevant. I understand, but should it come at the expense of the art?; if you protect the art, then you have something of value to share.
As a 3rd year illustration student in the uk... I cried in the end. This is all so unsettling... can’t believe I’m about to graduate an art degree and told I chose the wrong one??? Lol no thanks.
Thankyou so much for this video! I’m about to finish a Masters degree in Performance Practices, and I was hoping to start making my own work as a solo performance maker, but everything that has happened this year to the arts is making me lose hope as to what the future holds for me 🙁 for so many months I’ve been receiving subliminal messages telling me that a degree in the arts is a waste of time, for so many years I’ve received comments from people I know in real life basically telling me they think what I do in an arts degree is a doss and that it doesn’t matter, the amount of comments I see online telling me that students are absolute scroungers has infected the way I look at my education. So both of those things combined, being an arts student, it’s left me feeling rather down on myself for a while. So I really want to thank you for this video, particularly that pep talk at the end, I very much needed it! ❤️
As a first year acting student, Rishi’s statement and the government’s treatment of students has honestly discouraged me and left me feeling isolated as if I genuinely have no future (at least in the arts). I love acting because I want to tell stories and give something back to help people but it feels as though I can’t even do that and it’s really frustrating
Love this Leena, as a classical musician in the most locked down (and biggest for the arts) city in australia, its really sad to see our government not support us like they support all other (especially male dominant) industries. Its a hard time to be an artist, and its a hard time to try to keep an art community alive. Thank you for some hope and light
I literally would not have made it through this year without the arts. This is literal, I am one of the lucky ones who was able to hang onto their arts job. But also, without the arts, I just wouldn't have been able to keep going. There is a definite economic benefit to the arts (in Australia where I live as well as the UK), but the arts real value is incalculable because it lives in minds and hearts of those who take part in it, either as a creator or the audience. I have been seriously rethinking working in the arts recently, and I honestly really needed that pep talk, so thank you.
Relating heavily to the cryers in the comment section.. this made me unusually emotional. Thank you!
Honestly when you pulled the camera close I choked up, like a friend about to give me a massive hug.
I’m currently writing a fiction book based around community of performing arts and what it leads to as adults. I’m treating it as my love letter to the arts.
In a weird way I’d like to think writing this might help myself and everyone who reads it heal from the indignity of what we’ve sacrificed.
I’ve not long started it so it will be a while before it’s done, but Leena if you would like a copy of the manuscript when it’s finished I’d be honoured to send it to you 🧡 Thankyou for making this video 🧡🧡x
That sounds like such an important book I’m really anticipating it already!
"The trade of dignity" - I could cry! Seriously loved this video essay, so thoughtful and such an important comment on self expression in our grey old country.
I work in the arts, in County Durham, and so this video had particular relevance for me. It made me cry. Thank you for sharing it.
Xxx
When we measure the value of the arts in terms of how much money the industry makes and how many jobs it creates, we fail to see it as both an inevitable and necessary human activity. If we value the arts for its own sake, we have to admit that EVERYONE should have access to the arts. Furthermore, while arts of some kind are universal, no specific types or works of art are universal. People from different communities and cultures need an outlet for their own artistic expression and be able to make connections to artistic traditions that are relevant to their experiences and identity.
As an artist myself, I keep coming back to the perspective that the real problem is economic injustice. If a bottom level was set that no one fell below in terms of having all their material and social/emotional needs met, the arts for everyone thrives because people will have the time and resources to make art. There would still be art as industries, but there would also just be more art in general, including that which isn't really part of any market or industry, but is just created and engaged with because it can be and gives meaning to the human experience.
Thanks for this thoughtful video. I very much appreciated it as I think about (and make art about) this topic a lot.
As a 15 year old I was obsessed with the movie Billy Elliot but couldn't really articulate why, it just made me feel something in a way that other things hadn't before. As a 23 year old, freshly graduated with an arts degree and a wavering dream, I think that maybe my 15 year old self was wiser than I give her credit for. Thank you Leena for, as always, articulating something that I feel deep inside but am not certain if I am able to give permission to and for always shedding light on the reasons we must keep moving forward.
Bloody hell Leena, way to make me bawl into my coffee for 20 minutes, especially the pep talk at the end! 😆 Thank you for this, for speaking the words so many of us needed to hear. As a small business owner (micropub and self employed art/crafter) it's hard not to dwell on all the forgotten individuals, the people who's work brings joy, comfort and togetherness which is exactly what we need in times like these!!
A Greggs sausage roll (snorted at the flying roll) isn't giving us the comfort and connection a homemade slice of cake and a friendly chat from the local coffee shop and mini art gallery is (that can't reopen due to restrictions). An Amazon playlist is no where close to going to see a gig with friends, dancing, singing and letting go. We don't need car manufactures and airline bail outs to 'pull us together as a nation' (though I appreciate the people who's jobs are at risk might), we need each other, we need the things people as individuals can offer even if it's in a socially distanced and restricted way. The arts and the people involved in that are what's going to keep our spirits up, no ones taking comfort in corporate bailout and bullshit government spending that's not making it down to the people that need it.
This film/musical KILLS me. As a person from County Durham, we so rarely see ourselves portrayed on screen or stage, and to see our collective history portrayed so lovingly makes me weep from start to end.
I keep re-watching this video whenever I need to be reminded that it is important and worthwhile to keep creating and pursuing the arts! I have a degree in art but for the last ten years I have been working in a different field and as a result I got depressed and I recently got a burn out. I am now healing, although still working at my regular job, but am starting to reevaluate my life and looking for other possibilities of living my life in a way that makes me happy instead of tearing me down. Thank you so much Leena for your lovely videos! I have been binging them recently and signed up for the Gumption club yesterday! You are lovely and I just wanted to let you know that your videos have helped me a lot, so thank you!
Xxxx thank you!!! Xxx
This is a beautiful video. I work with grants for the arts at the city level in Sweden, and even within our own organisation we have to constantly defend the existence of grants in the first place. And this is in a city where one of the top reasons why people visit (tourism money) or move here (tax money) is because of the art scene. You’d think politicians would at least care about that, but nahhhh
Weirdly because of covid (and state level relief packages), this will be the first time in years where we won’t have budget cuts. So thanks for that, global pandemic!
I sat there crying through your Billy Elliot analysis. I LOVE THAT FILM SO GOD DAMN MUCH!
This made be cry tears of rage being feel so seem.
You are an angel. As a theatre educator, I am showing your pep talk to my students. Most of them are leaving the arts after high school, but they need to know that their experience has mattered and to never lose that love of connecting and feeling ❤️
I couldn't believe his attitude. The arts have got me through this year and I don't have any money, but if I did I would throw it at all the artists because ❤️❤️❤️
I have been working with Covid patients recently and have been relying heavily on escapism - as a regular patron and lover of theatre, I haven’t fully allowed myself to feel my grief for the temporary loss of live theatre before. I cried so much watching this. Thank you x
Hey Leena, thank you so much for this. I studied in London but I don't live in the UK anymore. Nontheless, the situation for the arts is grim all over the world. It's surely a hard time financially but ironically what stings the most is the humiliation of being deemed "unnecessary" after 25 years of training, 4 university degrees and a full time commitment to making people feel good and do good on a deep meaningful level.
It's so comforting to know there are people who care, who recognize the importance of the arts and don't want a world without beauty. You really lifted me up and god I really needed it. Thanks
I miss my theatre trips too. I happily look back at my family theatre trips. Next Easter, going to the theatre is the first thing that I will do (ASAP). Screw foreign holidays, support British theatres.
Watching from the US. I work in live theatre, I've been unemployed since March and might not go back to work before summer. I needed this.
The arts have literally and metaphorically saved my life. As somebody who has tried to get into the arts world for years (as a hobbyist, a fan, and a pro), the arts are so vital when it comes to emotional expression. There are so many times where I’m unable to articulate until I find the right episode, movie, game, dance, book, or music that aptly summarizes what I feel at that moment. I’ve been through so many schools that focus on STEM that it gets exhausting to reiterate to school authorities that you can’t move a society forward without STEAM.
Even Bill Nye, one of the greatest scientists in pop culture history, has said that the arts are so important. (I would know because I asked him a couple years ago about that. ;) )
I want to be a Stage Manager, and as someone from a working class background living outside of London I’ve often struggled to find my place within the industry. I’ve struggled against classism and imposter syndrome for the past few years, but I’ve always kept going. I didn’t even see a play until I was 19, and now I worry that the arts is going to become even more elite than ever. I worry that kids today ,who grew up like me, won’t even get a chance to discover their passions in the future.
I graduated this year with a drama degree. I already entered into the world of theatre knowing I was coming from a one bedroom council flat, a single mum who was raised in Doncaster by an ex-miner, with permanent mental health issues from the strike. I entered knowing theatre is a world where the tippety top is a hell of a lot higher up from where I'm standing. So what with everything going on right now- staring in the future like the abyss, a certificate to confirm my training in one hand and over £30,000 debt in the other only to be told to turn back around and start again. I needed this video. I really needed it a lot.
I think I've been keeping my emotions about this pushed down a lot lately, only to bubble back up at times in a way that can only be described as... Grief. And you're right, fucking hell if there was a time I needed art more- to share a space with other humans and to share each others stories so that we can understand our own stories better. All while pissing ourselves laughing and crying our eyes out with joy. We all need the arts right now. I want my friend (the theatre) back. ❤️
I have never seen Billy Elliot, nor am I in the arts, but this video still made me cry. You're right. People need art, and people need each other. I believe we can and will get through this, but we need to pay attention to what we are told is an acceptable sacrifice, and we need to think about whether or not we agree, and then we need to act (by paying a reasonable sum for what we consume, by bringing awareness to other people, by voting).
Thank you for making this video!
Thank you Leena!! I work at a puppetery theater in France (people might know Guignol?) and I wish people could see why the arts are so important. The look in the children's eyes when they see the show, their parents telling me how it made their day... The arts is how we share values, ideas, and how we push ourselves out of our comfort zone. How we connect to other people. Thank you for your videos and for sharing your ideas!
I don't know why you just talking and discussing the themes of Billy Elliot, both the movie and stage show respectively, struck such a chord in me. I am not one to get emotional, but something about this video made me cry. Just weep. Maybe the themes, or the discussion of masculinity, or your soothing voice, or relating the cops and the miners and there division yet solidarity. Just- thank you Leena for this video, it was lovely.
That pep talk at the end legitimately made me tear up. Thank you for making your art and sharing it with us.
I love watching Leena's videos. I always feel after watching one of her videos that the future of the world doesn't look so bleak. She always does her research and then gives good insight and suggestions. I wish more of the people I know were like her :)
Billy elliot makes me cry every time I watch it. Even you talking about it has tears streaming down my face.
I really needed this today. Thank you
Thank you... thank you from the bottom of my heart. I needed to hear this today. I needed a reminder that being an artist isn't a waste of time. I have been struggling for the last 2 years since graduating art school, working a grunt job to pay the bills. My mom, god bless her, keeps insisting that I retrain. But this is something... something I need to do. Creating is something I was made to do and I needed you to remind me. Thank you.
Xxx
Thank you for this video Leena. I'm an American first-year uni student studying Digital Design (GrApHiC DeSiGn basically) and I'm starting to feel my passion for the arts slip away from me as I'm taking these courses. Professors are telling me that it's all about the client and I need to make work that is practical and for mass-production, which I'm not gonna deny is important because that's literally part of the job. I'm on the computer day by day producing work for class assignments with no time to create artwork that fills the void in my heart. It's disheartening to see how our society values monetization and mass-production from the arts instead of the raw emotion and humanity. Is there even a way to combine the two? Anyway, thank you for this. I feel heard and seen :)
2:07 for me it's def a calling and a passion and i see it as my life's purpose to be creating art
So I'm an actor in NY who just graduated from my MFA program last year. It has been hard out here and so flipping sad some days. Thanks for the encouragement Leena. Really.
Thank you so much for this video. The ending actually made me cry, it was so impactful. I’m a student at a private art school in the US and I’m constantly being “reminded” of the fact the arts aren’t “practical”. I’ve never been able to give up on it though, because I know I could never be happy in any other trade. This was a beautiful reminder of the fact we carry art in our souls, and that value is not tied to money
This video made me cry.
As a more junior member of Theatre team, I had been second guessing myself about whether continuing pursuing a career in the arts was valuable or enough, considering what is going on in the world. Your video made me see the light. That the arts take care of emotional wellbeing, mental health and connection. Your pep talk is what I needed. Thank you Leena. I am so grateful that you make wonderful content like this!
P. S. Billy Elliot was my absolute favourite musical as a child and Educating Rita is one of my favourite plays. So the fact that you included those, makes it even more special. Thank you Leena, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Leena... thank you so, so much for this. You've articulated so well such a complex topic + the conversation about class and Billy Elliot... whew. That's made me really emotional. In a good way. Thank you for your art. To any other artist seeing this, thank you for doing what you do. We would not survive without it.
So your analysis of Billy Elliot made me cry and want to immediately listen to the music cast recording on repeat until the end of time
I have never seen Billy Elliot, but your description of the story brought tears to my eyes. Going to have to catch it this weekend. I cannot imagine a world without Art. I feel it's always been the way humanity has coped. This video was amazing, Leena.
Thank you for making this video Leena. I work as a theatre technician in a west end theatre, and I was made redundant last august as soon as employers had to start contributing to our furlough. I'm about to go back to work, with little job security, no pay if I have to take time off because of covid or if the theatre closes due to covid at any point, and earning less than I was before. It's tough knowing that the producers, management, owners, etc will have barely been affected by the pandemic, and they'll have been safe and sound working from home whilst me and my coworkers had to go and get other jobs and work throughout the whole thing. It's been a struggle in so many ways, and even though I feel bitter, unappreciated, undervalued, angry and saddened by the way my peers have been treated, I still can't wait to get back to doing what I love to do. Thank you to everyone who is supporting theatres as they tentatively reopen right now, no matter how you're doing it, your support is making so many lives better. And thank you again Leena for making me feel seen after 16 months of being in the dark. ❤️
I’m late to comment here because I just found your channel (already addicted, love your content). I just remembered the pianist. Where against all odds, in the complete destruction, there was still room for piano music. The music was actually what sustained the souls of the main character and the German officer.
As the daughter of a miner from County Durham, and with this being one of my late Dad's favourite stories/films, this was perfect 💛💛💛
Xxx
@@leenanorms I do also work in theatres so it's superb all round !
@@GeeJinx1990 haha no way double whammy!
I'm about to enter my third and final year at uni studying music, and I've already started stressing about what I'm going to do after the degree. I can't help feeling directionless, pulled between financial security and my passions, whilst also feeling unable to identify what I truly want to do.
However, your pep talk at the end gave me a sense of clarity, and made me realise that I've been hiding from my wants and needs to save myself from the rejection of others. Whatever it is I end up doing, I NEED to be able to write and perform songs that people can enjoy and relate to. I NEED to be able to express my feelings and have them acknowledged by others. If I deny these feelings I have, I'll be swallowed up by society just like the miners in Billy Elliot. If I have to take up a typical higher paying job, so be it, but I will find a way to follow my passions and share it with others, no matter what.
Thanks Leena, and to anyone else who read this. I'm feeling much better!
Just wow. I’ll be joining the crying-in-the-comments club if there’s room for one more? I’ve just finished drama school, and graduating into a world where all the theatres are closed was absolutely not part of the plan. It’s been scary to see the arts community living in such fear and hurt and anger; and so, to hear you speak passionately, rationally and eloquently is both refreshing and reassuring. Thank you thank you thank you.
You made me cry with the Billy Elliot essay. It was fantastic.
We need this more than ever
i really like hearing you talk honestly. Not because I'm half american but your voice is really comforting.
I was travelling before coronavirus hit and I mentioned Billy Elliot and people from Canada, America and Australia had either only heard of it as a musical or not at all! Loved this video. I hope that everyone everywhere watches Billy Elliot and supports "the arts".
I know I've commented on this before but I just wanted to let you know that I'm sitting rewatching it again today and at the sixteen minute mark I have tears STREAMING down my face and I'm feeling all the feelings. Your videos are pretty frigging incredible.
Being from County Durham myself Billy Elliot has always been an important part of my upbringing. Currently applying in the creative sector this is really hitting a chord with me. Beautifully put, thank you!
xxx
This is so good! It's dreadful so many actors and musican aren't even eligible for the self employed grants because a 3rd of our income comes from another job. So many people I know (my self included) have been living on a 3rd of their income or less for the last 6 months and now are left with nothing coming in.
OMG I wish there was a love button. I wish I could force every human to watch this. If you haven't read Elton John's book his connection while watching Billy Elliot the movie was very emotional to read and why he was integral in making the stage production which is an absolutely brilliant production.
Churchill refused to defund the arts during WW2, it's sad that politicians today don't fell the same way he did.
Art fills my soul in a way consumerism and capitalism could never.
This really makes me feel better about considering a career in writing :) I’m always worried if I study English I’ll end up with a crappy desk job or best case scenario I’ll be able to write and/or edit books but what I do won’t really help anyone. But maybe people value art for a reason, and they need it, and that’s how I can help the world. I don’t know if I can truly trust that yet, but I hope that one day I will
I don’t think a YT video has ever made me cry, but this did because it was so moving. Access to the arts regardless of class or social condition is something I’ve spent my whole life struggling with and to which I’ve devoted a lot over the past few years. Beautiful analysis of a beloved story and a much, much needed argument for all those people who dismiss the arts.
goosbumps leena! GOOSEBUMPS, ive seen billy elliot so many times but never ever have i understood it more than now!
I'm from a mining town, we, even my generation are still heavily effected by the strike and de industrialisation. Those who strive for individualism have never been seen as anything else, they only want individualism because theyve never been pigeon holed or labelled by the government
Made me cry a bit. And made me want to re-watch Billy Elliot again :P
If you haven't heard of it before, I feel like you would really appreciate Howlround, Leena! They're a video platform for theatremakers - basically UA-cam but for watching plays, and they focus on stories from marginalized voices/centering on radical and progressive ideas/etc. Could be another way to find some cool shows in lockdown!
Incredible video!!! I saw Billy Elliot on broadway when I was about 9, and like you, did a pandemic-watch of the West End Production. But you opened my eyes to so much symbolism, particularly the "switching hats" of the police and miners. That's absolutely brilliant.
Beautiful and needed video Leena. I've just started my drama school training at East 15. It feels like a very strange time to be doing so. The media conversation has sparked some very intestine conversations among us as a group about why people see what we're perusing as more useless than ever, but why we think Acting and Community Theatre are more important than ever. You've managed to articulate so many of our collective feelings as a group. The use of Billy Elliot as a reference point brings so much clarity. I'm very proud to be an artist (I feel like I'm being big heading saying that but I'm going to claim it anyway because feminism). I look forwards to your next video, thank you :)
I wish I could dissect, think and embrace ideas, context and zeitgeist like you can. Thanks for sharing.
Also contributing to your argument about people traveling to places in the UK to see the birthplace of artixr x, y or z: i know many many friends who travel to London to go see a show. The UK has an incredible theatre and musical theatre scene! I dream of living in a country where already gcse students can take drama! I'm originally from Germany but I went to a sixth form near Cambridge for a year (impington village college, ftw!) and it was INCREDIBLE what students can already do on stage when they're 16 years old! Here in Germany, if yoh are musically talented, you can go to extracurricular schools (music schools) and not many have the means. And not many towns or villages have the opportunity to make music or drama available to their students. And you can tell from the amount of musical theatre and theatre students that are produced. Especially musical theatre is so much more advanced in the uk, it's on another realm tbh! The few shows we get here in Germany have a majority international cast.
My point is: THIS is what yoh get when you defund the arts! You get shit shows (sorry to those who work in them, but the only 6 big shows we have here are incredibly boring and old) and you don't get any new actors and actresses. For a musical theatre fan its a desert here. Please fight for your arts at schools and universities and the theatres existing!
i go to an art school for university and sometimes it's been hard to feel inspired with so much of our course work being moved to remote/online. i've found things that inspire and lift up my artistic spirit during this time - things like reading, watching my favorite films for the 10th time (billy elliot included in that, fuck I love that movie), finding new music, and consuming all the good art that i find. thank you for this video! it did a well good job of relighting that fire in me to create. thank you, thank you, thank you!
Billy elliot is one of my favorites films and you just make it more powerful!
My God, this was incredible. THANK YOU! I'm a writer only peripherally involved with the theatre community (much more a fan), but I'm a HUGE fan of both Billy Elliot the movie and the musical. Seriously, wow! This was soooooo well done!!!!!
Love this video! The arts bring people such joy in life and have been an anchor for me for the past few months. It does suck to see how the arts (whether it is literature or drama) can often be unappreciated or taken for granted. Especially when there are so many artists and companies who are struggling to get by
Billy Elliot has always been one of my favourite films, I cry at the start every time when Billy is dancing and making breakfast and realises nana is missing. And I think it gets me because of all the things you said about Billy not wanting to leave and find the mystic treasure of London he just wants to dance where he is and be with the people he loves. I cry when Billy's dad has to go back to work because sadly life isn't so straightforward and he has to put the cause to the side and the whole thing is so UNFAIR
started online theatre school for my 2nd year of a 4 year program this september, this video really really made me feel hope and excited to keep doing the thing. it’s so hard to find joy and excitement about theatre these days, thanks for this leena
Billy Elliot is maybe my favourite musical and this in-depth analysis of it in terms of the importance of the arts sector, an area that is everything to me and that I'm so deeply fearful for, made me start crying about halfway through this video. Goddamn it Leena, thank you so much for your insight and hope. This lil humanities student/theatre nerd really fucking needed it.
Xxxx
As an artist from the north east, Billy Eliot means the world to me. Thank you for this video.
Thank you thank you thank you. I am a musician and have been feeling absolutely lost without my work this year. This video made me cry
This is an absolutely fantastic analysis of Billy Elliot. While I loved the story and concept I thought the musical was badly made, and I was confused as to what everyone saw in it and why they loved it so much. But this video has me thinking that maybe I was missing what made it so great. I'm gonna have to rewatch it now with what you've said in mind.
Every time, every damn time I see one of Leena’s videos I’m like “not sure this is something I’m interested in but go on” and then I watch it and I’m immediately transformed or moved or inspired. Thank you.
Yes I am crying watching this of a Friday morning. Yes the arts are important. Thank you Leena x
A spontaneous "you are amazing" just came out of me as this vlog ended. How well put, beautifully analysed and humanly talked about. Honestly, amazed at how you tied it all together. As someone who not only lives for the arts but of the arts, thank you!
I don't know what was expecting in this video, but definitely not this. You got me teary eyed for the most part, not only because of Billy, but because "we need the artists" is such a deep recognition of our humanity. Maybe is the pandemic getting to me idk, thank you for this video.
This video is a Godsend. Just as my belief in our value was wavering a little, you have just completely reaffirmed all of the things I know to be true about the life affirming, vital and transformative power of art. It's got me a blubbering mess so I think that's a sign this vid hit deep! Thank you for your wonderful video!
This was so powerful to watch, thankyou so much! Let's keep creating for a better world! 💕