This document analyzes the representation of women in Lana Del Rey's music video for "National Anthem". It discusses how women are portrayed as sexual objects through close-ups and suggestive shots. They are also presented as feminine through depictions of traditional femininity like flowers and cooking. Additionally, women are shown as motherly figures, though these depictions are still sexualized. The video depicts women as dependent on men through body language and lyrics. Overall, the document analyzes how the video uses imagery and lyrics to represent women through a male gaze.

1. Representation of women in
Lana Del Rey – National Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxDdEPED0

2. Intertextual References
• The beginning of the video for National
Anthem is intertextually referencing Marilyn
Monroe singing “Happy Birthday Mr.President”
by Lana singing the song, wearing a similar
dress and by the video beginning in black and
white. This is a representation of women in
this video being feminine and sexual figures, as
that’s what was often associated with Marilyn
Monroe. It also highlights the representation
of women in the past, and compares it to the
now once the video progresses to after her
singing Happy Birthday Mr. President.
• There is also an intertextual reference to the
assassination of JFK as the President is shot at
the end of the video

3. Women presented as sexual objects
• There are a range of close ups during the video, specifically
of Lana. This creates a sense of to-be-looked-at-ness, as it
gives the viewers pleasure from looking. At other points,
there are also close ups of different parts of her body, for
example shots of her legs whilst she’s wearing a short
dress.
• Not only this, but the video consists of other shots which
sexualise women in this video, specifically Lana Del Rey.
Firstly, there is a long shot of her laying down with a
seductive emotion and wearing a short dress, following the
theory of the male gaze by focusing on her legs.
• There is another shot of the President groping her, which is
used to represent their love but initially presents women as
sexual objects more so.

4. Women presented as sexual objects
• When Lana and the President are shown dancing, it starts
off with her crouched down and him standing up, which
presents the sexual objectification of women and suggests
the sexual relationship between the two in this video. Also,
the next clip of them dancing shows her in front and him
behind her with his hands on her body, suggesting the
sexual relationship between the two again.
• Fashion plays a major role in sexualising women in the
video as all of the women who are in it wear short dresses,
and most of them are low cut. Not only this, but the
women are also dancing in the scenes that others are
presented, which sexualises them in a similar way that it
would in a rap/hip-hop video: short skirts, cleavage and
dancing.

5. Women as sexual objects

6. Women presented as feminine
• Close ups are also used to present women's femininity, portrayed in
the part of the video when Lana is in a field of flowers and there is a
close up of her face and she is putting a flower towards her face to
smell it, which creates the sense of femininity as flowers are seen
as feminine and girly rather than masculine.
• Housework/cooking is stereotypically a “womans job”, and in the
video it shows a mid shot of Lana making food which could be seen
as feminine in this sense. However, although the feminine side is
represented it also portrays, again, the sexual side of the
representation of women through the theory of the emotions of
men and women: Lana’s emotion being seductive, smoking and
wearing a low cut dress.
• Fashion presents women as feminine in the video as all of the
women that are featured in it are wearing low cut and short
dresses, and Lana Del Rey wears heels which are all gender specific
and feminine.

7. Women as feminine

8. Women presented as motherly figures
• Women are not only presented sexually and feminine in
this video, but also as motherly figures as part of the
narrative is Lana Del Rey as a mother, shown by multiple
shots of her, the president and their children looking as if
they are having a picnic and close ups of her posing with
her children. All of the people involved in these shots are
smiling, especially Lana who’s emotion is portrayed as
“super-smiler”. However whilst this part of the video is
going on, women are still sexualised at the same time, as
the presidents hand is still on Lana’s leg and they kiss
infront of the children, both sharing the emotion of
“seduction”, a typical emotion presented in media pieces
held by both men and women.

9. Women as motherly figures

10. Women presented as dependent
• Throughout the video there are signs of love from both Lana and the
President, but when they are on the boat it shows this more from Lana’s
side. The President is just sitting there, and Lana is curled up and has her
head on his chest, and is looking up at him lovingly. This presents women
not only as loving, but also dependent, as she’s the one who is resting on
him, whereas he doesn’t feel the need to rest on her, presenting men
oppositely as independent.
• There is a close up when they are walking across the beach where they
are holding hands, and the President has his hand out normally and has
no grip of her hand, whereas she has a grip of his palm and a couple of his
fingers, making her seem the one who’s more involved and dependent in
the relationship.
• The lyrics to another section are “dark and lonely, I need somebody to
hold me”, and it is a close up of Lana singing but also looking sad. This
presents women as dependent as she says “need” rather than “want”,
and the fact she looks sad about not having someone.

11. Women as dependent

12. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
• The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals present women
as having less power than men but also sexualises them at the
same time. When she sings “everybody knows that it’s a fact, kiss,
kiss” Lana and the President kiss. The President holds her face and
she leans in, almost obediently, presenting that women have less
power than men. It also plays the role of sexualising women
because the whole video has focused on Lana through the male
gaze and this kiss is presented to be seductive.
• The lyrics are: “it’s a love story for the new age”, and the visuals are
them in a car: Lana wearing old fashioned sunglasses and a scarf
around the back of her head, hugging him whilst he drives. This
shows a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, because it
shows the love between them, but it also creates a juxtaposition
because it says “new age” but the pair are presented in an old
fashioned way, showing again the representation of women in the
past.