Leave Sia alone! With the recent wave of criticism against Aussie singer-songwriter Sia, I feel like Chris Crocker defending Britney in 2007 every time I go through my Twitter timeline.
The artist’s latest music video for “Elastic Heart,” has sparked much controversy in a short time. Less than one week from its release, the video has more than 47 million views on YouTube and more than 48 million on Vevo, still increasing by the minute. The video features 12-year-old reality star Maddie Ziegler and 28-year-old “Transformers” actor Shia LaBeouf both in nude leotards. The pair is seen dancing and rolling inside a cage, fighting to get out, with no sexual content whatsoever.
Sia expressed in an interview that her intentions were to “create some emotional content, not to upset anybody,” yet critics claim the choreography is too suggestive, intensely focusing on the age gap between the dancers. Others joined the commotion on Twitter, calling the video “creepy,” “sickening” and “full of pedo[philia] vibes.” In our day and age, we have so many outlets in which to express our views and opinions, one the most popular ones being Twitter. Yet, some people just use this medium to take something out of context and blow it out of proportion, hoping to get some attention and their 15 minutes — more like 15 seconds — of fame.
All of these outbursts have pushed the artist to apologize for the video. However, her apology tweet said, “I apologize to those who feel triggered by ‘Elastic Heart,’” and “triggered” is the perfect word to use. The pop star is not sorry for this video; she is sorry for those feeling uneasy when they watched it. Reading her apology, a term I studied in a psychology class came to mind: trauma trigger. Psychologists define this as an action or experience that triggers a traumatic or repressed memory. I recall that we discussed that a trauma trigger could also prompt a suppressed want or desire.
Considering all of this, this video does not bother me or make me feel uneasy. I feel anyone who is, lacks artistic appreciation. The two dancers represent different personalities trying to escape Sia’s mind, represented by the cage. All of the struggles between the dancers represent how difficult it is for us to make a decision when we have conflicting ideals in our brains, also known as cognitive dissonance.
The choreography is not sexually charged; it actually seems more like a brother-sister interaction, if anything. It is rather sad that so many people cannot see past the age of these dancers and enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of a performing art without having to somehow relate it to a sexual act. What is even more upsetting is that so many of these “critics” cannot seem to find their own identity to form an opinion but, rather, jump to conclusions, following what others are saying in the Twittersphere.
