Demi Lovato's "Confident" music video tells the story of Demi being held captive and forced to find a wanted woman. However, it is revealed that Demi has been set up by the man holding her captive. Demi and the wanted woman, Michelle, realize they have been played against each other. They team up to defeat the true villain, the man behind it all. In the end, order is restored as the villain is arrested and Demi and Michelle drive off together, content that justice has been served.

1. DEMI LOVATO
- CONFIDENT
Rachel Hailey

2. Todorov - Narrative Theory
At the start of the music video, the equilibrium is that Demi is
confident that she will be able to defeat her enemy who is wanted,
however later on in the video, the disruption arises and it appears
that the people that Demi thought were on her side, were on the
side of her enemy, which leads to the realisation, when the fight
scene occurs with her enemy. Demi gets held hostage however,
while she is in the van, she finds a way to escape, and uses a gun
to break open the van door, which is a surprise to the enemy, who
is driving behind the van.
Restored order is used when the two enemies realise that they
have been played against each other and when they both see the
stamps on their arms, they empathise with each other, as they
know what they have been through. When they shake hands, the
man behind it all looks shocked, as he cannot believe that the two
girls are now on the same team. The two girls fight off the real
enemies and equilibrium occurs again, when the enemies are
arrested exposed on the news for everyone to see. Demi and the
girl then drive off on their motorbikes, content with each other and
how the situation has ended.

3. Propp - Character Types
Demi is being held captive by a
man of high and must obey his
orders. She has been given the
mission to find a woman who is
'wanted'.
When Demi finds the woman and
is ready to fight with a group of
men who are also on her side, the
man of power appears on the
screen next to he 'wanted' woman,
so Demi is shocked as she has
been set up.
The villain makes the two female
characters go against each other.
however in the end he is defeated, as
the girls both team up and get him
arrested, because they realise that he
is the true enemy.
Michelle is originally seen as the
villain however, when she finds
out that herself and Demi have
purposely been made to dislike
each other, she realises that she
must take action against the true
villain, making Demi and Michelle
the Hero's.

4. Levi-Strauss - Binary Opposites
The main binary opposite within this music video is
good vs evil, as there are clear hero's and villain's,
who end up going against each other, and as
expected, the hero's win and the villain's are
defeated.
Another binary opposite is male vs female, as both
Demi and Michelle are shown to be fighting the men,
who are the villain's in the music video, and end up
winning, which shows the empowerment of women
and how they are capable of being the stronger sex.

5. Barthes - Narrative Codes
Action ­ The start of the music video shows a maximum
security prison, which suggests danger and makes the
audience wonder what is going on and why Demi is in
prison.
Enigma ­ We then see Demi in a large room with low key
lighting, being given a mission to find a missing girl, which
makes the audience wonder why the man chose Demi to find
the missing girl.
Semic ­ The mise­en­scene is black clothing,which does not
give much away about the characters however, Michelle's
character wears a red crop top which symbolises danger and
seduction.
Symbolic ­ The music video shows that good always
overcomes evil, as at the start, Demi and Michelle are
enemies however,when they realise that they have been set
up,they become friends and defeat the true villain.
Cultural ­ This video is a lot like many action films, as it
includes elements such as fight scenes and mystery.

6. Saussure - Semiotics
The lock and key symbolises that Demi is trapped, and her only escape
is for someone else to set her free, giving her a great lack of power,
which therefore knocks her confidence, as she has to abide by someone
elses' rules.
When the light shines on Demi, she looks confused, due to the fact that
she is constantly locked in a dark lit room and sees little light.
This further makes the audience feel sorry for her, as she must be
extremely lonely being trapped in a dark lit room on her own all day and
night.
The 'wanted' sign symbolises crime and further makes the audience
wonder what is so dangerous about this woman, and why she is wanted.
We also wonder why Demi has been chosen to find her, as it could be a
dangerous situation for her.
When Demi and Michelle shake hands, this symbolises unity, further
showing that they have overcome their differences and are now on the
same team, ready to defeat the true villain.

7. Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze
Michelle is wearing a red crop which shows off her toned
stomach, which shows that she's fit, therefore men will
pay attention to the aspect of her body.
It is also the most prominent part of her body shown on
screen.
There is a high angle which shows Demi's breasts
however,they are not the key focus of the shot which takes
the idea of women being sexual objects away from the music
video.

8. Dyer - Stereotypes
As Michelle has a toned body, it is being shown off to the
audience, which is very stereotypical, as male gaze is often
used in music videos. It also shows that women are
something to be looked at.
It is stereotypical for the villain to be a man, therefore this
music video has kept to the codes and conventions of the
genre.
The 'spies' are wearing black clothing, which does not give
much away about their personalities, further helping the
audience believe their characters. This is stereotypical
because most spies are seen in black.

9. Baudrillard - Simulacra
Watching this video may give the impression that it is easy to find a person who is
wanted and defend the villain however, the hyper reality is that police and detectives
spend many months, or even years trying to find missing people and if they do, it is
very difficult to find out the truth, as this is a very long process.
In this music video, everything happens very quickly, which is unrealistic however, as
music videos are so short, it is important that it is able to tell the whole story within the
length of the song, which is three minutes.

10. Hypodermic Needle Model
This music video provides the audience with a sense of danger and fear, as
we do not know what is going to happen to the main character. We see
Demi looking very vulnerable, which makes the audience feel bad for her
however, we still wonder what she has done which made her go to such a
high security prison.

11. Uses and Gratification
Diversion ­ As this music video is very unrealistic, the audience are able to
watch it to have a few minutes to escape from reality, which further brings more
enjoyment to the audience when watching the video.
Personal Relationships ­ As we see Demi in a prison being treated unfairly, we
feel sorry for her and are able to empathise with her, which further makes the
audience happy when the villain gets found out.
Personal Identity ­ When watching the video, the audience are able to relate to
situations where someone has done them wrong, and finally been caught out
for their actions, which is why the audience are relieved when the villain gets
caught out.
Surveillance ­ The surveillance in this music video helps the audience to have a
glimpse of how the FBI and other secret services work to try and track down the
bad guys. This is seen as very quick and easy in this music video, however it
still gives the audience a small glimpse into the industry.

12. Encoding Decoding
People will watch this music video and respond in different ways.
Dominant ­ Accepts that this is fictional story, which over exaggerates the goings on in
the video for the pleasure of the audience.
Negotiated ­ Modifies the text according to their own experiences, and therefore reads
more into the music video and adapts what happens in it to fit their own life.
Oppositional ­ Rejects the preferred reading and dismisses a lot of the content, which
may include the fight scenes, as they may not feel that it is appropriate for Demi's
audience.

13. David Morley Nationwide Study
This is a reception theory, meaning that the meaning of the text will
be interpreted differently, depending on their position within
society.
A high class person may watch this music video and not agree with
the violence involved, as they may believe that this is not suitable
for people to watch however, a low class person may not see any
problem with it, as they are aware that this is what happens within
the secret services and are used to seeing it on other forms of
media, such as on soap operas.

14. ‘the very existence of genre films and cycles is a product of the film
industry’s attempt to overcome the problem of uncertainty…of not knowing
the future tastes of the mass audience.’ Robert E. Kapsis (1991)
As Demi Lovato is a pop artist, it is important that her music videos keep to
the conventions of the pop genre, so that the audience will want to watch
the video, therefore sales will go up, which will allow for more music videos
to be made. This music contains a lot of close ups, which is an element of
the pop genre.
Institution

15. Audience
‘The attraction of genre to the industry is closely linked to its
presumed appeal to viewers. Filmgoers generally like to have a
broad idea of what to expect from any individual picture. Genres
are constituted not just by bodies of films but also by the
established expectations of viewers.’ King (2002)
The audience will have expectations for the Confident music video,
as it is within the pop genre, therefore they will expect a lot of
elements to this genre, such as close ups and high key lighting.
This music uses both low key and high key lighting, and this
contrast makes the high key lighting more dramatic.

16. Ritual
Socio­cultural genre theorists argue that ‘shifts in film content reflect
changes in society. The underlying assumption…is that popular films
are more or less an accurate mirror of social structure, because by
choosing the films it attends, the audience reveals its preferences to
film studios and distributors which…passively produce and finance
films reflecting audience desires.’ Kapsis (1991)
What happens in the Confident music video reflects what happens
within the police and secret services, as it is all about finding
someone and defeating the villain.

17. Classification and Interpretation
‘genres are not simply bodies of work or groups of films…Genres do
not consist only of films: they consist also…of specific systems of
expectation…which spectators bring with them to the cinema, and
which interact with film themselves during the course of the viewing
process. These systems provide spectators with means of recognition
and understanding. They help render films, and the elements within
them, intelligible and therefore explicable.’ Steve Neale (1990)
As people are aware that Demi Lovato makes pop music, they already
have an expectation as to what will be included in the music video. If
Demi decided to make a music video with a black and white filter on a
low budget set, her audience would be confused, as this is not what
should be shown in a pop music video.

18. Ideology
Generic convention is a product of the formulaic repetition of the capitalist­
financed studio system, and can therefore only produce meanings in support
of the status quo. Genre films temporarily relieve the fears created by social
and political conflicts by offering simplistic solutions based on following
tradition. Judith Hess
As artists know what kind of style of video makes them money, they will
continue to make these kind of videos to ensure that they can continue to
make money.
The audience enjoy watching these music videos, therefore keeping music
videos as they are to conform with the conventions of particular genres, both
the audience and the artist are satisfied.