Sia and her Symbols

Semiotics: the study of "meaning-making" and the question "what does it mean?" This is a question we take for granted in our everyday lives, because we have been conditioned to "just know" what things mean. After reading What is Semiotics and Beasely & Danesi, I immediately thought of Sia and her "Elastic Heart" music video. 

Sia utilizes semiotics all throughout her "Elastic Heart" video. She uses Shia LaBeouf and Maddie Ziegler  from the show Dance Moms to illustrate the overall message of her song. "Elastic Heart" is the second video in a trilogy for Sia, with the first part being her song "Chandelier".  In "Elastic Heart" Maddie is meant to portray a "wolf-like" character and represents one of Shia LaBeouf's self states, like an inner demon or a younger version of himself that doesn't seem to fade away.

One of Sia's biggest uses of semiotics is a sign, which is this case is the nude colored outfits both Maddie and Shia are wearing. The sign in semiotics can be a color and is used to represent something other than itself. The flesh colored clothes allow watchers to gather that Maddie is playing a part of Shia, they are bare without bounds and they are portraying the same person, just in different states. Their clothing takes away color from the video, but adds to the meaning and the representative state Sia is trying to show. 

Sia also directs Maddie and Shia in the use of gesture iconicity, which is something that is created or designed to their referents in a visual way. The use of gesture iconicity is what makes "Elastic Heart" what it is. There are scenes where Maddie is growling at Shia, and scenes when she has escaped their cage and he sticks his head through the bars and reaches his hands through, trying to grab at her like he is trapped. This makes Sia's directing point very clear that Maddie is playing a part of Shia and they are not two separate people, and he is trying to overcome his own demons by trying to catch her.

Finally, one of Sia's best uses of semiotics is her use of the cage Shia and Maddie are dancing in as a symbol. Because "Elastic Heart" is about fighting and finding something inside of you, it is very well played that they are inside of a cage showing them as one person and representing their unity.

Overall, Sia directs her music video with almost solely the use of semiotics. She uses symbols, signs, iconicity, and so much more to exhibit the main message of her song, which is dealing with your inner demons or past self states. (You can watch Sia explain her music video here) "Elastic Heart", part two in a trilogy of music videos starring Maddie Ziegler, generates meaning and allows us as viewers to answer the question "what does it mean?"