Lana Del Rey - Beauty & the Beastly Critics

"Whatever you choose to be your reality is 

your reality.”

Lana Del Rey photographed by Geordie Wood

Hey Frockstars

I just read an amazingly well written article about Lana Del Rey by Duncan Cooper for Fader Magazine. It has touched on a few bug bears of mine, some of which were bubbling underneath my consciousness until now, namely, the public and media creation of a story contradicting the facts purely because they are uncomfortable with vulnerable truth, and this growing acceptance and tolerance of toxic individuals polluting the comments section on the internet.

Cooper interviewed Lana Del Rey in a beautifully honest and respectful way, portraying her inner world through her own deeply thought-provoking beliefs about herself and her position in the music industry. Incorporating his own interpretations of his interview with Lana, he has taken a lead in countering one particularly established public judgement of her. She has long since been the victim of critics' wrath against a 'contrived image' and a 'carefully constructed persona', and something occurred to me reading this article that really got me thinking.

She is possibly one of the very few artists who exists in modern day pop culture, who I feel, is genuinely portraying how she actually is at any given time. There's no effected sheen of perfection, there's no 'living the dream' chatter from her, there are no declarations of what a wonderful life she has, no forced effort to appear to have an opinion on everything and everyone simply because she's in the public eye and it's what's automatically expected. There are no defences. She has since been attacked by Jezebel.com for her reluctance to comment on feminism in Cooper's interview, making fun of her for saying she would rather think about intergalactic possibilities. So what? She's entitled to find that more interesting. It does not mean that she doesn't appreciate what has gone before her in the name of women's rights. They conveniently chose not to comment on the fact that she later states her idea of a feminist is a woman who feels free enough to do whatever she wants. Can you spot the irony there Jezebel.com?

Photo: Geordie Wood

She has been criticised for being a large giant fake with a dangerous persona that comes across as deeply troubled with insecure attachments and morbid fantasies about relationships? Maybe she IS deeply troubled with insecure attachments and is just being honest and vulnerable about it instead of hiding it behind the industrial sized polish that gets applied to other artists. Maybe we can learn from her truthfulness. But the public response to her insecurity? Set the dogs on her. When did we become such a vicious and cruel society? The rotten irony is, hidden behind the anonymity of our own online personas, or our positions of power, we cast judgements and take our own spite and personal insecurities out on others and swear blind that it's just the facts we're spouting. Hiding behind the old adage of "Oh I'm just being honest" or "I'm entitled to my own opinion!" To those who are posting destructive and unnecessarily negative comments, quit it. Stop forcing your toxic thoughts and opinions on others. It's verbal rape. Go get some therapy.

Just because she is a star does not mean she doesn't feel harsh words. She probably feels them more. Just because she has money, does not mean it will save her life when she can't stomach the final abusive comment under the next interview she does.
Lana Del Rey is a vulnerable character with several realities. Apart from the super strong characters out there that know who they are and what they want and how to get it (I salute you), I would hazard a guess that there is a large percentage who are drifting. A large amount who are floating through the potential of their own constructed realities, trying some on, and leaving some behind. Or stuck in one particular reality not knowing how they arrived there, or worse still, not knowing how to leave. That is real life. That is the life that some critics don't care to write about, and if it's presented to them, they label it a fake.

Life purpose and life direction can be elusive constructs that we search for and crave throughout our lives. The best we can do is try to pin one down at a time and chase it to the best of our ability. But not so much that it breaks us on the inside. Nothing is worth that. Go and create your next reality. One that nourishes your heart and your soul.

So really what I'm trying to say is, can we turn down the judgement knob a little please? Or a lot? Some people are lost and floating on the inside whether they look like that from the outside or not. Superstars and regular folks alike. Lana comes across as a deeply philosophical and beautiful creature who genuinely needs some support on this journey she is on. Who doesn't? There is art in pain, but there is pain in art. Cut her, yourselves and everyone else some slack. We're all just trying to feel like we belong.

 Photo: Geordie Wood

Read Duncan Cooper's Article on Lana Del Rey here:
http://www.thefader.com/2014/06/04/lana-del-rey-cover-interview/

Thanks a million to Geordie Wood for his permission to reproduce his fab photos of Lana.
Check out his work here www.geordiewood.com

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