LANA DEL REY – BORN TO DIE

Ruba Islam

o The music video begins with a mid-shot of Lana Del Rey in the arms of a man, in front of the American flag. This illustrates to the audience that they are in a relationship.

o The next shot is inside a palace, a slow pan is used in this shot to capture the intricate details and architecture of the building. This is effective for the audience as it draws their attention to the setting before the song has even begun.

o This is then followed by a long-shot of Lana sitting on a throne implying that she is royalty. She is dressed in long white gown with two tigers on either side of her. This demonstrates her authority and her royalty as it seems like they are there for her protection, therefore she must be in control of them. Close-up shots of her face are also used in this scene, in order for the audience to recognize the artist in particular Lana’s indie image as this references the genre of her music also.

o The next scene is a direct contrast to the last as we are shown a long-shot of Lana walking, dressed in casual clothing (White leather jacket, denim shots and red converses). In this shot we also see the same man as earlier, who is waiting for her beside his car. There is a link between the music and visuals in this scene as the lyrics are “walking through the city streets”, and the visuals show her walking, to meet her lover.

o The next few shots are very intimate as we see Lana and her lover kissing passionately against the car. The low-key lighting also adds to the romantic element of the scene and we can clearly see that they are young and in love through the close-up shots of them kissing. There are also close-ups used which show Lana smoking which link to the lyrics “getting high”.

o We get the sense of a narrative in this music video as it seems as though a story is about to unfold. This is because it cuts back to long shots of Lana singing in the palace. Illustrating that these are flashbacks of prior events in her life.

o The story at this point changes from being romantic to becoming tense. For example it cuts from close-up shots of them kissing inside the car, to long-shots of them standing near, this is when we witness him becoming abusive as he hits her on the head and forces her to kiss him by grasping her jaw.

o The change within the storyline links to the lyrics as she sings the line “sometimes love is not enough, and the road gets tough I don’t know why” referring to the fact that she is now in an abusive relationship. This contrasts with earlier lyrics “Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you’re mine?”

o The setting then changes once again and we are shown a mid-shots of Lana lying on a bed dressed in a white silk nightie with her lover laying next to her. She has her back turned to him suggesting that she wants to hide that she is upset or in pain, whilst he strokes her arm, and holds her neck in a strangling motion. This suggests that he has control over their relationship. This makes the audience feel sympathy towards her as she is portrayed like a victim who is trapped in an abusive relationship.

o This idea of feeling trapped is reinforced as we are shown a close-up of Lana looking up, out of a window whilst she is in a car with her lover who is driving.

o The song ends tragically as we are shown a shot of her lover carrying her dead body, implying that they may have been in a car accident as there are flames behind him. This can also be interpreted differently as previously we see Lana entering through a beam of light (possibly heaven?) so the use of flames and the fact that she dies, could be her lovers version of hell as he no longer has dominance over her if she is dead.