| Sia – Elastic Heart Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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2:08 correction The male fighter has climbed to the top of the cage symbolizing women and how we have risen to the highest levels of corporate America for example. However the male fighter drops down to the level of the female fighter symbolizing that women still have an attachment to motherhood but the women in the past who were mothers were less educated and didn't rise to the top of levels of corporate America for example. The male fighter lays next to the female fighter seemingly observing her with interest. The female approaches the male after he offers her something with an open hand. This symbolizes the fine line that exists between fathers and daughters and how they must navigate the unconscious sexuality. |
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| Sia – Elastic Heart Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[jaybles22:32541] wow I like your viewpoint | |
| Sia – Elastic Heart Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[dan:32540] awesome summary, I agree with many parts | |
| Sia – Elastic Heart Lyrics | 6 years ago |
|
To analyze this song, I asked myself: "what does this song (art) show us about what's happening in society today?". Note: I'm interpreting this song from that perspective. I suspect Sia's music is broadly a representation of the experiences women of her age range have faced - note Sia is in her 40's currently. Women who are today in their 40s were impressionable children in the 80's, a time when there was a big media push for women to work. Movies like Flashdance, Working 9 to 5, for example. These movies were distributed worldwide. These women became adults in the 90s and many females at that time were the first generation in their families to work outside the home. These women were also further convinced to work by the condition of their mothers who were mostly homemakers or women in female work roles. The mothers of these women were resentful that they had not worked and that they did not have the independence and freedom that their husbands seemingly had. Please note that their mothers did not have the experience with work therefore they offered little guidance and support that was helpful. These women started careers with enthusiasm, to do things 'better than the prior generation" and many postponed having children to go to college and work. Many did not want to marry until later, thereby postponing children and marital union which these women grew up knowing as a traditional female role. These women postponed childbearing and marriage in the guise of getting an education and being independent. The idea was to have children later in life. This generation also started to explore ideas of alternative relationships, further rejecting marriage which is traditionally a childbearing partnership. This was in parallel to the introduction of the internet, a new tool introduced to the public in the 90s. Elastic Heart could be a song about this "woman" in general. This woman now finds herself in her 40s, having spent most of her adult life working. She feels a sense of loss, as if she missed out on traditional female experiences: childbirth, motherhood, partnership with a man. In her 40s, she senses herself sliding into perimenopause, sealing the fact she may never experience traditional female roles nor a union with a man and it marks the end of her youth and sexuality. In a society that most of all values youth and sexuality, especially in women, it is heartbreaking to this woman to find her societal value diminished. This is especially true because of the often anonymous sacrifice she's had to make to become what her mother and those 80s movies and media told her to be. This woman has worked most of her adult life, most often alongside men to learn her trade. She had to repress many emotions and female instincts to do this work. She had to listen to learn and listening involves not talking. PART 1 Elastic heart - That's why she has an 'elastic heart'. It describes this woman's tendency to have to repress her emotions to conform to what was in the 90s and early 2000s still a male dominated work world. She also has to silence herself basically to learn to work, which is why it's interesting that Sia has one of the most loudest, most powerful, an almost operatic voice, in pop music today. Her voice is expressing the hidden emotions this woman feels, finally surfacing to a beautiful scream. This woman had few examples of past women working. Her mother likely was a homemaker or in a female dominated work role. This was a new generation of women working, similar to the push in the 40s for women to work. Much had to be invented which involves risk which is stressful. She is separated from her mother and prior female generations since; they are proud of her accomplishments, but don't really relate to this woman's struggles nor have had similar experiences. Therefore, cannot offer valuable and often much needed guidance. The way Sia sings the word 'Elastic' is significant. Her making the word sound grandiose expresses that this woman has a lot of emotions, a 'big' heart, hence making this new world of women being independent more challenging because they have to conform to the less emotionally expressive work world men created until recently. And another one bites the dust But why can I not conquer love? This represents this woman's struggle with, in her case, male relationships. This woman is inspired to "conquer" the work world which she does but only to a small extent when compared to her more experienced for generations male counterparts. This woman finds, repeatedly, that the same effort or force cannot be applied to a male-female romantic relationship which in these times (90s to early 2000s), was still traditionally male led. Meaning that at that time, woman initiating with a man was a relatively new concept therefore failure rate in these attempts to find romantic love with men was high. Having multiple relationships with men was taboo and considered not acceptable for women until this time frame. Therefore this woman had to face often her own prejudice she had learned against her own actions and the circumstances that she found herself in romantically. Men also were changing in response and there is a beginning of the type of relationship that is considered 'open' with less commitments and restrictions that marriage presented until this point. Therefore these women had multiple relationships with men. Primarily because a change of thinking and also because a woman who does not want to have a child until later is not considered marriable in male terms at that time. And I might've got to be with one Represents this woman's regret at not having a union with a man on terms familiar to her. It also represents her resentment at society for not giving her a model to follow for romantic relationships. And I want it and I wanted it bad Represents both her original commitment to be 'better' than her mother and prior generations. It also represents her desire to have a man in her life and the frustration caused by her lack of empowerment in romantic relationships with men. But there were so many red flags Represents the anger at herself for not seeing the negative consequences to her commitment to work and delaying motherhood and romantic love. Not consciously realizing menopause would be a reality for her as well thus shortening the sexual phase in her life. She knew about menopause and learned about it in school however it didn't become a reality to her until she reached her 40s. Wanted to fight this war without weapons - Represents this woman's lack of experience in the workplace. And let's be clear, I trust no one Represents her need to 'invent' this new woman that she has to become to survive. Inventions are new and thus risky. This lyric represents the ambivalence that comes with inventing and with ambivalence comes a lack of trust, especially with herself. She is not sure if her decisions were right. Not sure if her decision to postpone love and focus on work was a good idea. You did not break me Learning often involves failure. These lyrics represent her failures in her learning about her work and trying to have a romantic relationship in parallel. She's expressing her strength and her commitment to her original plan. This also represents her relationships with figures of authority at work who she's learning from. There often is failure when learning however she's expressing here that she has the stamina and fortitude and strength to learn and not make mistakes in the future. It also demonstrates that what she embarked on doing is not easy for her. I'm still fighting for peace Represents that she is a woman who are usually less combative than men. This may represent the beginnings of new ideas on how things could be done better. It represents that she sees that her original plan may have had flaws but she still committed to it even though many things may need to change. I've got thick skin and an elastic heart - Represents through saying an Elastic Heart again how she was repressing her emotions to learn this new male work world and build her career. When she says she has thick skin that's because sometimes the failures and learning at work cause her emotional pain and she needs to mask that pain by repressing her emotions. Note that the general culture of corporate America in the 90s and early 2000s was male-dominated, combative and had a lack of cooperation stemming from the business culture in the 80s. For example in the 80s These women had learned that to be successful in business one needed to wear a red power suit and have a firm handshake and other combative ideas. Also, learning is often painful mostly because it means that one needs to change. Her having thick skin means that she needs to protect her inner self in this new male-dominated world that she's joining and changing. Represents her commitment to her original plan her belief that things could get better. But your blade it might be too sharp Represents her doubts in her ability to continue repressing her emotions. I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard Represents her struggle with learning the career world and the new changing world of romantic relationships. Her doubts about her original plan and her ability to be successful. Her need to repress her emotions and the difficulty in doing that. It suggests she fears that there could be negative consequences to this repression. But I may snap when I move close Represents the during the 90s and early 2000's it was not acceptable to have romantic relationships at the workplace. However men and women were working closely and that often involves repressing one's romantic interest that could come with proximity of working together. But you won't see me fall apart It also represents how when working with men this woman often needs to repress her emotions because at that time if one shows emotions at work men will lose respect for you, this was a general thinking during that time frame. Crying in the 'closet' because your client just yelled at you would be one illustration of hiding or repressing her emotions. Note: there is a second version of this song where Diplo sings part 2 of the song. Diplo sounds a lot like Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson had an effeminate voice which sometimes was ridiculed in the past. I think this version of the song and having Diplo sing it shows how men are also experiencing a drastic change. They were asked to become what is considered at the time more effeminate when compared to a traditional male roll up till then. For example, men are asked to be more in touch with their emotions and to express their emotions. The metrosexual phase was during this time for example. These changes in men were also impacting women at that time. Because women needed to get used to this new and what was considered to be a more effeminate man than their fathers were and that other men were in these women's past. Men were found to be sometimes less attractive and harder to deal with because of these changes that were new. PART 2 And I will stay up through the night This represents the amount of effort that it took to build a new career and independent life under the circumstances that existed. Let's be clear, I won't close my eyes Again, represents the ambivalence that comes with building a new identity for women. And I know that I can survive Represents her commitment to original plan where she believed that she could be independent while still having romantic love. I walked through fire to save my life Represents the difficulty of the consequences of the decisions she made. However it also represents that she feels these decisions were necessary. And I want it, I want my life so bad Represents how her newfound independence feels good in many ways and how she hopes her circumstances could further improve based on her original plan she wanted to live so badly originally. And I'm doing everything I can Represents the amount of effort facing these changes involves but, that she is committed, does whatever it takes. It's hard to lose a chosen one Represents how these new female and male roles where independence is key can have difficulties. It's hard to not be #1 or chosen ie: married. This symbolizes that romantic relationships are changing and those changes can be difficult. You did not break me (You did not break me, no, no) Represents the pain that comes with change and how she is still committed to her original plans and decisions in the face of pain. No, no expresses how the emotional pain she experiences with changing is so strong it's almost physical. Music Video Interpretation The music video starts off showing us an enormous metal cage with two people standing inside it, on each side across from each other. First we see the face of a man who seems like something like out of a gladiator movie, he seems to be a fighter. The way the camera pans across his face and his stance brings to mind a boxing match where you see the first fighter and then the second fighter is introduced. Secondly we see the face of a very young blonde haired girl. The camera pans across her face and her stance and the determination on her face brings to mind a boxing match again. It is almost as if they are going to start to fight against each other and we are shown the two opponents. Both characters are wearing minimal dancer attire and they are covered in dirt. The man with some wraps on his hands representative of a fighter. The little girl has the blonde hair that I would say many women today in the world wish they had: straight, blonde and movable with the wind. She's also very skinny which many women view as ideal in this society. The metaphorical fight begins, the two characters circle the cage looking at each other and finally the male fighter advances upon the female in a way that is a dancer's caricature and representation of a fighter. This dance fight starts and both parties attack each other to and fro in dance. The blonde female is limber, smaller than the male yet seemingly more ferocious. The cage seems to symbolize our society in the rules we follow. Sexual? One of my first impressions was that it seemed sexually symbolic for a man to be with an adolescent girl in this manner: barely clothed, being physical with one another. This could be interpreted many ways however. Father-daughter? There are many moments during this video where the man and the girl seemed to be playing as father and daughter. However there's a fine line and one could think of it either sexually or as a father-daughter relationship. Both of those interpretations seem to be side by side and it's not clear is the artist wanted us to pick one or the other or just see both. According to Sigmund Freud there is an unconscious sexual dynamic between father and daughter and mother and son that is natural. Therefore perhaps both interpretations should exist side-by-side, where the father is playing with the daughter but at the same time the daughter is learning from the father how men are and this will shape her relationships with men in the future according to psychology. Hence this unconscious sexuality does exist with fathers and daughters. We often ignore this dynamic or we think that is something not to be discussed and this video brings that topic to the forefront. Perhaps it is better to speak of these things so that we are aware of them and can do them better rather than hiding them and not discussing them and possibly doing them worse. Media influence on society? Another interpretation that comes to mind is that these two fighters are actually are representations of certain females in our society in the 40s age bracket specifically or beyond. The blond girl could be the 'ideal' female that many women strive to be like: skinny, limber and blond with straight hair. And the man represents what women are really like: we're all unique and different, we are often hairy, we are dirty sometimes and we are not exactly that perfect blond that what we would like to be. The media until recently has fed on this insecurity that many women have carried. The media has celebrated and shown mostly white women of a certain stature and characteristics that very much match this little girl in a way. Although in this video the blonde girl is exaggerated and is adolescent to dramatize this point. The cosmetic and fashion industry made a lot of money based on these insecurities too. Relationship to the song? The music video and the song seem to stand individually on their own, each with their own message. Although the messages seem to be loosely connected. The woman that is described in the song has wanted to be the blonde character for most of her adult life she never achieved this and hence this has been a fight. The woman had embarked with her original plan on being an independent female however the picture that she had in her mind of what she would become is not realistic or is not what's happening therefore, there is a struggle between the reality of who this woman is (represented by the rugged, male fighter) and her idea of what she wants to be represented by the skinny, limber blonde fighter). Dance moments This is dance and therefore, the movements are symbolic. 0:49 The characters descend to the floor metaphorically approaching and attacking each other in a crawling manner. There is a tension created by this and we wait to see what will happen next. 0:55 The female fighter goes into an upside-down pose where she is belly up and one could view her as either a goddess or a spider. 0:57 The male fighter pounds on the ground once with his fist in response to the pose that the female fighter has just assumed.. This could be interpreted two ways: Firstly the idea comes to mind of a sexual symbol. The female fighter has her legs open her back arched in a pose that many strippers use and her belly to the ceiling thus it could be sexual. The male fighter's response to her by pounding his fist on the ground seems very masculine and response to her feminine pose. Secondly this could be viewed as that the girl turned herself into a symbolic spider and that her father, the male fighter is pounding on the floor to kill the spider in response to her spider childlike pose almost as a symbolic game. Either way this shows the fine line between fathers and daughters that exists and that men deal with.. 1:00 The female fighter attacks the male in response to his masculine pound on the ground. It's almost seems like a moment where a male is courting a female yet the female resists him. 2:08 The male fighter lays next to the female fighter seemingly observing her with interest. The female approaches the male after he offers her something with an open hand. This symbolizes the fine line that exists between fathers and daughters and how they must navigate the unconscious sexuality. 2:56 Here the female fighter taunts the male fighter with her eyes and the male fighter runs and attacks her yet, she escaped quickly by going between the bars of the cage but he cannot do the same given his size. This symbolizes the woman described in the song and her efforts to become the skinny limber blond girl. This is an effort that is never attained a goal that is never fulfilled and her frustration. 3:24 Here both fighters again resume a father and daughter playful dynamic. 3:52 The blonde fighter plays with the male fighter in father daughter form. 4:08 The female fighter leads the male to the position where they were previously with her outside the cage and him within the cage fighting to get out. However this time the male seems tired of fighting the female fighter begs him to be with her on the other side of the cage but he cannot be there he's tired and the fight is too much for him. This can symbolize the fact that society has still not resolved the problem of the woman in the song Elastic Heart and her unrealistic desire to be the blond skinny female. And that this has been going on for a long time it is an old fight. We are starting to see changes recently in the media and in fashion and cosmetics where they want to be more inclusive of many races and types of females and even different types of genders as well however the change is slow in the effects still exist from the prior beliefs. |
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| Sia – Elastic Heart Lyrics | 6 years ago |
|
To analyze this song, I asked myself: "what does this song (art) show us about what's happening in society today?". Note: I'm interpreting this song from that perspective. I suspect Sia's music is broadly a representation of the experiences women of her age range have faced - note Sia is in her 40's currently. Women who are today in their 40s were impressionable children in the 80's, a time when there was a big media push for women to work. Movies like Flashdance, Working 9 to 5, for example. These movies were distributed worldwide. These women became adults in the 90s and many females at that time were the first generation in their families to work outside the home. These women were also further convinced to work by the condition of their mothers who were mostly homemakers or women in female work roles. The mothers of these women were resentful that they had not worked and that they did not have the independence and freedom that their husbands seemingly had. Please note that their mothers did not have the experience with work therefore they offered little guidance and support that was helpful. These women started careers with enthusiasm, to do things 'better than the prior generation" and many postponed having children to go to college and work. Many did not want to marry until later, thereby postponing children and marital union which these women grew up knowing as a traditional female role. These women postponed childbearing and marriage in the guise of getting an education and being independent. The idea was to have children later in life. This generation also started to explore ideas of alternative relationships, further rejecting marriage which is traditionally a childbearing partnership. This was in parallel to the introduction of the internet, a new tool introduced to the public in the 90s. Elastic Heart could be a song about this "woman" in general. This woman now finds herself in her 40s, having spent most of her adult life working. She feels a sense of loss, as if she missed out on traditional female experiences: childbirth, motherhood, partnership with a man. In her 40s, she senses herself sliding into perimenopause, sealing the fact she may never experience traditional female roles nor a union with a man and it marks the end of her youth and sexuality. In a society that most of all values youth and sexuality, especially in women, it is heartbreaking to this woman to find her societal value diminished. This is especially true because of the often anonymous sacrifice she's had to make to become what her mother and those 80s movies and media told her to be. This woman has worked most of her adult life, most often alongside men to learn her trade. She had to repress many emotions and female instincts to do this work. She had to listen to learn and listening involves not talking. PART 1 Elastic heart - That's why she has an 'elastic heart'. It describes this woman's tendency to have to repress her emotions to conform to what was in the 90s and early 2000s still a male dominated work world. She also has to silence herself basically to learn to work, which is why it's interesting that Sia has one of the most loudest, most powerful, an almost operatic voice, in pop music today. Her voice is expressing the hidden emotions this woman feels, finally surfacing to a beautiful scream. This woman had few examples of past women working. Her mother likely was a homemaker or in a female dominated work role. This was a new generation of women working, similar to the push in the 40s for women to work. Much had to be invented which involves risk which is stressful. She is separated from her mother and prior female generations since; they are proud of her accomplishments, but don't really relate to this woman's struggles nor have had similar experiences. Therefore, cannot offer valuable and often much needed guidance. The way Sia sings the word 'Elastic' is significant. Her making the word sound grandiose expresses that this woman has a lot of emotions, a 'big' heart, hence making this new world of women being independent more challenging because they have to conform to the less emotionally expressive work world men created until recently. And another one bites the dust But why can I not conquer love? This represents this woman's struggle with, in her case, male relationships. This woman is inspired to "conquer" the work world which she does but only to a small extent when compared to her more experienced for generations male counterparts. This woman finds, repeatedly, that the same effort or force cannot be applied to a male-female romantic relationship which in these times (90s to early 2000s), was still traditionally male led. Meaning that at that time, woman initiating with a man was a relatively new concept therefore failure rate in these attempts to find romantic love with men was high. Having multiple relationships with men was taboo and considered not acceptable for women until this time frame. Therefore this woman had to face often her own prejudice she had learned against her own actions and the circumstances that she found herself in romantically. Men also were changing in response and there is a beginning of the type of relationship that is considered 'open' with less commitments and restrictions that marriage presented until this point. Therefore these women had multiple relationships with men. Primarily because a change of thinking and also because a woman who does not want to have a child until later is not considered marriable in male terms at that time. And I might've got to be with one Represents this woman's regret at not having a union with a man on terms familiar to her. It also represents her resentment at society for not giving her a model to follow for romantic relationships. And I want it and I wanted it bad Represents both her original commitment to be 'better' than her mother and prior generations. It also represents her desire to have a man in her life and the frustration caused by her lack of empowerment in romantic relationships with men. But there were so many red flags Represents the anger at herself for not seeing the negative consequences to her commitment to work and delaying motherhood and romantic love. Not consciously realizing menopause would be a reality for her as well thus shortening the sexual phase in her life. She knew about menopause and learned about it in school however it didn't become a reality to her until she reached her 40s. Wanted to fight this war without weapons Represents this woman's lack of experience in the workplace. And let's be clear, I trust no one Represents her need to 'invent' this new woman that she has to become to survive. Inventions are new and thus risky. This lyric represents the ambivalence that comes with inventing and with ambivalence comes a lack of trust, especially with herself. She is not sure if her decisions were right. Not sure if her decision to postpone love and focus on work was a good idea. You did not break me Learning often involves failure. These lyrics represent her failures in her learning about her work and trying to have a romantic relationship in parallel. She's expressing her strength and her commitment to her original plan. This also represents her relationships with figures of authority at work who she's learning from. There often is failure when learning however she's expressing here that she has the stamina and fortitude and strength to learn and not make mistakes in the future. It also demonstrates that what she embarked on doing is not easy for her. I'm still fighting for peace Represents that she is a woman who are usually less combative than men. This may represent the beginnings of new ideas on how things could be done better. It represents that she sees that her original plan may have had flaws but she still committed to it even though many things may need to change. I've got thick skin and an elastic heart - Represents through saying an Elastic Heart again how she was repressing her emotions to learn this new male work world and build her career. When she says she has thick skin that's because sometimes the failures and learning at work cause her emotional pain and she needs to mask that pain by repressing her emotions. Note that the general culture of corporate America in the 90s and early 2000s was male-dominated, combative and had a lack of cooperation stemming from the business culture in the 80s. For example in the 80s These women had learned that to be successful in business one needed to wear a red power suit and have a firm handshake and other combative ideas. Also, learning is often painful mostly because it means that one needs to change. Her having thick skin means that she needs to protect her inner self in this new male-dominated world that she's joining and changing. Represents her commitment to her original plan her belief that things could get better. But your blade it might be too sharp Represents her doubts in her ability to continue repressing her emotions. I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard Represents her struggle with learning the career world and the new changing world of romantic relationships. Her doubts about her original plan and her ability to be successful. Her need to repress her emotions and the difficulty in doing that. It suggests she fears that there could be negative consequences to this repression. But I may snap when I move close Represents the during the 90s and early 2000's it was not acceptable to have romantic relationships at the workplace. However men and women were working closely and that often involves repressing one's romantic interest that could come with proximity of working together. But you won't see me fall apart It also represents how when working with men this woman often needs to repress her emotions because at that time if one shows emotions at work men will lose respect for you, this was a general thinking during that time frame. Crying in the 'closet' because your client just yelled at you would be one illustration of hiding or repressing her emotions. Note: there is a second version of this song where Diplo sings part 2 of the song. Diplo sounds a lot like Michael Jackson and Michael Jackson had an effeminate voice which sometimes was ridiculed in the past. I think this version of the song and having Diplo sing it shows how men are also experiencing a drastic change. They were asked to become what is considered at the time more effeminate when compared to a traditional male roll up till then. For example, men are asked to be more in touch with their emotions and to express their emotions. The metrosexual phase was during this time for example. These changes in men were also impacting women at that time. Because women needed to get used to this new and what was considered to be a more effeminate man than their fathers were and that other men were in these women's past. Men were found to be sometimes less attractive and harder to deal with because of these changes that were new. PART 2 And I will stay up through the night This represents the amount of effort that it took to build a new career and independent life under the circumstances that existed. Let's be clear, I won't close my eyes Again, represents the ambivalence that comes with building a new identity for women. And I know that I can survive Represents her commitment to original plan where she believed that she could be independent while still having romantic love. I walked through fire to save my life Represents the difficulty of the consequences of the decisions she made. However it also represents that she feels these decisions were necessary. And I want it, I want my life so bad Represents how her newfound independence feels good in many ways and how she hopes her circumstances could further improve based on her original plan she wanted to live so badly originally. And I'm doing everything I can Represents the amount of effort facing these changes involves but, that she is committed, does whatever it takes. It's hard to lose a chosen one Represents how these new female and male roles where independence is key can have difficulties. It's hard to not be #1 or chosen ie: married. This symbolizes that romantic relationships are changing and those changes can be difficult. You did not break me (You did not break me, no, no) Represents the pain that comes with change and how she is still committed to her original plans and decisions in the face of pain. No, no expresses how the emotional pain she experiences with changing is so strong it's almost physical. |
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