​A2 Media Studies

The video starts showing a low angle establishing shot of a desert which is a large open space which represents her isolation; the song is a ballad and the lyrics speak about staying strong and believing in yourself and your own strength/willpower that in the end will allow you to rise above it all. The song opens with a lonely piano which is soon accompanied by a heavy percussion; Demi showcases breathy and quivering vocals throughout whilst maintaining a level that has been praised by many critics as ‘amazing’ as the song is not only an inspiration but Demi is as well and she truly captures the emotion and meaning behind the song within her vocals.

 

The video begins with Demi walking towards the camera on a desert road in Bonneville Salt Flats while wearing a long white dress which conveys her new founded innocence and vulnerability. A close-up shot of Demi's face serves as the main portion of the video, throughout the first verse as the video was a very ultimate affair and the close-ups of Demi’s face showed the true pain and emotion she felt whilst singing the song and her ultimate connection to it regarding her personal life. In the first chorus, a glass heart enclosed in a glass box is shown which is surrounded by fog as if the heart is being choked and Lovato continues to walk down the desert road which is symbolic to her personally as the video shows a literal representation of her situation at the time; the video was shot after treatment so the idea of her walking along the sand towards the camera on her own represents her new steps in life as she takes a different path and ultimately has to overcome her troubles on her own. In the second verse, a black fabric surrounds her, which represents the "toxicity" that took over her mind in the past and made her suffer inside. As the song continues she is then seen walking over the broken glass, which represents getting rid of the toxicity of her life and powering through it as she rises above the things that used to hold her back. In the second chorus, Demi begins to find more strength, with one shot showing her standing inside a photograph frame. In the bridge, the glass box with the heart inside is hit causing the glass to break and representing her breaking free from something that once confined her. Other scenes show Demi walking across the glass however, as the song fades the last frames of the video are of her face as she shows the amount of emotional investment she has within the song and video and how drained she has become.

 

Uses and gratification can be applied thoroughly to this video as the audience aren’t passive and are in control of what they watch as they primarily choose to watch this video or listen to this song in relation to the 4 elements of uses and pleasure. The main applicable elements to this video are: Personal Identity, Personal Relationships and Diversion.

Much like a lot of people I enjoy this song and the video because of personal identity and the fact that myself and many others can relate to it on a personal level. This song and the artist allows the audience to find themselves reflected in the media texts and learn behaviour and values. Demi Lovato is an inspiration to those that have gone through issues similar to what she’s been through and even for girls that haven’t through her positivity and role model/inspirational status and catchy, upbeat yet sentimental and relatable songs as every person has been through a period in their life that she has been able to capture within a song whether it’s been bullying, metal health issues, substance and drug abuse, self-harm, losing a loved one, having a bad relationship with a family member or even just a break-up or time in which they haven’t felt good enough, doubted themselves or let themselves be defeated by the power of others or hurtful situations. Primarily it will be Demi Lovato’s demographic of teenage girls that are able to relate to her and this song but as a person and via some of her other songs in addition to this one, she is also able to relate to every one of all ages and genders. The personal identity element can also link to Dyer’s theory and his paradoxes in which he states in paradox 1 that a star (Demi) must be simultaneously extraordinary and ordinary which Demi achieves and shows through this video as not only was she a child Disney star, hit singer and popular within the media which made her extraordinary, she was also struggling through a lot of struggles and issues that make her ordinary and relatable in her demographics perspective as it showed her as a normal young girl with a lot of emotions and issues; the main aspect of the audience is that they want to feel connected, in admiration and relate to the lyrics of the song.

 

Demi once stated in an interview that the song is about “rising above those issues. That it’s going to be ok. No matter how hard your rock bottom is, you can rise above it and you can come back stronger than before”.

A further element of the uses and pleasures within the uses and gratification theory is personal relationships; this is when the artist wants to build connections with people through media products and is mainly used for social and emotional interaction. This is similar to what I previously mentioned in personal identity as throughout this video Demi openly shows her emotions and pain and keeps the mise-en scene of the video minimalistic with a pure emphasis on her and the song and not anything extravagant in the background or any dancers, lighting etc in order to build and gain a connection with her audience. The connection/personal relationship between the artist and the audience of this music video is apparent through the amount of close-ups used so that Demi and her audience are connected emotionally through her emotions and the lyrics, this leads to them being socially connected outside of her music on a personal level via social media websites and projects outside of music or film.

 

Demi Lovato’s Skyscraper video also serves as a sort of diversion for the audience as it allows some to escape from their everyday lives and problems and get away from their mundane lives such as work or school especially as it’s kept minimalistic and pure. The lyrics of this song are empowering and emotional and allows people to feel thankful for what they have but also strive to better themselves by rising above it and staying strong no matter how much of a low point they get to. By listening to Demi’s music it allows people to get away from what is making them down and may help them feel better even if it’s only for the short period of time that they are listening to the song, especially if they are dealing with the same issues or even just going through a tough time in their lives; Demi’s music and her video shows the audience to be thankful and appreciative for what they have but can also serve as a release by allowing them to divert from whatever is currently going on within their lives. The audience may think of it as diversion if they believe it to be more exaggerated than their lives but may also think of it as a diversion if they think it’s on the same level or worse.