i personally believe that hollywood has figured out neoteny. they have realized that youth is beauty and went straight to the youth. its an artistic statement because it is at once beautiful and unsettling. you can dislike that Sia used Maddie in her videos. but you know that Maddie is very pretty, she has a pretty face, she is a talented dancer, she is in good physical health. you might not like to admit this to yourself, but that is part of the statement. i believe it was intended to give you self conflict.

Sia doesn't like showing her face, people have criticized her music because of her own ugly face. but people won't do that to a child because they have deference towards children. now instead of viewers being critical to her because of her lack of beauty, they are critical towards themselves because of the beauty she presented. notice how the beauty she presented is not an accurate representation of Maddie. Maddie wears a wig (chosen to be the most neotenous hair color), and she wears a nude colored leotard which is unsettling. Sia has turned the former outbursts against her on its head. i believe this is genius, and more artists who are not pretty (people like adelle and meghan trainor) should use a model or some public face so as to avoid the public opinions on their face that should be focused on their music.

i believe the people who are outraged by what Sia has done are projecting the discomfort they feel back on the world. they are acting defensively because they have attacked themselves. in this manner the video is a personal attack on them, because who better to make a person attack against oneself, than oneself?