The real acquisition of freedom: an analysis of the album 'Paradise' and the short film 'Tropico'

[Angel Fire 543]

You guys, I wrote this article in 2014 for a website I participate and a few members asked me to share it here. The text was originally in portuguese and I used Google Translator to change it to english. I was reading it and found some errors in the translation, but I read just half of it and I really have to run right now. So, I'm gonna post it, and if anyone can do a better review than I did and send me, I would be beyond thankful. The text is very big and I tried to transmit into words some of my thoughts of the Paradise album (or EP, if you prefer) and how Tropico is complementary in its ideas. Reading it now, a few years later, I see I have so much more info to add, a lot of things I only realized later and that enriches a lot of what I said when I first wrote it.

 

Well, I hope you enjoy.

 

ANALYSIS | The real acquisition of freedom: an analysis of the album 'Paradise' and the short film 'Tropico'

 

 

The following article doesn’t have the intention to evaluate the sound specifications involving the production of the EP 'Paradise', but is focused in the real creation behind, in the understanding on what took Lana Del Rey to name this section of eight songs as “Paradise”; such a simple word, but whose imagistic power imagistic is capable of transporting us to another world.

Now that the text is ready I decided to go back to the beginning and write this introduction for you. It was imensenly significant to me to be able to transpor tinto words and paper everything that I think and reflect about the meaning of Paradise to Lana Del Rey and what she intended to convey when writing na álbum with this title. I know that I have extended more than I should in the writing, but I did not want to let certain details (and references, as you will see below) be forgotten, because it is those little things that transformed the album into the work of brilliant art that it is today. I timed the text reading time and it is about the same album time, starting in 'Ride' and ending in 'Burning Desire'. So before we start, I'd like you to put the EP to play. I hope you travel on reading as I traveled writing.

 

"I've been out on the open road ..."

 

The year 2012 was definitely one of the most striking in the life of  the - until then - unknown Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. A singer who already had an album of failure in her hstory, but which, after an unexpected virtual success, was pushed from the cliff of anonymity towards an obscure abyss of fame, power and, mainly, rejection and criticism. Her álbum, 'Born to Die' was born at the dawn of a presentation considered one of the worst in the history of American television show Saturday Night Live. Its name was massacred by critics all over the world in weeks and what seemed to be the realization of a dream gradually became a vivid nightmare.

Despite the attacks, the perseverance of Lana Del Rey on to establish herself as the true artist she is, led her to re-release her album - which despite little promotion, especially in the United States, became in a few months one of the biggest releases of the year -, including eight new tracks (nine counting 'Burning Desire', exclusively for the digital purchase of the album through iTunes Store ). Its name: “Paradise”.

he evolution and impact of the events of the year 2012 reflected not only in the sonority of the new album, but mainly in his writing and production. When we analyze the discography of Lana we can sense each álbum was led by a main theme, like a intense and reflective drawing, with the songs outlining the form, adding details and brushstrokes to what will, in the end, be a unique work of art. It is a road in which the sound is a curve, showing a little more of the way to go, with the songs interconnecting themselves and adding the missing pieces of the sumptuous puzzle that is the history and life of Lana Del Rey.

'Born to Die', as the title evokes, brings melancholy, death, loving supplication and utopian romanticizing of love as a feeling able to take humans to their most extreme antitheses: the fullness and emptiness, happiness and sadness, and above all, the fulfillment of life and possibly death. This game of paradoxes is one of the characteristics that make this album a poetry so deep that it even sharpens that inner restlessness that remains dormant, but that we all have in us. There is no doubt that love and all the dualities that it carries with it is the main theme of the album. Throughout the songs, the singer totally surrenders to a man, just to be abandoned by this man; she wants to be dead for loving him and smokes these constant conflicts with a sincerity so impressive that we really need to take a deep breath to be able to absorb the human overdose the album is capable of arousing. 'Born to Die' makes me feel nostalgic for things I've never lived.

 

Being a woman in love forever, 'Ultraviolence' could not be different and the loving madness Del Rey returns as (if not more) intensely as on the album that gave her fame. But more than that, compositions like "Fucked Up My Way to the Top ' and ' Money Power Glory ' are loaded with irony and the triumphant return over those who stigmatized her as a marketing product, a manufactured artist. Much more than proving its value and authenticity to the world, her new album builds a sound empire that is both scorching and yet so personal that it really gives us the certainty that she does not want to prove anything to anyone. She sings her life, her soul. Not infrequently I wonder if writing isn’t both a escape and a release, a way to externalize the emotional overdose that confuses and tortures Lana Del Rey.

And it is in this part of her life drowned in mental confusion and madness that we have the construction of 'Paradise'. Instead of speaking in a few lines my views about the album's themes, I invite you to go through the songs with me so that together we can understand and absorb that which is the true heaven of Lana Del Rey.

The sounds of falling falling rain fill our ears and it is with a deep breath that 'Ride' opens this new story. With the heavy breathing that opens her vocals, I have the impression that she is taking an impulse to take the road once again. It is the breath of anguish, of desistance. The breath we take when things are not well, but we have no other way but to move on. It is the inner strength that we must seek to simply not succumb to the difficulties of life that sometimes come so close to destroying who we are that we can almost feel emptiness invading our existence. After being hated by all, she takes a breath not to give up and continue to write her art to the world.

'Ride' by itself is a story within a story. The music video comes to be as important as the audio itself, mainly because of the existence of the monologue, which is an explosion in the dimensions the song already has. I could write pages and pages about the construction of this magic film, but I'd rather leave the details and deeper analysis of the song for a possible article that I would build especially for it.

You can not, however, examine 'Paradise' without taking into account that this first song is probably one of the most important compositions when we try to figure out the meaning behind the whole album. In 'Ride', Lana starts reporting she has been timelessly in a long road... You can think of many meanings for this road, but ... wouldn’t it be the road of life? The road that leads us along unknown and tortuous paths? Life is a game whose table is turned every day and no matter how hard we try to plan our destiny, events will always clash against our will in the moments we least expect.

 

"Life does not always work out, like we planned it. / They say 'make lemonade out of lemons', but I tried and I just can not understand it./ All this trying for no good reason / Man makes plans and God laughs ... Why do I even bother to ask? " 
- Starry Eyed, song leaked on the Internet in 2013

 

The magnificent chorus of the song is chanted by a singer absorbed by the conflicts that invade her personality. The verse "Been trying hard not to get into trouble, but I ... I've got a war in my mind", expresses - like a pain that can almost be touched - all this inner confusion that permeates the thoughts of the singer. How many times do we try to do things the right way, but find ourselves surrounded by situations and circumstances as larger and unrelated to our control that we just can not do it right?And in that context, what would be truly right?

The existing war inside of Lana Del Rey’s mind relies mainly, in her precise opposition to simply not accept what is imposed by society as right or wrong. It isn’t new to us that, in most of  her music videos, she engages romance with men whose physical appearance diverges completely from what is considered as 'beautiful' Or acceptable. In 'Ride', the motorcicle gang that accompanies the singer throughout the video is made up of men who would never be accepted within the standard of beauty valued by the normative society in which we live. And the singer, more than just sharing her company with them, shares her body, her soul, her inner truth. It is not uncommon to read in various online forums, people criticizing her choices for men and companions in her videos, attesting she should choose ‘more beautiful’ men to carry out the shooting.

 

And that is exactly where relies the whole truth of Lana Del Rey. What we have been imposed as 'correct' should never be our reality. But to fight it can become an impressively heavy burden, especially when we are alone in a world massacred by standards and exclusionary concepts which devalue all that’s different. In this song, she completely deconstructs this definition, but also exposes the obstacles and difficulties that this detachment can bring. A war so strong that it drives her crazy every day; she insists on fighting with one sole purpose: to be free.

The image where Lana points a gun to her head while singing 'I've got a war in my mind' can come to be frightening, especially because you can really see feelings of emptiness and despair simultaneously invading her gaze. Madness can sometimes be so intense and is able to overwhelm so much our thoughts that suicide is the only way out. The only road to peace.

 

And it is in this whirlwind of emotions that we begin to understand the real meaning behind the album 'Paradise'. The album is not open with a loving idealization, an utopian romanticism. 'Ride' fills the ears as a splendid cry - that amid such powerful conflicts - desperately screams out to one of the most forgotten feelings of mankind: freedom. It's emotioning to see the magnitude and various aspects Lana uses to shout to everyone that they need to let go of their mental chains, even if you need a a war to let it happen. Freedom is the only way to the true fullness of life.

 

Who are you? Are you touch with all your darkest fantasies? Have you created a life for yourself where you are free to experience them? I have. I am fucking crazy. 
But I am free . "- Ride

 

'American' begins as a calm to the storm that overwhelms the beginning of the album. As raised by the title, the song exalts Lana’s patriotism and all her love for the United States, a recurring theme in her songs. After all, 'Born to Die' is full of references to the country, since the singer embracing Bradley Soileau in front of the American flag until her pose as Jackie O' next to a black president in ' National Anthem ' .

 

"Be young, be dope, be proud 
Like an american "

 

The mentioning of Bruce Springsteen on the verse "Springsteen is the king, do not you think? I was like 'Hell, yeah, que guy can sing "reaffirms pride for the country, having the mentioned singer various compositions regarding the theme. But more than that and most important, Bruce is famous for preaching in his songs exaltation to everyday situations; he exales freedom as the human greatness; he praises the ideal of freedom which is the very essence of 'Paradise'.

 

By singing "I drive fast, I can almost taste it now" Lana returns to the idea of driving as an escape from reality. The wind, the speed, the thought that the road ahead can take you anywhere and that the whole world is within your reach. When driving fast, Lana can almost prove this unconditional freedom that is her greatest desire. The impression she creates when singing this gives us the image that, the greater the speed, the closer to that fullness she will be. The speed hallucinates and it is as if the road itself was leading towards freedom. And when she's going too fast, that feeling brings her so close to that ideal that she's almost able to catch it. But happiness is a bird that lands in front of us and in the blink of an eye takes flight to bless other souls.

In 'American' we have the return of Lana Del Rey’s known romanticism and the soft strings slide in an engaging rhythm creating an atmosphere that comes even to suggest an image of paradise.The quiet end is only a preparation for the strong beats of the next song, whose heavy hip-hop is a return to 'Off to the Races' , 'Blue Jeans' and 'Dark Paradise' , songs from her breakthrough album.

And so it begins, ' Cola ', a song that even before its release was already involved in controversial talks, because of the famous verse "My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola". The song adresses important issues to the singer, which would later be revived in songs like ' Sad Girl ' and ' Shades of Cool ' from her album' Ultraviolence '.

The breaking concepts and stratagems are more subtle in 'Cola' compared with the first two songs that open the album. Or perhaps the aspect of freedom addressed here is just different from those sung earlier. The verse "I know your wife, and she would not mind" is a shock to the monogamous layer of society that believes only in the existence of love relationships based on the maintaining of the other and exclusivity. Individuals who strive to preach and strongly condemn the meaning behind the word 'adultery', unable to see other forms of love. Precisely a chainless love, conceived in freedom.

It is amazing how a single verse is capable of bringing so many ideas and thoughts considered wrong in today's world. Lana considers herself a mistress and does not feel guilty about it. There are no judgments, no shame, and quite the opposite, there is a certain pride and exaltation in that position. The vocals come to chant some power and Lana feels extremely amazed to be in the outer position of the relationship.

External position?

It makes me wonder if it would not be the teachings of society recorded in my unconsciousness that make me think of the word 'external'. After all, the man's wife in the song is fully aware of the relationship he has with Lizzy and she does not care about that. Thus, they would be occupying equal positions in his life, without inferiority or priorities, something unbelievable for the great majority of the women of the current society. Are we able to really love multiple people?

It comes to my senses that freedom is something so inexistant and prohibited that we really need to work hard every day to make that word a reality in our lives.

And then in 'Body Electric', we are transported to the Garden of Eden. The foliage discover a John Wayne who plays God himself, the creator of heaven and earth. With a shotgun in hand and costumes typical of the films he produced, John is rounded by Jesus, Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

John Wayne was an American film producer, considered by many as one of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema. He worked for decades and is one of the biggest winners statuettes and awards, and is widely known to symbolize the defense of the ideals and American values. His film roles, for example, never compromised his external image. If he thought something was extremely degrading to the human figure in real life he would never do it in a movie. Lana Del Rey Wayne chooses to interpret the father of mankind in his short film 'Tropico' and it's amazing all the existing symbology behind it.

 

The image of Jesus wearing the crown of thorns classic described in the Bible and suffering expression on his face is completely incongruous innocence represented by the images of the Garden of Eden. At the dawn of day, Marylin Monroe and Elvis Presley wake up and observe a couple who slowly approaches. Using foliations on her breasts and intimate parts, Lana first appears with a surprised smile on her face, an expression of joy and fulfillment. At his side we see a white boy whose features may differ from what we often mispronounce and consider as beautiful. Adam and Eve and all the innocence described in the book of Genesis.

 

Marilyn Monroe: prostitute and lover. In the Garden of Eden, the birthplace of humanity, which were created by God humans; The place of the purest innocence already described by the Western religion. The inversion of values is more a conceptual album break 'Paradise', especially when the dialogue stops and the song 'Body Electric' gradually preenc 
he silence with the verse "Elvis is my daddy, Marylin is my mother, Jesus is my bestest friend." Will Marylin, despite all 
Would your sins also have a place next to God and his son after death?

And then we fall into one of the main issues of the short film that stretches for about thirty minutes.

 

What is sin?

 

Sin is nothing more than the cruelest form of manipulation and obstruction of existing freedom. Through the word 'sin' the Church for centuries controlled the thoughts and actions of the people, creating a fearful thought in relation to the right / wrong paradigm and the idea of hell as a place of eternal suffering and penance. You must learn a predetermined pattern, suit yourself and follow it, regardless of your wishes or beliefs. Because otherwise, you will be sinning and, upon dying, will be judged by all your faults and sent to a place where you will never leave and where each pain has the temporal duration of infinity.

And so freedom was hunted down and destroyed. Marylin never fit these standards and if they were at least remotely correct, it would already be burning with a good 40 years. In 'Tropico', Lana puts in Monroe expression of pure innocence in the rise of humanity. It is interesting to note that so far the love theme so widely portrayed earlier by Del Rey, despite being present in all the songs on the album, it is moved to the background, while the release - and especially the breakdown of barriers necessary for us to To attain this state of mind - is sung and exalted in every way.

 

The imagistic construction of the first chapters of the Bible is an important factor in the chronology of the understanding of freedom as a form of expression, since it is the western origin of its imprisonment, especially when it comes to the figure of the woman. As 'Body Electric' vanishes and the serpent (metaphorising the devil, the source of all evil) is E 
va, the apple of knowledge - only forbidden fruit around the Garden of Eden - is offered to the woman who takes the hands, bites and is automatically transported to the world today: a world of sin, damnation and death.

More than the annulment of freedom, the inferiorization of women is also represented in this beginning of life according to the bible. The woman was made secondarily to the man and from one of his ribs, and thus, existing only thanks to him. The woman was seduced by the serpent, and by yielding to the impulsive desires of knowledge condemned humanity to an eternal state of depravity. Because she made the choice to have the knowledge of eternal life, the woman was guilty of all the suffering in the world.

 

The song 'Body Electric' is a direct reference to the poem "I Sing the Body Electric ', the author Walt Whitman. Whitman, one of the icons of American history, was revolutionary in the world of poetry by questioning society's standards and detaching himself from preexisting concepts by absurdly clearing themes that had hitherto been considered taboo, such as homosexuality and sexual relations Resulting from simple human contact. 
 Later, Whitman would be known as the father of the Beat Generation, a collection of writers and poets who also felt dissatisfied because they are subject to an absolutely arbitrary truth dictated by others, preventing them from following the human instinct for freedom. In later compositions such as "Brooklyn Baby ' , Lana will return to that time, reiterating his love for those who, like her, saw to be free is the acquisition of a life of happiness (Read a full report on the Beat Generation and influences that it has in the compositions of Lana Del Rey by clicking here ).

The biblical metaphors are materials always present in the works of Del Rey, but not before so intensely as in 'Paradise'. And this is where we get a glimpse of the singer's soul, with her intense art and extremely visionary thoughts. I believe that having graduated in philosophy and studied metaphysics has subsequently opened its horizons and lit up the darkness of its mental confusion. Despite this, I still wonder what religious beliefs of L  dwarf.

In 'Body Electric', she sings "Jesus is my bestest friend", intimating a close with what is one of the greatest religious figures of the last two thousand years. This relationship is possibly linked to innocence and suffering passed by Jesus in the New Testament. A man who has completely lost the freedom of his destiny by being sent by his father in order to save mankind from sins and perdition. Throughout history, this idea will be slightly modified as we shall see, but for now, let's take 'Tropico' to return to the original album tracklist.

'Blue Velvet' is a song that was not to be originally in the EP, being included after the invitation of the global company H & M Lana work in a publicity campaign singing the song. After recording in the studio the song was included in the relaunch of 'Born to Die' ranking fifth in the tracklist. I see the song as a true interlude 'Body Electric' and 'Gods and Monsters', as a break in the count this story gets to have a heavy aura at certain times. The information is so many and they clash so violently against what we have been taught that we need to blink and breathe to continue.

The apple of knowledge transports Adam and Eve into the world of today. A world of violence, sin, and amid images of scantily clad women dancing and entertaining men for money, Lana recites excerpts from the epic poem 'I Sing the Body Electric', written by Whitman and quoted above. The poem consists of nine parts and is interesting to analyze the passages that Lana has chosen especially to compose this part of his film 'Tropico'.

 

"Womanhood, and all that is woman - and the man that comes from woman 
The womb, the tits, nipples, breast-milk, tears, laughter, weeping, love-looks, love- 
[...] 
Oi say, these are not the parts and poems of the Body only, but of the Soul 
Oi say now these are the Soul! "

- I sing the Body Electric, Walt Whitman

 

Through this particular stretch, Lana Del Rey praises in every way the woman who was since the creation of mankind according to the Bible oppressed and whose freedom was murdered in every way. More than that, it exalts the female body in all its forms. See how Whitman puts the words 'body' and 'soul' in capital letters, treating them as true names. It is the exaltation of the body, source of sin, source of deprivation, source of desire. It is the exaltation of the soul, free spirit embedded in the body and dependent upon it for its satisfaction. Describing 'I Sing the Body Electric' in a world of torment, Lana again deconstructs the idea of sin, naturalizing the human instinct and trying to return our lives to the origins. There is no sin. There is no right / wrong. There is only the body. There is only the soul.

There is only freedom.

'Gods and Monsters', is for me the strongest song of the entire album. As well as 'Ride', the song is filled with the thought of madness and the inner conflicts that drive Lana Del Rey crazy daily.

 

"In the land of gods and monsters, I was an angel living in the Garden of Evil." The tormentors paradoxes are present from the verse that opens the song. In declaring herself an angel, Lana evokes the innocence and instinct of human beings ever erased by the rationality of society. The gods and monsters of this earth are those who try to destroy our ideals, which persevere In telling us who we should be and what we should do. The possibility of following our wills, of treading a path other than the standard simply ceased to exist. We are in the Garden of Evil(understand the game of "Garden of Eden" and "Garden of Evil." Expressions so close and yet so opposite) and the possibility of choosing a different reality was torn from our guts.

 

"Some poets called it [Los Angeles] the entrance to the Underworld, bun on some summer nights, if it could feel like Paradise, Paradise Lost" 
- Lana Del Rey Monologue in 'Tropico'

 

Then Lana reports that she and God do not get along. Later in the song she returns to it with the verse "God's dead, I said 'baby, that's alright with me," opposing "Jesus is my bestest friend" sung in' Body Electric '. She and God do not get along, because this God punished her for eating the apple of knowledge. This God blames her daily and condemns the beauties of her body and her sensuality. If God does not exist ... What is the force of sin? Without God there is no hell, without God there is no guilt. Without God there is not the daily torment of having to choose a way to be the right, the divine way.

God is dead and this is the purest acquisition of freedom.

It is important to point out that this God is not the true creator of the earth (independent of individual beliefs) but an instrument used by society to manipulate the choices of others and establish a lifestyle to be followed. For centuries (and even today) his name is used as a form of control.

God is dead, and everything is fine for me.

 

Soon after, Lana preaches the loss of innocence and uses the word 'fuck' over and over again in order to shock and enhance human contact, as well as stresses the Whitman poem excerpt little declaimed before the song 'Tropico'. The Church once again vulgarised sex and used the name of God to control that intimate contact that people should have. Sex ceased to be the contact of the body with the body and became an instrument of control. You should not have sex before marriage. You should not try different types of sex. What was meant to be the closest contact between two different worlds was cloaked in feelings of guilt, as something dirty. But what Lana wants is to get fucked, because this is paradise. What she really wants. It is innocence lost.

 

"Fuck, yeah, give it to me 
This is heaven, what I truly want 
It's innocence lost. "

- Gods and Monsters

 

Verses "I do not really wanna know what's good for me" and "No one's gonna take my soul away" express this quest for freedom in a world where it was taken from us. She does not want to know what's good for her, does not need someone telling her what to do. No one will take your soul away.

From the moment that freedom completely fills your being, that fear ceases to exist.

 

"You tell me 'life is not that hard'

- Gods and Monsters

 

Between taken with women symbolizing prostitution, drug use, physical violence by arms and Lana 
posing as a stripper and dancing surrounded by money in their underwear, the poem 'Howl' the author Allen Ginsberg begins to be declaimed. Ginsberg is significant figure Beat Generationabove and one of main faces of the construction of the literary poetry United States .

The poem has a thematic range covering exclusion and marginalizaç 
will of many ordinary people who were not able to develop their full potential as human beings and just driven to madness, or a dead end in society. It exposes, in fact, suffering from a generation in a confessional tone, bringing the 
demonstration of force against an oppressive society with regard to minorities. In portrayed marginal universe appear clearly libertarians and spiritual behaviors that form the basis of the counterculture Beat, which will soon turn into very behavior patterns worldwide.

Here some excerpts recited by Lana Del Rey in 'Tropico'.

 

"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, 
hysterical Starving naked 
Dragging Themselves through the dark streets at dawn looking for an angry fix [...] 
Who Were Expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull [...] 
With dreams, with drugs, with walking nightmares. " 
-Howl [Howl], Allen Ginsberg

 

Then, physical violence is depicted through the use of women as object. To celebrate the birthday of a friend, a group of apparently successful individuals by their clothing hires women using the body as a living food. The film follows with a 'robbery' to this private club and psychological violence suffered by hostages reflects the whole reality of our world today. From there, the dark aura of the film will turn and, like the album, the furious tornado that destroyed the compositions goes and Lana seems to have finally achieved the much desired peace.

'Yayo' , is one of the most personal compositions Lizzy Grant , made exclusively for her, unlike other songs were composed with his producer, David Kahne , for their first studio album 'Lana Del Ray'.

 

During the years he sang in the night pubs of New York City , Lana recited the song in different ways and with various changes in the rhythms and verses of the song. The choice for the song integrate the EP 'Paradise' is probably due to the meaning which has for years in the life of Del Rey . In lyrical terms is the most romanticized song on the album and the soft instrumental incredibly harmony with the vocals that reveal a surrender body and soul to the appreciation of detail.

Lights come on and the atmosphere changes. Lana and Shaun Ross , Adam's 'Body Electric' and burglar 'Gods and Monsters' are dressed in white and follow in a Chevrolet Bel Air appointing the last chapter of our history. John Wayne reappears as God and recites most of his poem "America, why I love her ' (America because I love) , one of the greatest tributes ever composed for the United States .

 

"Have you ever seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain? 
Have you ever drifted on the bayou down Louisiana way? 
Or watched a cold fog drifting in eating over San Francisco Bay? [...] 
You ask me why I love her? I've got a million Reasons Why: 
It's my beautiful America, beneath God's wide, wide sky. "

- America, why I love her - John Wayne

 

Lana and Shaun are cleansed of all their sins through the symbolism of baptism. John pours water over her forehead and then plunges his head into the river, eliminating the impurities of the soul. It is interesting that two forms of baptism are seen in the film, an explicit attempt to exclude the religious content of the act, which should be seen as a symbol of purification and not as the introduction to any religious sect. White colors Lana dress and grass field that stretches as far as the eye can contribute to the brightness and the feeling of peace that are transmitted to the viewer in contrast to the madness and the heavy atmosphere that prevailed a few seconds in the movie .

 

And that's how the laughter of angelic children fills the ears and we are introduced to the 'Bel Air' whose Lana vocals evoke paradise itself.

 

"Do not be afraid of me, do not be ashamed 
Walking away from my soft resurrection 
Idol of roses, iconic soul, I know your name 
Lead me to war with your brilliant direction"

- Bel Air

 

The above verse expresses the Resurrection will the spirit after the torment. When Lana sings that no one need be afraid of it, we have the impression that more than exteri orizar peace achieved so hard, she finally convinced herself of sanity that invades your being and eliminates his madness. The war that began in 'Ride' in his mind finally ceased and no longer even recall such events. After all, she has risen from the ashes like a phoenix and everything that happened before that no longer exists.

There is no memory, there is no fear. Because the suffering of the world is gone.

 

"And God Shall wipe away all tears from Their Eyes; and there Shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither Shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. " 
- Revelation [Revelation] 21: 4 - The Bible

 

The best, however, remains in the final seconds of the movie. While it is raised embraced his man in the air, greenish lights invade and permeate the sky, while both are contemplated at sunset.The lights come on and go off and what appeared to be clouds are becoming increasingly clear to become flying saucers . Lana is raised, the image flickers, dims, rekindles and thus the fade out invades the screen while the sound decreases and 'Bel Air' falls into the void.

 

It is amazing how the spiritual evolution undergoes a change in the final seconds of this story. We were the Garden of Eden to Los Angeles and finished with Lana ascending to heaven initiating contact with larger creatures than us. We are always evolving, we are constantly changing. We can not and should not systematize our feelings.

No one has the power to dictate who we are.

No one will never understand the existing inner universe within each of us.

Lana Del Rey teaches us through eight tracks and about forty visual minutes (counting 'Ride' and 'Tropico' ) that freedom is extremely disturbing, maddening and able to take us a sanity Interstate complete madness .

But in the end, it's just absolute freedom the true road able to lead our soul to happiness.

And in the midst of sin, the land of gods and monsters, in the psychological prison and madness of the mind ...

... Freedom is the real paradise.

 

PS: For me the creation of 'Paradise' ends with the peace achieved in 'Bel Air' .

'Burning Desire' is an epilogue to the whole story, a little bit of what happened after all this journey. Well, I think I stretched me enough and I'd rather leave you with this image of 'Bel Air' in mind. The image that we can only achieve true freedom through the persecution of our stigmas.

question themselves about their prejudices. Ask yourself who you are. Work to change your reality. As the madness can fill them, persevere. And live the true paradise.

Beacuse the 'Paradise' is, above all, a true ode to freedom.

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[reputation 6,323]

[BeautifulAnywhere 5,424]

THIS. IS. AMAZING.

[CrazySister 2,239]

I think I saw this review in a fansite once, but I didn't take the time to read completely  . But I can't even say of how much I regret it because this was really beautiful, I even want to cry of how incredible this was!   Your review just reminded me of how amazing Lana Del Rey's art is and why I think Paradise is her best album (Shut up, bitches!   ). I think Lana is very brave for sharing her thoughts with the rest of the world and I'm very happy she did it so she could perhaps ease the war in her mind and even make people who identify with her thoughts feel less lonely. There are millions of things that Paradise can bring to us (Disalienation, start to questioning about our society, etc.), but what I really want to say right now is that I'm glad that you have written this perfection. It's truly inspiring and well done, I fuckin' loved it!   

[Angel Fire 543]

I think I saw this review in a fansite once, but I didn't take the time to read completely  . But I can't even say of how much I regret it because this was really beautiful, I even want to cry of how incredible this was!   Your review just reminded me of how amazing Lana Del Rey's art is and why I think Paradise is her best album (Shut up, bitches!   ). I think Lana is very brave for sharing her thoughts with the rest of the world and I'm very happy she did it so she could perhaps ease the war in her mind and even make people who identify with her thoughts feel less lonely. There are millions of things that Paradise can bring to us (Disalienation, start to questioning about our society, etc.), but what I really want to say right now is that I'm glad that you have written this perfection. It's truly inspiring and well done, I fuckin' loved it!   

 

THIS. IS. AMAZING.

 

Thank you so much, both of you <3

[bummersummer 2,219]

could you please share the original article in portuguese?

[Limelight 4,709]

could you please share the original article in portuguese?

This

[Angel Fire 543]

This

  

could you please share the original article in portuguese?

 

Of course, here it is!

http://ldra.com.br/2014/08/lana-del-rey-uma-analise-do-paradise-e-tropico/

[Limelight 4,709]

  

 

Of course, here it is!

http://ldra.com.br/2014/08/lana-del-rey-uma-analise-do-paradise-e-tropico/

Brigado

[knoxavel 938]

 

 

why is everyone trying to be really deep with tropico atm. 

[sparklrtrailrheaven 9,223]

Absolutely incredible! This is such a fantastic piece you've written. Perfect job at connecting Tropico, Paradise, and all of Lana's exterior influences-- this gives it all such a deeper meaning and power than you can see in the separate parts. Beautiful work

[PARADIXO 33,335]

 

 

why is everyone trying to be really deep with tropico atm. 

 

Tropico is absolutely incredible and I'm proud of the hard work Lana put on it.

 

I'll read this tomorrow, looks interesting. I love the ~vibe of Paradise.

[bummersummer 2,219]

@WesleyLima obrigada

[Angel Fire 543]

Absolutely incredible! This is such a fantastic piece you've written. Perfect job at connecting Tropico, Paradise, and all of Lana's exterior influences-- this gives it all such a deeper meaning and power than you can see in the separate parts. Beautiful work

Thank you so much! <3

[LanaTheRay 1,453]

Wow that was beautiful, wish there were still discussions about these kind of things on this site