1. Lana Del Rey:Born to die
Character- On the Lana Del Rey – Born to Die albumcoverit becomesclear
whothe main ‘character’of the albumcoveris,and that isLana herself.She is
representative of the female gender;she fullyconformstothe stereotypeof
female glamoroussingers.She isheavilymade upwithredlips,pinkeye
shadowandher hairflowingdowneachside of herface but leavingherface
free of hair,suggestingrawnessandasense of truth withinthe album, which
actuallyrelatestothe albumitself.
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
knowthe meaningof the albumas Rihannaisgivingindirectaddresstothe audience creatingthe ideaof
innocence’s,mystery.
Iconography- The makeupalludestohow she isstill conformingtoPop’sgenre of typical heavymade up
characters.Her redishhairgivesanindicationtohow she is slightlydifferenttomostartistsinthe
industrycurrentlyandhowhermusicis differenttothatof todays.Herfacial expressiongivesoff avibe
of anger,andattitude as she looksasthoughshe is pouting,suggestinganunhappiness.Her costume
alsoalludestohergenre butjuxtaposesherstyle andmeaningof songs.The white blouse she hason
has connotationsof purenessandsuggestsatraditionalisttheme whichagainopposesthe songsonher
album.One couldargue she is wearingthisto paypastiche to MarilynMonroe,the ideaof white andred
lipsandbecause Monroe alsohad fame inLA, itwouldmake sense.
Setting- The settingof the image isquite plaincreatingthe ideatheywanttofocuson the main
character Lana. Lookingclosely atthe backgroundyouare able tosee a vintage car whichconnotesto
herpop genre andthe blue skywhichhasprobablybeenedittolookmore vibrantmakes herstandout
againstthe blue sky.Andthe title albumhasbeenwritteninablue similarcolourtothe skyto stand out
on artistwhite blouse andalsocreatesthe ideaof purityforthe albumas the artist isveryyouthful and
flawless.
Technical andaudiocodes- The lightingof the albumcoveris quite natural and washedout,suggestinga
sense of vintage style,whichagain,Del Reycarriesinhermusic.WithherinfluencessuchasMarilyn
Monroe especiallywell showninhercostume andmakeup.Herbodylanguage suggestsconfidence,she
2. looksdirectlyintothe cameraandis pouting,hershouldersaren’tslouched,and she isshownasa
strongwomancreatingideaof independencesasthe whole ideaof the able issetinthe 1960s.
In termsof the Guttenbergdesignprinciple,itisclearthatthe primaryoptical area isoccupiedbyher
name inhuge white letters,almostlikecitylights,possiblyhintingatwhere she’sfromadding
iconographytothe album.Del Rey’sheadslightlycovershername,reinforcingthe ideaof the ideathat
it ispersonal. AsLana Del Reyis basedinLA it’ssafe to saythisalbumpresentsthatinthe ideaof
location,asthere ispalmtreeson eitherside of hercreatingsymmetry,there isalsowhatlookslikea
retail park suggestingasense of roughside of HollywoodglamourthatDel Reycertainlypresentsinher
music,alsosuggestingthe ideahowharditis to getthat industrycreatingof ideaof wealthandluxury
whichissimilartothe style of her music.The rule of thirdsis reallyobviouslypresentedonthisalbum
cover,as Lana is inthe centre of the coveroccupying the primaryoptical area,meaningshe isthe
subjectandthe ‘background’issurroundingherratherthanovertakingher.
