Updated

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, which could represent Lana and the female gender as being strict and slightly
demanding. 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.
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.
The setting could connote a
working class background
due to the run down car in
the background due to the
paint being chipped and the
fence being on par with
Lana’s shoulders.
Additionally, the ‘Born to Die’
titled paired with the working
class background, could
suggest that the destiny of
the working class is to
struggle and die essentially.
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. Although minimal font on the
CD, the overall font layout is bold and eye catching to
entice the audience as it takes up the spaces, which
suggests that the music titles and the music itself
consumes most of her time and her life. The typical area
that your eyes concentrate is first is the primary optical
area, however the first image is placed in the middle of the
primary optical area and strong fallow are with a large
image placed in the strong fallow area. Another rose is
placed in the weak fallow area which keeps the eyes
focused and busy, this CD design doesn’t follow the
principle precisely but follows the ideas in some sense.

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.