TROPICO

Let me put on a show for you, tiger

Rabbi Hizkiyah opened (began): “It is said, as a rose among thorns” (Shir HaShirim, 2:2). He asks, “What does a rose represent?” He answers, “It is the Assembly of Israel, meaning Malchut. For there is a rose, and there is a rose. Just as a rose among thorns is tinged with red and white, so does the Assembly of Israel (Malchut) consist of judgment and mercy. . . .”

. . . The color red designates the rose’s connection with the outer, impure forces, which, because of this connection, can suck the strength (Light) from it. This is because nine of her Sefirot are in exile below the world of Atzilut, in the world of Beria, which may already contain impure forces. And the rose also has a color white in its Sefira Keter, for her Sefira Keter is in the world of Atzilut, above the Parsa, where there is no contact with the lower, impure forces. In other words, there are two opposite states: perfection and its absence, Light and darkness. They are felt by him who merits it. (The Zohar)

“. . . Really, it is her creation, from a written form, which is very rare: I don’t know that I can think of one artist that I’ve worked with that really deserves a writing credit, in the sense of being that involved in the initial creation. An artist will tell you, ‘I’d like to do this for this video, or this project,’ but rarely is it that detailed.”

The details, in this case, resulted in a fairly surreal final product: Tropico opens with a conversation in the Garden of Eden between John Wayne, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, and Jesus, as they discuss humanity with their respective accents. The colors are heavily saturated and full of glaring high-contrast that’s almost harsh, and Del Rey and her co-star, model Shaun Ross, wear leaves as they writhe around the garden. If all of that sounds conceptually bizarre, well, that’s part of the point, according to Mandler.

Mandler, whose “National Anthem” video for Del Rey reimagined both Kennedy’s “Camelot” and his assassination with Del Rey as Jackie and rapper A$AP Rocky as JFK, says that Tropico is inspired by the assassination, and the way it shattered American culture.

“The Americana vision of the last 50 years obviously starts with Kennedy,” he says. “For so many people, it’s almost like the first page of a new Bible--a new testament--when it comes to the idea of pop culture, which was kind of the death of the American icon, and the shattering of the kingdom, and what that spawned.” . . .

“The way that this veneer is pulled back to show something that’s dark underneath has been very influential in Lana’s creative education and music evolution,” he says. “There is this woman who has this outside, and then the songs she sings about represent something completely different. The two don’t really go together, and all the mystery of who she is and where she’s from, and what she’s singing about. There’s that really incredible duality, so with that, kind of framework in mind, we’ve explored different versions of that archetype--the pulling of the veneer, the search for truth in yourself and in the world around you, and ultimately being disappointed in what you have and how you find something better." . . .

“We’re essentially retelling the creation of the universe, but by starting with the pop icons of the '50s and '60s, that will recalibrate any sense of the norm. What we were trying to get to was that Adam and Eve are abolished from the Garden and kind of catapulted into this hell on earth, where nobody really does anything,” he says. “You work in a convenience store, you strip for money, you and your friend do each other’s hair and blow smoke into each other’s face and cheer at a lowrider that goes by--nothing really happens. It’s kind of like this ultimate purgatory, and the thing is, there’s not a deeper sense of faith: You don’t feel like there’s this great moral compass--everybody’s just kind of living for the moment, and it’s paper-thin. To me, that’s a fascinating examination of the result of putting pop culture icons as your pantheon of gods.” (Co.Create)

And the Garden of Eden transformed into the Garden of Evil

Some poets called it the entrance to the underworld, but on some summer nights, it was like paradise

Paradise Lost

Let's change our DNA

You're the King of fear, baby

I'm the Queen of Alchemy

I know a way to make gold by mixing our souls to escape reality 

You can be my higher power baby
I can be your endless USA

Bonnie and Clyde



There's something I have never told you
I'm not really from this world
There's something I have been withholding
I'm not like every other girl

So if you begin to think that my light might be supernatural
I'd have to say alright, you're right mon cher it is
I come from a place that your mind cannot even imagine

Life is beautiful but you don't have a clue
Sun and ocean blue
Their magnificence, it don't make sense to you

You have no room for light
Love is lost on you

Oh, what can I do?
To turn you on or get through to you