Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Thoughts on the Sia video "controversy"

I think anyone who's watched syndicated morning news or visited Facebook or YouTube in the last week has at seen at least something regarding the video released by Australian singer Sia, Elastic Heart.

The video features Shia LeBouf, 28, and a girl from the Dance Moms show, 12-year-old Maddie Ziegler. If you haven't yet watched it, feel free to do so here:


Apparently a lot of people find the video "inappropriate" for implied pedophilia. 

I heard about the problems people were having with the video before I watched it, so I went in halfway out of curiosity, halfway looking for what was supposed to be there.

And I didn't see it. Well, not explicitly. I can see where some people might think it was there, but in all honesty I thought it was just an amazing, raw, powerful piece of art, and I don't refer to music videos as art. 

There is a feralness to both dancers, and while I'm first to admit I don't really know what the song is about, a sense of internal conflict seems represented with the cage and obvious friction between characters. 

I do not see pedophilia. I see amazing talent on the part of Ziegler. I see maturity on the side of LeBouf. I see a lot of hours of practice and probably building of trust between the two. I don't see anything inappropriate (unless you are looking for it). 

In fact, I looked up Sia's other video, Chandelier, to see more of Ziegler's dancing and was astounded again. While the interpretive style may not be everyone's cup of tea, I find the rawness of the movements far more attention-holding than the precise grace of ballet or ballroom dance (which I am not insulting, because all styles take a lot of ability and practice; you can take it from the chick who can barely two-step). 

So, for this short little post, I just hope people can calm down and appreciate the modern-art-ness of this music video and stop trying to find something dirty in everything they look at. 

Thoughts? Feel free to share. 

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