7 Ways Metal Gear Solid 2 Predicted Our EXACT Future
7. Social Media Culture Shaping Public Opinion
While the exact wording may differ, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty touched upon the notion of internet forums facilitating the adoption of herd mentality.
In a significant Codec call toward the game's conclusion, the Patriot AI versions of Rose and Colonel Campbell chastise Raiden for blindly following their instructions. They reveal their motivations for keeping him in the dark, justifying their actions as necessary for the greater good.
Within the speech, the AI addresses the tendency of humans to waste their freedom of speech by engaging in empty rhetoric to avoid conflict. They discuss how unverified truths, manipulated by those with vested interests, challenge the concept of political correctness. This results in individuals embracing whichever false narrative aligns with their own beliefs, and retreating into isolated online communities.
Remarkably, Kojima's concise portrayal foreshadowed concepts such as Q-Anon, cancel culture, and Twitter controversies long before their real-world emergence. The game's accurate summary of these real-world elements is somewhat mind-boggling in retrospect.
Metal Gear Solid 2's narrative serves as a thought-provoking reflection on the power of online discourse, and the implications of blindly accepting information without critical analysis.