You may have seen LDS electronic violin star Lindsey Stirling’s latest music video “Lost Girls” that came out just a week ago on 11 May 2017. It’s gone viral with already over a million views. Lindsey explains in her behind-the-scenes video that the making “Lost Girls” was meant to be a continuation of the music video “Shatter Me” released on YouTube on 23 April 2014. In “Shatter Me,” Lindsey is a ballerina trapped inside of a snowglobe. Lindsey explains that she wanted to continue the “Shatter Me” story because she felt that the climax—when the ballerina shattered the snowglobe and escaped—was only the beginning of her story, not the end. Her desire to explore what happened to the ballerina next was what inspired “Lost Girls.” Lindsey reveals behind the scenes that “Lost Girls” is a representation of “life after recovery.”
With that in mind, “Lost Girls” becomes much more than just a cool, fairytale-esque story; it also harbors some deeper symbolic meaning. For example, ballerina Lindsey meets some nymphs in the forest. They seem friendly at first until they push her down, rip her dress, and run away. Essentially, the ballerina’s new friends betray her. That scene seems to illustrate that life after recovery is not perfect, just as the world isn’t perfect; there are still people out there who may try to take advantage of you—people who perhaps are still trying to recover from something themselves.
Later in the video, Lindsey comes across some ballerinas who are trapped inside some snowglobes, just as Lindsey was in “Shatter Me.” In her behind-the-scenes video, Lindsey explains that the ballerina notices that the trapped ballerinas are lovely and clean, unlike Lindsey who fell down in the woods and has some bruises, dirt smudges, cuts, and a ripped dress. The ballerina seems to realize that even though her old snowglobe had confined her, she felt safe and life seemed much easier inside of it. As she touches one of the snowglobes, the dirt smudges on her arm disappear. Behind the scenes, Lindsey explains, “The temptation will always be there to fall back into whatever old patterns or habits we had whether it’s … a bad relationship or insecurities or an eating disorder … There’s always the temptation to go back because for some reason it’s strangely comforting. However … I’m so much happier. I’m such a different person than I was back in the day when I was literally trapped. … When I really think about it, it becomes very apparent that I never want to go back, and that takes strength. It takes constant vigilance and work, but … So worth it. I do not want to be a lost girl.”
Lindsey’s comments show us that “Lost Girls” has a lot of deep, personal meaning for her. During an interview with Lesley Messer of ABC News, Lindsey shares that “Shatter Me” was a depiction of how she overcame anorexia. Like the ballerina, Lindsey worried that if she tried to break free of her eating disorder, that she would lose her value. Fortunately, she was able to overcome her anorexia and has become a YouTube star as a result. Lindsey pours her heart and soul into her art, and she hopes to not only express herself but also to send a positive message to people out there who may be going through similar experiences.
In “Lost Girls,” after the ballerina runs away from the girls trapped in the snowglobes, a witch appears and conjures a globe around Lindsey. At first, the ballerina appears unsure about whether or not she wants to have a snowglobe again. She has a flashback about the times when she had been in a snowglobe. That is when she realizes that she doesn’t want to be trapped again. She shatters her globe, showing that the “lost girl” inside her is “dying away.” Lindsey never wants to go back. After that, she finds one of the ballerinas who used to be in a snowglobe and takes her hand, symbolizing that she will help her on her path to recovery, just as Lindsey wants to help people through her videos.
Click below to view the entire music video, “Lost Girls.”
Click below to see the behind the scenes of “Lost Girls.”
