This collection explores Lana Del Rey’s popularization of the “sad girl” aesthetic as well as the gender and race politics of this aesthetic and of her music.  It focuses more on her earlier work, the sadness of its musicality and lyrics, and its portrayal of white femininity.  It examines the cultural phenomenon around Del Rey and her reception in a deeply critical and cynical world as well as the race/sex politics of her lyrics.  This collection is intended to teach my audience (about age 15 and older) about the production techniques used in the album to convey sadness and the potential harm Del Rey caused in her portrayal of white femininity.  It is relevant to American popular music as a whole because it analyzes an extremely popular American artist’s work and image through the lens of American gender and race politics.