A Song Worth Chewing
Sia, the Australian singer and songwriter, has produced a great many pop songs and videos that need to be "chewed" carefully by the audience. They are not like meatloaf, which can be eaten quickly without chewing for very long, but those big, thick steaks—no filler, all meat. The “meat” here is Sia’s unique way to create, to express and to perform her music. Among most of her songs and videos, “Alive” is a typical one which always brings people an audio visual feast, and some special feelings as well. Different from other songs talking about love and dream, “Alive” focus most on individual’s sheer emotions, more like a process of emotional transformation: from loneliness, pain to determination and adamancy. The main character …show more content…
At the first sight, most audiences may raise a series of questions about the girl who lives in this shabby basement: Why does she live here alone? Who is she fighting against? What makes her eyes so determined and aggressive? As the music keeps on, such kind of confusion urges them to stare fixedly at the girl as she moves with the rhythm, kicking legs high in the air, punching powerfully without hesitation. From her coherent movement, people witness her professional and experienced combat skills, while her expressionless face along with several roars really impress them. Taking the terrible circumstances around her into consideration, it is natural for people to assume that it is the loneliness and pain the girl has suffered that makes her eventually becomes what she is now. Following the assumption, people’s sympathy is going to rise, but what occupies a larger proportion of their mind is the admiration for the amazing adaptive capacity and endurance the girl possesses. By the way, it is a smart choice to pick up this girl to be the main character - if replacing her with an adult woman or a teenage boy, undoubtedly, audience’s expectation about the replacement’s endurance and power will be much higher, but conversely the impact to the audience will not be so
Sia, the Australian singer and songwriter, has produced a great many pop songs and videos that need to be "chewed" carefully by the audience. They are not like meatloaf, which can be eaten quickly without chewing for very long, but those big, thick steaks—no filler, all meat. The “meat” here is Sia’s unique way to create, to express and to perform her music. Among most of her songs and videos, “Alive” is a typical one which always brings people an audio visual feast, and some special feelings as well. Different from other songs talking about love and dream, “Alive” focus most on individual’s sheer emotions, more like a process of emotional transformation: from loneliness, pain to determination and adamancy. The main character …show more content…
At the first sight, most audiences may raise a series of questions about the girl who lives in this shabby basement: Why does she live here alone? Who is she fighting against? What makes her eyes so determined and aggressive? As the music keeps on, such kind of confusion urges them to stare fixedly at the girl as she moves with the rhythm, kicking legs high in the air, punching powerfully without hesitation. From her coherent movement, people witness her professional and experienced combat skills, while her expressionless face along with several roars really impress them. Taking the terrible circumstances around her into consideration, it is natural for people to assume that it is the loneliness and pain the girl has suffered that makes her eventually becomes what she is now. Following the assumption, people’s sympathy is going to rise, but what occupies a larger proportion of their mind is the admiration for the amazing adaptive capacity and endurance the girl possesses. By the way, it is a smart choice to pick up this girl to be the main character - if replacing her with an adult woman or a teenage boy, undoubtedly, audience’s expectation about the replacement’s endurance and power will be much higher, but conversely the impact to the audience will not be so