Green Day’s New ‘Back in the USA’ Video Breaks Down the American Dream
In a new John Carpenter-inspired video for "Back in the USA," Green Day tears down the American Dream to reveal it never really existed. The song is one of two new releases on the band's just-released greatest hits compilation, God's Favorite Band. You can watch the video above.
The video opens with Billie Joe Armstrong living in a black-and-white '50s sitcom, until a saleswoman arrives at the door to sell him a pair of glasses. The shades allows him to see colors, and eventually, subliminal messages.
Owing to Carpenter's 1988 sci-fi horror film They Live, Armstrong at first sees his TV set in color, and goes to show his fellow black-and-white pals, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. Quickly, they all begin seeing messages in their surroundings as well. Magazines and wall art suddenly say "Consume" and "Procreate Now," while the TV screen says "President to Lie to Nation Tomorrow Night."
The band concocts a plan to open everyone's eyes to the truth, which involves placing the glasses in front of the camera lens for the presidential address. The president, who vaguely resembles Donald Trump, is revealed to be alien as the public, including Armstrong's family, watch at home in horror.
Green Day then takes over the stage, performing the rest of the song in full color. As they play — and in another Carpenter-influenced movie, Pleasantville — color slowly spreads throughout society, which begins to break out of the mold.
Green Day have been outspoken critics of Trump, and this is far from their first swipe against current politics. At the beginning of the year, they also released an anti-Trump video for "Troubled Times," off their last record Revolution Radio.