CD Digipak Analysis

CharacterRihanna’s red hair and lips, which feature on the front cover and insert of the digipak, are stereotypically associated with love and sex portraying her as being in love or as being hurt by someone she loves. Another feature of her character that conveys this is the wedding dress that she is wearing on the insert. This also suggests that she is in love and is happy. Her make-up and the way in which the photographs on the front cover and the insert have been edited give Rihanna a golden glow on her skin. This represents wealth and that she is healthy, signalling to us, as an audience, that she is happy but also depicting the R&B style of her music through the representations of wealth and gold.Overall Rihanna’s character on the front of the CD and the insert are positive as she is portraying that she is in love and is happy. The back cover of the CD however creates a more negative representation of her. She is sat on a stool in a suggestive position and is wearing very little clothing. This reveals a more promiscuous representation of Rihanna and is therefore more negative than the happy, in love representation on the front and insert.

NarrativeThe images and colours used on the CD cover and insert imply that the artist is either in love or hurt. She is facing downwards and not directly addressing her audience, suggesting that she is hurt or upset and doesn’t want to show that she is. However, the red and cream colours of her lips, hair, dress and roses depict love and happiness and so her facial expression could also denote love and her facial expression is actually of relaxation rather than pain. The edit of the photograph creates a soft effect which also suggests happiness and relaxation.The confusion between the idea that she is in a happy or broken relationship generates a narrative enigma as we aren’t sure what she is feeling and we are therefore left to wonder and create scenarios of what she could be going through.

Iconography The font used is stylish and simple. It is also informal which is depicted through the large spaces between each letters and the sans serif style. The album and Rihanna as an artist is portrayed as more alternative because of this. The tattoos that are visible on her neck on the front cover and her side on the back cover also represent this alternative, non traditional style of music.Rihanna’s arched back and provocative clothing and position on the back cover are iconic of R&B music as stereotypically women are sexually objectified in this genre of music. Additionally her position and costume are iconic of the mediated image that Rihanna has created for herself. She represents herself as being a sex symbol by wearing heavy lip make-up and revealing costumes. Although this representation is negative towards women and, in particular, feminists, we instantly recognise it as being Rihanna because of this self-created image.

Setting The setting on the insert is a bed of roses representing love and happiness. The artist also looks very relaxed and dream-like in this setting as she is lying down and wearing what looks like a wedding dress. This reinforces the representation of love in the image. On the back cover the setting is dark and seedy looking and has elements within the mise en scene that denote that it could be a strip club. The curtains and worn looking wooden floorboards and stool that she is sat on all symbolise this dilapidated image of a bar or club. The way that she is sitting, with her hands between her legs adds to the seedy representation of the setting.

Technical and Audio CodesThe lighting changes from high-key and happy on the front cover to low-key and mysterious on the back cover. This generates a narrative enigma as we do not know whether she is happy or not. The close-up shot of Rihanna on the front cover signifies that she is revealed, the camera is in her face and she doesn’t have anything to hide behind. In comparison to this, the image on the back cover is more reserved and she is more sheltered as the camera is further away in a long shot and her back is arched, concealing more of her body. This implies that she is more relaxed on the front than she is on the back as she feel she has to hide from everyone else on the back or she is embarrassed or ashamed if her surroundings or body. The way in which the colours have been edited to make them more vibrant creates a more sexual portrayal of her as her lips and hair are bright red, a colour associated with love and sex.