“Born To Die (Music Video)”, Lana Del Rey – Video Analysis

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Artist: See – LISTEN: Artist: Lana Del Rey is an American alternative singer-songwriter. She is best known for her cinematic sound, distinguishable voice, and her American patriotism. Lana has sold several million albums and singles world wide and is undeniably the most captivating and successful female indie artists of the past decade. Her latest full-length, “Ultraviolence” debuted at […]

“Black Beauty”, Lana Del Rey – Lyrical Analysis

https://robbiebaker.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/black-beauty-lana-del-rey-lyrical-analysis/

Music Video: “Born To Die”

SCENE 1:

We first see Lana clutching onto a man (her lover) in front of an American flag. Both are shirtless. This resembles how comfortable the two are with on another. They are completely open with one another and hide nothing. This could also stand for the vulnerability that both people have acquired since they fell in love.

At 0:17, the camera slowly pans over the beautiful marble ceilings of a church. We see Lana sitting alone in a throne at the alter. This tells us that Lana is in heaven. She has died and left the earth. Many Christians believe that if we die and go to heaven, we will be gifted our own mansion. On both sides of her, sit poised tigers. The tigers are guarding Lana in order to keep her safe. This tells us that she left earth tragically and that she doesn’t want anything or anyone else hurting her. Lana is draped in white, which resembles purity.

At 0:38, Lana seems to be recalling a memory as she sings the words “My heart breaks every step that I take. But I’m hoping at them gates, they’ll tell me that you’re mine.” She has been hurt by someone, but she still loves that person and wants to be with them.

At 0:45, Lana looks down as she thinks about her time spent on earth, particularly the time spent with one particular man.
We’re taking to a flashback of Lana’s past. Lana and her lover look as if they are seeing each other for the first time in awhile. Lana must’ve been away somewhere and her lover was waiting for her return.

Lana and her lover begin to make love inside the man’s car. They look happy to be with one another again.

However, at 1:14 we see the man pull away from Lana to light a cigarette. Lana looks at him with disappointment. It’s safe to say that these two have had a rough past. Lana’s lover struggled with addiction and always put the addiction (specifically that of smoking) before Lana, which upset her. It seems that Lana was hoping time could save they’re relationship. Sadly, her lover is the same man he was before she left. 😦

At 1:24, Lana’s lover pulls the cigarette from his mouth and sets it on her lips. Her face expresses discontentment, but she seems to be “going with the flow” because she doesn’t want to ruin the moment.

At 1:40, Lana’s lover holds his fingers, which are shaped like a pistol, to her head and pushes them away as if he has just shot her. This paints a clearer picture of the man’s insanity and also signals what is to come later on the video.

As the next couple seconds of the video roll on, Lana’s lover becomes more aggressive with his love-making. He grabs Lana’s face and even when she pulls away in objection, he continues to handle her with strong crudity.

At 1:51, Lana whispers into her lover’s ear, “We were born to die”. This tells us that Lana sees no future in the current relationship. She knows him and her were not meant to be.

SCENE 2:

Next, we see Lana back in her heavenly mansion, lying alone on a bed scattered with flowers. Her face is gleamed with disgust as she recalls old memories of her lover. At 1:59, her lover even appears on the bed next to her, stroking her arm. However, this is only a hallucination Lana is having. It almost seems as if this man’s love is once again tempting her. Although she is as far away from this man as she could possibly be, she still longs for his touch, even though it often hurt.

At 2:16, Lana is leaning against a door. Behind her is a dark room. When a light shines into the room, we see a hallucination of Lana’s lover. He moves his hand across his neck, which is a symbol of death. The memory of this man is haunting Lana. Both the good and the bad.

Next, we are again taken to the past. Lana and her lover are now cruising down a dark road inside the car. The two are no longer talking. They both seem angry. Lana looks out the fogging window with sad eyes. You can tell by her face that she is not happy.

At 2:43, we see the car pick up speed. The camera pans over the man’s face as he looks on with determination. Keep in mind, this man is insane.

Throughout this driving scene, Lana and her lover exchange looks. Whenever Lana is greeted by the eyes of her man, she looks away. She feels uncomfortable with him.

At 3:06, Lana’s lover takes both his hand’s off the steering wheel and grabs Lana’s neck to kiss her again.
This is when we are taken back to Lana’s mansion in heaven. We are not allowed to see what exactly happens to the car next.

The camera once again pans over the mansion ceilings, only this time they are darkened with a black shadow. This signifies death.

Lana takes a journey around her mansion. She sees a door with a bright light shining through it and begins to creep toward it. This is Lana walking away from her dark past, even though it is very hard for her. She is allowing herself to be freed from all the awful memories of her life on earth.

Finally, at 4:11, Lana opens up the door and is greeted with an area of powerful white lights. She walks into the light, which signifies salvation and rebirth. She has moved on. She is a new woman.

At 4:13, we are taken to the past one last time. Lana’s lover is holding Lana’s dead body which is splattered in blood. Behind them is the wreckage of their car, burning in hot flames. The man killed Lana. We are not certain if it was done on purpose out of anger or if it was done out of carelessness. Regardless, this is why Lana had so much trouble forgetting this man. He was the man that gave her life, but also the one who took her life. Thankfully, the video shows us that she moved past it.

Conclusion: To summarize things, the purpose of this video is to tell us that we have the power to move passed the haunting memories of our past. Lana believes that, regardless of what bad may come on this planet, we will be redeemed after we die and no pain we endured on earth will affect us. Lana in an interview also described this song as being about “living life in pain with fleeting moments of happiness.” Ultimately, even if you’re in deep pain, there are still things to be enjoyed. But be sure to except the death of things that were “born to die”.