The document analyzes the album cover and packaging of Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die" album through the lenses of narrative, setting, technical codes, and iconography. It notes that the album cover features only Lana Del Rey with a vintage, classy appearance. The setting is plain to draw attention to Lana and a vintage car in the background. Technical elements include large bold text and primary colors of red, white, and blue evoking the American flag. Iconography includes roses representing love and the vintage style connecting to Lana's genre blending modern pop with retro influences.

1. Characters and Narrative events
On the front cover of Lana del Rey’s ‘Born to die’ album cover, there is only one character which is Lana
herself. She is directly addressing the camera and the effectively the audience, which gives off a powerful
and stern vibe from Lana. Her simple yet effective image gives her a classy look due to the way her hair is
style, makeup and the piece of clothing we can see, this allows her ‘pop’ label of genre to be questioned
as this cover suggests she’s an indie artist as much isn’t going on within the mise en scene whereas with
a pop artist, their front cover is usually technologically enhanced with a computerised feel to the image
and the overall album. However, there is a slight element of hyper reality as her face has been airbrushed
and this is clear due to her flawless and dewy looking skin. Additionally, the outline around her hair looks
too pristine whether this has been touched up in Photoshop in unclear or whether a lot of hairspray was
used to avoid flyaways, the overall image of Lana looks hyper real but as is every artists front cover of an
album. Her placid and innocent expression could indicate a contradiction with the album title ‘Born to die’,
as she could possibly be waiting for the moment of her death to become apparent. Narrative isn’t
specifically applicable to this image as the image doesn’t necessarily tell a story about the artist, apart
from the fact that she has a vintage vibe and approach to the music itself. An element of vintage is
present as she is wearing classy clothing and her makeup is classy due to the simple makeup yet
including a red lipstick which adds a slight edge to the album and eventually the music, as the way Lana
sings and performs is rather 1960’s as it is very much spoken word. The vintage aspect is continued
through the mise en scene as a vintage and retro car is placed just out of camera shot, but what is viable
it suggest the car is dated. Due to the vintage look of the album cover, it sets her out to be separate from
other artists and follow the lead of more indie artists that cater to a niche audience, such as Florence
Welsh and Marina and the Diamonds.
Setting
The setting of the front
album cover looks plain
which could be the reason
why it has been chosen as
the main element that stands
out is Lana, secondly looking
at the background and the
vintage car which connotes
to her genre. The boldness
of the blue sky allows the
text to stand out against the
blue sky and the white cloud
behind it; however the blue
shade could have been
enhanced using the
brightness and contrast to
enable the text to stand out.
The colour of the sky has
been used again as the
colour for the title album and
is one of the main colours of
the overall album.
Technical codes
The text is large and spread
across the top of the front
cover, in bold capital letters
and it stands out form the
background, allowing it
protrude through the
background and creating an
impact. The text is seen as
informal as it is spaced out
and taking up quite a bit of
area space on the album
cover which grabs the
audience’s attention.
However, the text for the
album title is smaller and
has been made to fit where
the area on Lana, where
the background is white, yet
again allowing the text to
stand out but also
reinforcing the use of the 3
main colours. The main
colours of the album or
digipak are red, white and
blue as seen on the front
cover and throughout the
album, this could be to
show her national identity
and be patriotic to her
country, as the American
flag is also featured in one
of her videos, called ‘Born
to die’ as is the album.
There is high key lighting to
highlight Lana’s features,
making her appear youthful.
Iconography
The most obvious iconography used on
the front cover would be the vintage look
and this would appeal to consumers who
enjoy this style of music yet with a more
modern aspect to it, as she is also labelled
as a pop artist. Her overall appearance is
rather vintage with her makeup done so
plainly, the way her hair is styled and her
clothing, giving off a classy feel yet some
of her songs can be risqué and rather pop
like considering the content, causing a
binary opposition. Regarding the colour
scheme for the album, it is clear to see
there is some iconography with the
American flag as there is evidence of this
on the front cover, with the white text and
top, blue sky and blue text and red lipstick.
Red could suggest love, lust and passion
also.

2. Iconography
Iconography is present within the
mise en scene of the ‘Born to die’
CD, as rose suggest love and
passion and you usually give a
rose to someone that means a lot
to you which could suggest that by
having roses on the CD, it is an
indication of how she cares deeply
for her fans and sees a CD as a
present to them. The continuous
colour of red is also used again to
show her passion towards her
country, being patriotic as two of
the three main colours on the flag
and her album are present on the
CD itself. The red roses represent
love and lust which are also
presented through her lyrics of her
songs.
Technical codes
On the CD, there is no text or
any title showing that the plain
appearance of the CD may not
correspond with the tracks one
the CD. The fact red roses are
apparent on the CD relates
back to the title of the album
as some people have roses at
their funerals.

3. Iconography
Iconography is displayed again with reference
to the American flag with the blue and white.
Linking in with the American flag, a few songs
reference to her patriotic sense of her overall
album, such as ‘National Anthem’ and ‘Million
Dollar Man’. On her other album ‘The
Paradise Edition’, similar to the ‘Born to die’
apart from having 2 disks and an alternative
CD appearance, the back cover is more
contrasting in colours suggesting a more x
rated version of her album and songs due to
the songs featured especially ‘Cola’ in which
she expresses some sensitive issues, whilst
this album is more pure and innocent.
Technical codes
The text is the same font and colour
as the text on the front cover, making
it iconic to the album and Lana del
Rey. The text is the same proximity
of the text on the front cover, again
suggesting an informal approach to
the appearance of the album and to
her attitude to music. Her title of the
album is also the first song featured
on the album, and with the text being
blue it indicates how when you die
you arrive in heaven which is
supposedly situated in the sky. An
element of simplicity airs within the
back cover of the album, keeping
everything to the bare minimum with
no images within just the track list
visible as well as the institutional
information at the bottom.