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Metal Gear Solid as Millennial Metaphor

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  “You’ve served your purpose. You may die now.” There are no continues, friend It’s 2020, and no game is more relevant than  Metal Gear Solid , because no game is more inter e sted in  futility . Beating most games means facing an obstacle and surmounting it after a great struggle. Beating  Metal Gear Solid  means being fooled into carrying out an elaborate plan on behalf of the villains before narrowly escaping with your life… Only to learn that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES has been in on “the plan” the whole time. You “win”  Metal Gear  only after a series of humiliating defeats, and your final victory is spoiled by one of the  most terrifying “gotcha” lines in gaming history. But what exactly is “the plan,” in  Metal Gear Solid ? The game’s plot is legendarily murky (and it’s like clear, cool water compared to its immediate successor), but it mostly involves (I think) the creation and destruction of genetic “super-soldiers.” You play as Solid Snake, a legendary mercenary and
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America has failed time and time again (on normalizing our political failures)

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  A bible For both Democrats and Republicans (and hell, maybe even some independents, why don’t you a s k one), Inauguration Day is an occasion for celebrating how special and wonderful our country is. Even in 2021, just weeks after an armed right-wing mob stormed the Capitol building —insert your favorite ironic comment about the peaceful transition of power here — the incoming administration of Joseph Robinette (!) Biden, Jr couldn’t help itself. The most enduring and unique thing about America is, after all, how frequently and loudly we proclaim our endurance and uniqueness. Joe Biden’s first presidential address could’ve been written by freedom-loving algorithm (i.e. Pete Buttigieg): Through a crucible for the ages America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge. Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy. The will of the people has been heard and the will of the people has been heeded. We have learned again that d
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