Lana Del Rey and her Affinity for the American Aesthetic
Intrigued by the Intangible Ideal of Nationalism and Nostalgia
Although Donald Trump’s presidency prompted Lana Del Rey to abandon the American flag as a part of her visual identity, her aesthetic is still built around American nostalgia. Since her debut Born to Die, Del Rey has played with visuals inherent to American culture in her videos, and murmured lyrical musings of the American dream in which she reaches towards a glamourous future while still doting on the past.
She embodies the sublime feeling of the Sunshine State in “West Coast”, plays the Kennedys alongside A$AP Rocky in “National Anthem”, embraces a bad boy in front of the American flag in “Born to Die”, and then blankets herself in it in “Ride”.
But Del Rey doesn’t stop at the explicit depictions of American aesthetics in her videos. America is gently woven into her smokey notes and seductive lyrics: a tenor that leaves listeners mesmerized and maudlin. “Tell me I’m your National Anthem”, she pleads to a man with who she shares a love that seems invincible in “National Anthem”. “Be young, be dope, be proud, like an American”, she coos to listeners in “American”. “Come on down to Florida, I got something for ya” she drawls in “Florida Kilos”, of course, to a man who’s naturally no good for her.
