When Reality Is Crazier than Bizarre Fiction!

A little silliness for you today...

How many bizarre and unlikely coincidences does it take to connect a new song to a video game that is several years old, and takes place over thirty years ago? I count at least six.

There's a meme going around that takes the form of a short video: Punished Snake walking toward the camera, and behind is the song "Invisible," by Duran Duran. Seems reasonable, right? A friend sent me this video, and I thought it seemed entirely plausible. The song's about losing your identity! And Metal Gear Solid 5 was all about language and identity! And it's Duran Duran! Maybe I just missed that cassette tape in the game! I certainly didn't find them all...

Here's the thing: although it seems reasonable to connect a song by Duran Duran with Metal Gear Solid 5, this actual example makes no sense! Why? Because "Invisible" was released in 2022--that's years after MGS5 was released, let alone when it takes place!

Let me break down the coincidences that had to happen for this to "work."

1. Duran Duran has to be popular in the 1980s, but stay together until 2022
2. Duran Duran cannot significantly change the style of their music between 1980 and 2022
3. Duran Duran must produce a song specifically about a topic that mixes well with MGS5's themes (identity and loss of identity, in this case) after 2015.
4. The songs from the 1980s in MGS5 must be hidden, not on full display. That way, a person who's played the game can be fuzzy as to which 1980s songs are featured in the game
5. The songs licensed in MGS5 must also have a similar style to Duran Duran's output from the 1980s, so that the song seems to "fit" with the others and not stand out
6. Someone has to make the connection between this song, released in 2022, a game released in 2015, and all of the other elements that make these "fit" together

But it's not just these coincidences that make this crazier than a Kojima cutscene. Howe about these things that make it even better

• Duran Duran is completely unrelated to Metal Gear Solid. They have never been featured in any of the games.
• Kojima is famous for memes and bait-and-switches:

1. MGS2's Raiden bait-and-switch
2. The MGS PAL key plot twist
3. The Moby Dick Studio fake ad campaign for the game that would only later be revealed as MGS5
4. The final "fake-outs" of MGS5: who are you actually playing as?
5. Constant double- and triple-crosses in the stories

• Plus, the fact that the MGS5 community didn't just accept this meme, but embraced it!

All in all, I thought this was a fun and interesting example of how sometimes, reality is stranger than even the most bizarre fiction.