Born to Die – An Esoteric Analysis

Born to Die – An Esoteric Analysis

We all know Lana Del Rey by now. Her recent epic short film cum music video Tropica has again brought relevance to the young songstress. She’s a strange one this Lana. Her music is significantly not mainstream yet she seems to bask in the fame glory her more pop sounding counterparts share. It makes sense to think Lana Del Rey was thrust into the spotlight for all to see. So it was Born to Die that announced Lana to the world (yes she did Video Games before but Born to Die sealed the deal for her as a new artist). The reason I’m writing this article based on a song that is over a year old is primarily because I always found it strange that no one has ever written a full article on it. It’s a very disturbing music video that metaphorically shows us how Lana was ‘sacrificed’ and initiated as the next big star. So let’s take a trip back in time and analyze just what Lana’s first big hit Born to Die was all about.

We start with Lana in the arms of a tattooed man, both against the backdrop of the American flag. She sports a very strange stare at the camera. Who the man is and why Lana is staring this way will be addressed later. All we need to know for now is Lana Del Rey is being presented to the world as the next American talent.

This intro is followed by Lana sitting in a throne flanked by two tigers in a regal, church-like setting. In fact this scene was shot in a real palace – the Chateau Fontainebleau. Her appearance here is very similar to that of the high priestess tarot card and the Virgin Mary. Both figures represent the feminine divine power so here Lana is supposed to be some representation of both purity (white dress, flowers) and power (she’s on a throne). But questions still arise. Why is she so sad? And what about the tigers? Quite simply the tigers represent power. Lana is trapped in a situation where there are powerful forces that surround her (control her actions) and this makes her disposition one of melancholy. Three things to note from here are;
1. This scene will be inter-cut throughout the video.
2. The color of Lana’s clothing. She’s mostly in white. This off course represents her innocence. The only time she’s partially in red is during the car scenes where she behaves ‘lustfully’. She’s also covered in blood after her death. And well she’s naked at the start and end.
3. The lighting. Light and dark feature heavily in this video. In almost every scene you’re sure to find light and shadows moving across the screen. Pay close attention to this. Thematically you might say Born to Die is Lana Del Rey ‘coming into the light’. But more on that later.

Next we see her run into the arms of the tattooed guy. The courtyard they are in has a macabre atmosphere around it. It’s a very Eyes Wide Shut-esque setting. The statues that lurch in the darkness, the way the courtyard is lit, it’s not a ‘Billy and Sally romp in the grass’ this date. This tattooed guy is definitely bad news.

The tattooed guy lights up a joint. Lana partakes. The scene is intercut between tattooed guy basically abusing Lana, forcing her to make love to him and Lana kissing him passionately in the car. The message is clear – the only way this guy gets Lana’s affection is when she’s inebriated. Lana is basically a sex slave and tattooed guy represents her handler. She, like many MK Ultra victims, are brainwashed and abused. Notice again how the scene is lit (light and shadow interplay across the screen).

Cut to bedroom. Lana is in bed. She seems disturbed. With the passing of a shadow tattooed guy shows up next to her. He strokes her contemptuously. This is not about love between them. It’s all about him trying to control Lana. Hands around her neck. The ‘you’re dead’ sign. Disturbing indeed.

After their little escapade, they’re in the car again, driving along the road. Lana looks longingly through the frosted glass. She doesn’t want to be here. But with menace in his eyes, tattooed guy’s ploughing the car onward into the night. Lana is afraid.

We’re back in the palace now. Shadows and light flirt with each other. Lana walks toward a door where it seems the light is guiding her. Her demeanor is of someone in a trance like daze. The door opens and she’s bathed in light. Isn’t it ironic that this is almost parallel with the previous scene? The car is heading straight into the black night ahead, Lana walks straight into the light that’s ahead of her.

Smash cut to tattooed guy holding her dead, bloodied corpse in his hands. Fires burn all around. The ritual is complete. The video ends with the same image of Lana in the hands of her handler, presenting hers for all to see. This off course indicates Lana walking to the light is her death. This is not a literal death but a metaphorical one. A part of Lana Del Rey has been sacrificed, or killed for the public. She’s no longer the person she was before- a part of her has died.

Conclusion

The illuminati or elite have always been fascinated with light. They desire to become ‘enlightened’ ones. The sun and light play an integral part of their beliefs. However, as Friedrich Nietzsche so elegantly put it ‘lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes also into you’ In other words these ‘illuminated ones’ have become the very spiritual and morally ignorant animals they look down on. It is a false enlightenment they have. Born to Die was Lana Del Rey’s initiation into the mainstream. It’s played out symbolically as a girl (Lana) that gets enticed by a guy of questionable morals (the elite), is abused in the relationship (both physically and sexually), dies (broken mentally) and becomes a mournful martyr (famous star) for her love (when in fact she is another puppet). The video begins and ends with Lana being presented to us.

The song’s title Born to Die fits in perfectly with this disturbing video. Mainstream artistes today are merely puppets of the elite. Their lives are meaningless to these people and their fame/beauty/youth is short lived. They often die young both metaphorically and in some cases in real. Will Lana’s fame last? Or will she ‘die’ young like so many young Hollywood starlets and musicians? Only time will tell. Maybe it doesn’t matter to her at all. She may already be dead.

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