1. Lana Del Rey:Born to die
Character- On the Lana Del Rey – Born to Die albumcoverit becomesclear
whothe main character is of the albumscoveris and that isLana herself.She is
representative of the female gender;the artistfully adaptstothe stereotypical
viewof female artistsof beingglamourousdue tothe use of make-upand
clothingwornbythe artistto make herappear flawless. The make-upwornby
the artist consistsonred lips,flawlesslooking skinandherhairstyledto
perfectionlikeHollywoodglamactresses,suggeststhe ideaof innocence anda
sense of truthwithinthe album.
Narrative events- The meaningbehindthe albumfocusesonthe ideaonlove
and heartbreak. There seemstobe anarrative to the digipackasinside the
albumsartworksuggestsa 50-60’s storyline asthe albumartworkcontains
roseswhichsymbolizeslove,passionandpossiblysexuality,whichwill create a
sex appeal towardstoa male audience due tothe artistphysicalityasshe is
lookingseductive lookingdirectlyintothe camera.Howevermanysongsonthe
albumwrittenbythe artistare not so innocentsuchas National anthemand
Dark paradise whichiscomplete opposite towhatthe albumsuggeststothe
audience.Neverthelessmostof the songsrelate tothe theme of love andalso
heartbreak.A narrative enigmaiscreatedtoattract audiencesastheywantto know the meaningof the
albumas Rihannaisgivingindirectaddresstothe audience creatingthe ideaof innocence’s,mystery.
Iconography:the iconographyusedforthe digi pakismainlythe rosesusedonthe CD coverand the
settingof the image usedforthe album. Rosessymbolizeinnocence,love,honour,faith,beauty,
passion,wisdom, intrigue,devotion,sensuality,timelessness thisrelatestothe conceptof hersongs
such as summertime sadnessandborntodie aboutlove and life makingthe albumseemmore
meaningful tothe artist.The LA settingof the albumrelatestoher obsessionof oldHollywoodmaking
the albummore personal tothe artist.
Setting- The settingof the image isquite plaincreatingthe ideatheywanttofocuson the main
character Lana. Lookingcloselyatthe backgroundyouare able tosee a vintage car whichconnotesto
herpop genre andthe blue skywhichhasprobablybeenedittolookmore vibrantmakes herstandout
againstthe blue sky due to herwhite blouse.The title of albumhasbeenwritten inablue similarcolour
as the sky andappliedtothe artist clothingmakingthe fontmore boldlinkingtothe name of the name
‘bornto die’as the boldtitle andsongtitle contrastto the blue connation’sof happinessandnature to
somethingquite darkandmeaningfull.The settingof the albumcoverappearstobe an oldtrailerpark
inLA as the metal fencinginthe backgroundappearancestobe rustyand oldlinkingtothe conceptof
inspirationfromthe 50’sand 60’s butalsosuggeststo audienceshow she’soutof place due toherstyle
of clothingasshe lookstoglamourousto beinglivinginatrailerpark,thissuggestshow she very
differenttothe people inthe musicindustryandpossible outof place due herstyle of music.
2. Technical andaudiocodes- The lightingof the albumcoveris quite natural and washedout,suggestinga
sense of vintage style,whichagain,Del Rey carriesinhermusic.Hermain influenceswere Marilyn
Monroe and oldHollywoodartist,due herstyle whichinfluencesher costume andmakeup.Herbody
language suggests ideaof confidencesandindependences, asthe artistgivesdirectseye contactinto
the camera createsa sense of beingstrongwilled,strongmindedasherphysicalityestablishesthatshe
as a strong womancreatingthe ideaof the artist challengingthe stereotypical view of womenof being
independent.
