EG2: Lana Del Rey - National Anthem

ACT: Lana Del Rey
TRACK: National Anthem
YEAR: 2012
DIRECTOR: Anthony Mandler
GENRE: Trip Hop
MAIN AUDIENCE: 15+, mature teens/adolescents
LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lanadelrey/nationalanthem.html

VIDEO:


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISUALS + LYRICS:

Lana Del Rey stars as Jacqueline Kennedy and herself throughout the video, and during the song she is shown lip syncing as both characters. This creates a link between the narrative of the film and the lyrics. 

Reenactment of the Zapruder film
- after the shooting

INTERTEXTUALITY:

Signing 'Happy Birthday, Mr President'

Before the song starts, there are intertextual references from the famous video of Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President'. Lana Del Rey is singing the song in the same set up, and the film is in black and white, like the original video. In the music video itself, there are intertextual references to the president and his wife's love life, with Lana Del Rey and ASAP Rocky reenacting their relationship in various home video reenactments. There is then another reenactment of the Zapruder film at the end of the music video, when John F. Kennedy was shot. 

Reenactment of the Zapruder film -
driving before the shooting

Shot of the happy family
 together

PERFORMANCE, NARRATIVE/CONCEPT:
There is a clear narrative in this music video. Two characters (Lana Del Rey and ASAP Rocky) are portrayed as John. F Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and the footage displays a perfect, happy relationship. There are various set ups of this relationship, with shots of the family with the children and the couple on their own, until the president (Rocky/Kennedy) is shot in a car. 

Signifies the intimacy

PERFORMANCE STYLE:
There is no dancing in this video, and the only artist performance engaging with the song , aside from the narrative, is lip syncing. The footage is shot mainly in the style of home video, so the majority of the shots are slightly shaky and out of focus, but this effect works well as the video as a whole does achieve verisimilitude. The set-ups and narrative is convincing, and engages the audience as it is passionate and intimate. Close up shots are used to signify this desire to be together. 

STAR TREATMENT:
ASAP Rocky and Lana Del Rey both feature in the video as John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. ASAP Rocky stars in the video at Lana's request, which incorporates a modern element into the relationship and life of John F. Kennedy. Lana lip syncs when she is shown on screen individually and at some points when she is with Rocky/Kennedy. 

PACE:

There is no structured pace to the shots in the music video, although towards the end as the tempo of the song slows down, and in the video when the shooting occurs, the footage becomes slow motion, so the audience can feel and see the emotion and destruction. 

In the rose garden

LOCATIONS + MISE-EN-SCENE:

Wearing the blue dress hugging
 the stuffed rug

At the start when Lana is singing 'Happy Birthday', she is on a stage wearing a long sparkly dress and there is a podium with a microphone on it, like the one which Marilyn Monroe used. A crowd of men is shown, who are all wearing suits to signify their importance. There are various locations used throughout the music video itself, but the majority of shots are filmed in the garden of a large house by a lake/the sea. When Lana is shot individually lip syncing, she is either in a dark room wearing a blue dress with pearls, hugging a stuffed rug of a big cat, or is in a rose garden, wearing the same outfit.