MARINA and Divine Femininity
Creating an empire by embodying self-growth and transformation
By Dani Csaszar, Online Editorial Assistant
If you were to take a time machine back to 2013, how would you imagine yourself? Personally, you could find me scrolling through Tumblr, listening to the iconic musicians of the mid-2010s grunge-punk phenomena. No one can forget the era of overplaying Arctic Monkeys and The 1975 through our wired earphones, exploring the American Apparel website. One artist, in particular, who had a chokehold on the internet was MARINA, or most commonly referred to as Marina and the Diamonds.
Marina Lambrini Diamandis was born to Welsh and Greek parents. Having been musical from a young age, Marina devoted herself fully to music at just 20 years old, dropping out of university after taking minimal classes on art and music. Long story short, Marina entered the musical world with secure confidence and rebelling attitude, but that never faltered her strong family roots. Growing up with Mediterranean culture, the powerful female archetype of the mother in the household planted seeds in Marina that would eventually blossom into an exploration of modern womanhood through music (Untitled Magazine, 2016).
Over recent years, Marina's music has attracted audiences who want to rebuke the norms of society and feel empowered with their identity and inner goddess. Her music has become unique in terms of calling attention to societal problems and degradations that many feminine individuals face as they battle their way in this world. Certain heavy issues that she calls out in her newer music involve misogyny, systematic racism, homophobia, the current climate crisis and more.
Marina has been able to release six albums throughout her 12-year career. “Family Jewels” arrived first, followed by “Electra Heart”—two albums with bubblegum pop featuring high-pitched ballads and satirical lyrics. Since 2015, “Froot,” “Love + Fear” and her most recent album, “Ancient Dreams In a Modern Land” have been gifted to the world. Even though “Electra Heart” dominated young adults in the early-mid 2010s, Marina has stated that her earlier albums did not express herself accurately. She looks back unable to recognize herself in that phase of music. The sexism that cloaked her early career and her own dedication to perseverance are undoubtedly themes she returns to on “Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land.” (Study Break Magazine, 2021).
“Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land” is Marina’s rise to conquering her divine potentiality. Feminine energy at its core is unconditional love—the fight for equal justice and peace. To fulfill the balance of society is breaking old structures that keep female individuals weak and disempowered. Marina expresses advocacy for the hopes of a progressive future through her music. Her opening title track hooks listeners with powerful lyrics, such as “You don't have to be like everybody else/You don't have to fit into the norm”. I find this track to be one of my favorites, with other inspirational lyrics like “I am the observer, I’m a witness of life/I live in the space between the stars and the sky”. Marina's most common theme among her new album is feminine power. A lot of Marina's feminine power found through her songs also confronts the limitations women find themselves in politics. Directed towards men, “Man’s World” calls attention to the sexist and homophobic world we live in (Frescha, 2021).
Her 2015 album “Froot” highlights the divine feminine through expressing and feeling sexuality, while “Love + Fear” embraces vulnerability and compassion towards men who are forced to hide their emotions. Her music has grown parallel to her journey of inner transformation. Marina has even claimed that her works now are an F U to “Electra Heart”, mainly because that album was deeply misogynistic in nature and diminished female gender roles (Medium, 2021).
While half of her “Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land” covers topics of importance in current times, other ballads revolve around self-love, and finding love with your individuality and not focusing on others. The album opens with the title track—a disco-inspired beat that preaches “not fitting into the norm” and staying away from conformity (Study Break, 2021). Songs such as “Purge the Poison” are, “poetic in their allusions to not only gender roles and breaking the gender binary, but in pointing out the injustices the patriarchy has inflicted on Mother Earth as well” (Pitchfork, 2021).
For “Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land,” she sought out female producers for her album, which is not common in the pop industry. And we can’t forget about the iconic “Harvey Weinstein gone to jail” shirt, commemorating justice for women who suffered under misogynistic power. MARINA even collaborated for a remix with Russian female anarchist band Pussy Riot for a “Purge the Poison” remix.
Marina's lyrics and songwriting is different from others as it is not just gaining power from within, but pushing past the norms and conformities that society has laid upon women to uphold. Her lyrics unfold the struggle women and feminine individuals face in a society that seems to be against them. Marina makes a case that societal issues are deeply rooted in our history. The nostalgic elements paired with futuristic electronics mirror this concept of old influencing the new (Fresca, 2021).
Marina is currently on tour for her most recent album, taking the road by storm by uploading photos and videos to her social media. Her posts are bright, colorful and electric, giving off an auric feel of power and love. Her themes of retro-futurism mixed with dreamy femininity truly envelope what it feels like to embrace the goddess within.
There is an inspiration and inner power to be found through Marina's music. There is almost this inspirational push to fight for justice and take down the patriarchy one by one. She makes throwing over the government seem sexy and individualistic. Most of all, she calls us to find our own inner power. I myself have grown alongside her, and have seen her rise into a truly powerful woman. She reminds me that we are all divine, and have the potential to make a difference with our inner power. It's raw, real and fights against the oppressive forces of modern-societal norms. “This aesthetic certainly isn’t for everybody, but after her ambivalent pop experiments, Marina no longer needs her albums to be” (Pitchfork, 2021).
Sources:
Wisse, O. (2021). ‘Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land’ Attempts to Make a Bold Statement. Study Break.
Asaph, K. (2021, June 17). Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land. Pitchfork.
Chase, P. (2021). MARINAS Manifesto “Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land” Celebrates the Divine Feminine. Medium.
Cesarine, I. (2016, March 29). Marina and the Diamonds Froot and Feminism-Exclusuve Interview. Untitled magazine.