Jamara Royle

Characters

There is no personal image of the band but the cover still has character. The hand holding what seems to be a heart that's a grenade represents love, youth and rebellion. It represents love because of the heart maybe suggesting some of their songs are about love or love that didn't work out especially since the heart is a grenade. Rebellion and youth is represented not just through the fact there's a heart grenade but because that heart grenade represents the feeling from their songs as most of their music is about them hating American government and politics which is shown through the grenade which is something usually used in war and such imagery is normally used by the government for propaganda. The fact that the heart is a grenade connotes juxtaposition and/or binary opposition between love and hate indicating to audiences that, that is what their music is about.

Iconography

I find the pin that's in the grenade really iconic because it really emphasises the rebellion as it shows throughout the digipak that this person, this hand has pulled the pin and has rebelled against whatever is being said or is taking a break up really harshly. The fact the pin on the CD is red and the other two are white which could indicate how the pin on the CD is a warning inferring how the grenade will explode or a warning to whoever the grenade is aimed at. The blood seeping out of the hand is quite interesting as it could represent the heart bleeding after the aftermath of love, it could also suggest the after effects of war or rebellion as people get killed in war, even during riots suggesting that death is nothing to be joked about. The colour red is really predominant implying passion, love, danger and hate which is what this digipak suggests due to the juxtaposing image of the heart and grenade making the digipak evoke two different meanings.

Narrative Events

There could be many narratives to this cover and back for example it could allude to love and how it 'blew up' hence the grenade heart. It could also tell a story about rebelling against the norm how they want to maybe over throw the government judging from their songs linking to the visual imagery of the grenade. However I found this particular digipak interesting as it tells its own story as you go from the font cover to the CD to the back cover; its starts off with the hand holding the grenade with the pin still in it then on the CD it has the hand holding the pin like they have just taken the pin out and finally on the back cover it has just the pin on its own as if it's just be thrown on the floor I find it clever because it implies they have blown up something or themselves so it creates narrative enigma because its quite unclear on all the details but one can speculate.

Technical codes

As the digipak is animated there is no general lighting however if it were a real hand the lighting would be low key with maybe a spotlight to make the hand stand out. The shot would be a close up to emphasise the importance of the heart grenade in the hand of how it represents youth, rebellion and love. The typography is quite plain; most of the writing on the front and back cover are in block capitals emphasising the rage and anger in this digipak; the fact they also have little rips and tears in the letter implies something has happened like an argument or some sort of war which has caused the rips. The Digipak cover is quite symmetrical ad the words are to the side of the image separating the two sides. The band is in the primary optical area as that’s the first place fans will look so they would see the bands name and buy the digipak.

Setting

There is no real setting to this digipak, however judging by imagery and the colour scheme one can assume. For example it the rips and tears in the writing combine with the imagery suggest it is set in a time of rebellion of people rebelling against the norm of the governments rules and regulations and are retaliating through such violence like grenades. It could also suggest it is set in the mind of someone who seems to be broken hearted and they feel like they are going to explain with pain and rage because of the loss of love; the dark background could represent the mind because stereotypically on screen the mind is usually darker than reality. It could also be set on a battlefield as the grenade could be a symbol for war.

Digipak Green Day American Idiot Analysis