Music video analysis: Primadonna by Marina and

the Diamonds
Genre: Pop
Origin: United Kingdom

The music video of Primadonna was directed by Casper Balslev, and exhibits
elements of mis-en-scene, camera and editing that are typical of a music video.
The video opens in a mid-shot of a wall with the words
Marina and the Diamonds projected onto it with a hazy,
purple-pink gradient light also cast. This beginning looks very
artistic and post-modernist, yet this technique would be
typical of earlier cinema which immediately shows the old
influences the video has throughout.
In terms of mis-en-scene, Marina is adorned in very
glamorous clothing that appear to be very expensive and
illustrious. There is verisimilitude between the lyrics of the
song and Marinas costumes as, while the song has some
feminist themes, she sings about her entitlement to
material possessions and believes a man should
provide them for her Buy a big diamond ring for
me? but also shows her infidelity towards this
love interest and how
she exploits him for his
wealth Got you
wrapped around my
finger, babe, you can
count on me to misbehave. We also see her love of
material things from location too another part of mis-en-
scene. She appears to be in a large mansion which
contains objects like an ornate chandelier, which we see in an extreme close-up, and
a large bed. This clearly exemplifies the materialistic themes within the lyricism of
the song.
An intertextual reference appears within the video Marina is seen holding a copy of
Secrets of an Accidental Duchess by Jennifer Haymore which is about a striking
woman who has always been treated differently and
well since her
childhood. This is
an allusion to
Marina herself as
she implies this is
the lifestyle she
should have, and
 perhaps how she wants her life to be a story. Similarly, another example of
intertextuality is shown during the scene when Marina is portrayed in a long shot
holding an apple whilst climbing a short ladder. I believe this to be biblical imagery
that realizes Adam and Eve, and how she obeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. As
a result, she is portraying the fact that she is never at fault as Eve blamed Satan for
persuading her to commit the crime.
A close up of Marina is seen later in the
video where she is in the car looking
gormlessly out of the cars window.
However, the shot is edited in black and
white which contrasts most other shots in the
video that are have bright and vivid shades
of pinks, greens and purples. This could be
representative of perhaps the old-fashioned
psyche of women and older attitudes
towards women. She is perhaps deemed less powerful than a male counterpart as
shes unable to drive herself.