reflect on 9 essays !

Marian 2

Hayley Marian

Professor Amanda Harrison

Queer Studies 115

14 October 2014

Rough Draft Essay #2 (title to be determined)

“If you really do want to analyze me, if that’s maybe something you’re interested in, let me tell you my story and you can look at that.” The New York native known to the public as Lana Del Rey is famous for her signature bad-girl persona, however, several of her songs and music videos indicate that there may be another side to the singer, a side that seems to struggle with the realities of a fall from grace, as depicted in the “Summertime Sadness” music video. The music video for Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness” is one of several quiet moments that the artist has taken to contradict her usual bad-girl image, using visual and lyrical symbolism to convey and perhaps mourn the theme of a loss of innocence.

Unlike a lot of record-label-created artists, Lana Del Rey contributes personally to revealing songs. The artist does not intend to hide any feeling or experiences that the singer has had. With this being true, to properly analyze this music video it is important to factor in the artists past, music, and overall image. Lana Del Rey is an artist known for her carefully manicured bad-girl image and this combined with a unique sound has brought the indie-crooner into the mainstream, however, this image is not squeaky-clean. Del Rey’s music is filled with references to drugs, alcohol, sex, profanity, and other explicit themes that have become heavily associated with the artist and her lifestyle. Perhaps this profanity-free music video was created to be more innocent in subject mater and language than her other songs as an intentional metaphor for the loss of innocence that she, herself as well as her music have experienced as they have evolved.

The visual symbolism in the “Summertime Sadness” music video illustrates the underlying theme of a fall from grace, both literally and metaphorically. Lana Del Rey’s character is show in all white, literally falling off of a cliff, creating the imagery of a fallen angel. Her character is then show in completely in white throughout the video, introducing the idea that she had killed herself and is now an angel, reflecting on her life as if she were a witness. Lana Del Rey’s angelic-self juxtaposed in white against the red dress of her previously living self watches as this character, portrayed by Jaime King, transitions from youthful and ambitious to mournful and sad, as her ambitions are crushed with the passage of time and the loss of innocence that comes with it. This angel-like depiction of Lana Del Rey’s character alludes to another major motif that supports the theme of a loss of innocence: religion. Specifically, the imagery of a crucifix and Lana Del Rey’s character similarly positioned is used in the music video to convey a metaphor for the inevitable loss of innocence that all must face when becoming who they are meant to be in their life, alluding to the Christian belief in a Jewish carpenter who was born blameless with his fate to die already decided. This realization is shown in the eyes of Jaime King’s character as stares ahead, wide-eyed and ambitiously driving forward, only to become increasingly aware and upset by the presence of her heavenly self, portrayed by Lana Del Rey. This break, or loss of innocence, is visually represented by the shattering of a glass as it plummets to the floor, simultaneously symbolizing the suicide of both characters in the video.

When analyzing the music video for “Summertime Sadness”, it is evident that two different encounters of a loss of innocence are being told. The first story is told visually through the actresses, costumes, sets and scenes depicted; the second story is told lyrically, through Lana Del Rey’s signature melancholy vocal styling’s. The lyrical symbolism used to tell both stories in the music video prove to be just as important as the visual aspects used to do the same thing. The summertime is often associated with the sentiments of youthfulness and innocence or being carefree and happy, “I’m on fire, nothing scares me anymore”, but like all seasons, summer must always come to an end, just as youthfulness does. This realization that all things must come to an end is a loss of innocence in itself, as depicted in the lyrics of acceptance, “kiss me hard before you go, summertime sadness/I just wanted you to know that, baby, you were the best”. These words ring as a farewell to the parts of ourselves that get lost in the process of losing our innocence, the parts of ourselves that are left behind but not forgotten.

Unfortunately, Lana Del Rey’s picture-perfect life in the public eye and rapid shot to stardom have lead a lot of people to discredit her as a legitimate artist, claiming that she is a carefully constructed product of the record label industry. The artist known today as Lana Del Rey began her career as Lizzy Grant, a blonde metaphysics student studying at Fordham University who wrote songs and occasionally performed around New York. However, by 2007 the girl-next-door Lizzy Grant and any trace of her existence as an artist had been buried by the new label of the woman who would become the icon that is Lana Del Rey. Del Rey is a mysterious maven whose slow-motion musical demeanor, raw lyrical vocabulary and vintage aesthetic created an instant draw to the soft-grunge obsessed Youtube generation. In a recent article, journalist Kelsey McKinney analyzes Del Rey’s success, summarizing the transition from student-to-celebrity by writing that, “after throwing out Lizzy Grant's persona, Lana Del Rey dyed her hair brown, upped her old Hollywood look, and became a sensation… Her videos were lavishly produced, over-the-top, and completely eccentric. Her voice got deeper, her mouth became poutier, and she added as much confidence as eyeliner,”. It is no secret that artists are asked to change significantly when signed to major labels, however, Lana Del Rey defends her credibility as an artist in an interview with the New York Times, stating that, “everything that I write is so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis,”. Although it is important to separate the artists from their art, Lana Del Rey wishes to be taken in as a whole and seems to not indulge the idea that she is less of an artist just because she changed her name.

The music video for “Summertime Sadness” is a visual masterpiece that illustrates a tragic story about the loss of innocence in an innovative and compelling way, using visual as well as lyrical symbolism. This loss of innocence is a reflection of the innocence that performer Lana Del Rey harnessed in crafting the song, comparing significantly to the harsher, more explicit nature of most of her other hits. It is difficult to create a quality piece of art in the short amount of time that music videos allow, however, Lana Del Rey and the creative team behind the music video for “Summertime Sadness” achieve this with ease. The depth of this music video and song alone are proof that Lana Del Rey, not Lizzy Grant, has earned the privilege to be respected by critics as an artist and by fans as an icon, showing that the loss of innocence is not always a loss.