Rihanna digipack analysis

1. Chloe Gilmour

2. Chloe Gilmour
Character: On this digipack there is a stereotypical female
representation. On the front cover there is a closeup of her
face. She is usingindirectmode of address by lookingtowards
the ground. This creates a flirtatious and somewhat
submissiveaura for the woman. This is a typical
representation of women in western pop culture. It links to
the idea of a man being the head of the family and the woman
being a home maker. Themes of lust,passion and loveare
created through the abundanceof red used on the cover. Love
is a regular theme used throughout the pop genre. However
the artistherself is very licentious and suggestivethroughout
her music and music videos.This image is reinforced on the
cover with the heavy makeup and colours used.They’re bold
and introduce an alternativeimage. However it could be
argued that she has a somewhat annoyed or angry facial
expression.This then would continue alongthe lines of a love
story however focuses on relationship breakdown which again
is a common theme for women in pop culture. On the back
cover there is a mid-shot of the artist.She is dressed
provocatively which again is a common stereotype of both hip
hop and pop music.Within this imageshe is usingdirectmode
of address and has an acrimonious expression and seems to
be glaringatthe audience. The positioningof her hands make
her seems seductiveand suggestive. In addition,on the inside
cover the artistis depicted in a white flowingdress. A white
dress is usually an icon for weddings.It has connotations of
purity and innocence, contrastingheavily with the back cover.
Again there is a profusion of red which reinforces the themes
of love, passion and lustas thefront cover did. Lastly,there is
also a representation of ethnicity. Whilepop culturetoday is
still dominated by white artists there has been an increasein
the representation of artists within an ethnic minority. Black
females areusually portrayed as strongand powerful with
artists such as Beyonceoften usingthis portrayal.However
whilethe facial expression on the back cover creates
intimidation on her parther body languagemakes her seem
submissiveand is slightly degrades her.
Narrative events:There is a stronglinear narrative
created through the digipak. Itdepicts a love/breakup
story. As stated in the character section the artisthas a
flirtatious expression on the front cover. This is signifying
the startof the relationship when the two people involved
begin to get to know each other. We then move into the
middleof the digipack where she is wearinga white dress.
This could suggest a wedding. This symbolises themiddle of
a relationship when the couple gets married to one
another. Lastly,the drastic changein representation of the
woman suggests there has been a breakup/breakdown of
the relationship.Thedigipack shows the beginning, middle
and end of a lovestory. The back cover also gives us an
insightinto what she did after the breakup and how it
affected her. Her attire and sexual nature paired with the
stage setting suggest that she could be a showgirl of some
kind.
Setting: There are several settings used throughout the
digipack.On the back cover the artistseems to be on a
stage of some sort.This strongly implies thatshe is a show
girl or dancer.There is an American flagin the background.
It could be hintingat the dark sideof America with themes
of violenceand drugs associated with strip clubs or bars.
This scene works in contrastto the middle of the digipack
which is set in a garden of roses. Whilethe bar has
connotations of rowdiness and drunken behaviour,a rose
garden would have oppositeconnotations such as loveand
romance. This is to distinguish between two different
Technical codes:On thefrontcover thereis an extremeclose
up of her face.Itcreates intimacy. Thisstickswith theidea of
her being suggestiveand flirtatious.Moreover,between the
frontand back cover thereis a shiftfromhighkey lightingto
lowkey lighting.Itshowsa shiftin toneof thestory/narrative.
Ithelps to depictthelovestory breakdown.Thelow key
lightingisalsoa nod atthedark undertones of theidea of her
beinga stagegirl.Moreover,thetypographyused issubtleand
sophisticated.Itis aimed atan olderaudience.Italso doesn’t
deter the attention fromher facethereforekeepingthefocus
on the narrative.Thisisalso thereason thatthetitleof the
albumisin theweak fallowarea and terminal area. In the
readinggravity theartistfaceismostprominent.This
introducesusto her character.Furthermore,thesoftfocus
makes theimageseemgentler and moreromantic. On the
frontcover thenameof the artistiswritten in theprimary
optical area and thestrongfallowarea.Thisisbecausethe
audiencewill recognisethenamefirstwhich allowsfansto
becomeinterested.In theweak fallowarethenameof the
albumispresent.Thisisbecausethename of the album
doesn’tsell it,theartistimage(whichisinthereadinggravity)
and theartistname,do sell it,thereforethey arein themost
prominentareas.
Rihanna:LOUD the genre for this albumis a subgenre of pop
music with elements of hip hop incorporated throughout. The
albumwas released on 12th November 2010
Iconography: There is a strongcontrast betweenthe front cover
and the inside cover withthe backcover. On the front cover we
see the artist withbright redhair. While the redadds to the
themes oflove and lust withinthe front andmiddle cover, having
her hair dyedis alsoseenas unique andalternative. Rihanna as
an artist is notorious for breakingthe rules of what we as a
societyview as a popstar. Dying your hair anunnatural colour
was in the past associatedwith fans of the rock/punkgenre. It is
implying that she herselfis ‘edgy’ and is part of a genre that isn’t
associatedwith her ownmusic, therefore appealing to more
people. This is alsocoupledwith the red lipstickwhichalso
reinforces the themesof passion, love andlust. Moreover, roses
are present onthe inside cover. Traditionallyroses are givenas a
symbol of love andcompassion. However, the thorns onthe rose
could symbolise what it to become of the relationship, that us as
an audience assume she is in. Thorns have beenusedinstories
such as ‘SleepingBeauty’ to stoplove from taking place. That
could be the case here. It createsa narrative enigma for the
theoretical relationship. The rosescouldbe a metaphor for a
relationshipthat isn’t allowed to work. Inaddition, on the inside
cover she is alsowearing a white dress. Traditionallya bride is
expectedto wear a white dress. White hasconnotations of
purity. It shows her as she is during the relationship:faithful and
innocent. The black clothing she is wearing onthe backcover
works incontrast to it. When someone is voidof love or lack
compassionit is referred to as having ‘a blackheart’. The black
clothingshe is wearing couldbe a projectionof her emotions.
The iconographyof the flag inthe background andthe redhair
creates a binaryoppositionof rebellionandpatriotism. Dying
your hair a colour suchas hers is unnatural andis frownedupon
in bysome institutions and people; while being patriotic is seen
as noble.