Notwithstanding the shift from black and white to color towards the end of the video, I don't see any hope and change in people's faces in the video. And we all know things aren't getting any better, so I think Bruce is just contrasting the promise of America with the unfortunate reality. This also fits with his statement a few months ago that Wrecking Ball was the angriest album he'd ever done.
As for the lyrics printed in big type over the images in the video -- maybe he just wants to make sure no one mistakes it for a rah-rah song based on the refrain. Which, of course is what happened with Born in the USA.
When this song first came out in January, a writer at the LA Times called it "an affirmation of national glory" that was "about the country and hardship, but also about community and pride." Another writer somewhere calls it an "Obama campaign video." I don't see either, even though Obama put it on his latest Spotify list of 2012 campaign songs at Facebook. It's hardly an uplifting song.
Maybe it's also a contrast between what is versus what we were led to expect would be. The images feature a lot of people in groups, but they are all isolated and lost in their own thoughts. Whether crossing the street or leaving the factory, they don't connect with those around them. There's no community here, no joy. Even the pictures of parents with children are sad. The parents look worried, but the children too young to notice anything wrong.
Perhaps the change from black and white to color isn't meant to signify things are getting better, but to bring the magnitude of despair into clearer focus. It may be bright and sunny but people are still worried and alone. Because America is not taking care of its own. No matter how bright the sun shines.
Whether I'm right or wrong, who knows? Either way, it's a clever song and video, that seems simplistic at first listen, but then gets you wondering.
What do you think his message is?
