Our friend Threedogg has written some interesting thoughts on one of the “commercials” from MGS4. By deconstructing what is said in the cooking show and paying attention to the details, we find that it shows a high level of self-awareness and self-commentary, once again pointing to how ironically MGS4 was produced. I’ve added my own thoughts too.
< The following is Threedogg’s analysis of the Bomb Shelter Buffet commercial. Also found here. >
The bomb shelter buffet cookery show featured in MGS4’s intro is a metaphor for Kojima making the game. The ad features a chef preparing a meal that builds up to a ceremonial cutting of the Snake by a member of the audience. The chef is being interviewed as he prepares the meal.
The food is all disgusting and rotten but the chef is acting like its great. The way the opening dialogue is presented sounds really sarcastic and bitter: “Good on the heart, filling!”
The host of the show then makes sure the audience know this. “If he says its filling, you know its filling! Believe me, he aint lying. This guy doesn’t joke around about his food. Oh no…. He is….dead serious” If you’re aware of Kojimas relationship with MGS4 you can kind of see this tv show is trying to say something underneath this.
The host then compliments the food saying shes sure it tastes delicious even though you can see she knows its disgusting. It then cuts to the chef again. He says: “You gotta be good to your body you know. Loyal to your body, to the people you’re cooking for. To the whole family.” During those last lines you can see a quick flash of Kojima standing in the background. Those lines clearly reflect lines of The Boss. The Chef appears to being quite brutal and vicious with how hes posing himself.
Eventually the host has a taste of some of the food. She clearly thinks its disgusting but pretends it’s “tasty.” The Chef then says that he made it for his wife last night. The host asks if she loved and the chef responds with “She was mad because I hadn’t made it for her sooner.” The host then says its ridiculous to get mad about food. She then immediately takes that back and says his wife must be a good woman and that she loves her.
At the end of the show, they then present the Snake for the ceremonial Snake cutting by a member of the audience. The chef says “This is the last chapter in this Snakes life!!” He says the words angrily as the blade chops the Snake in half. The show ends.
So what does this all mean?
• The chef — the creator — is preparing a meal
• The snake is the main ingredient of the meal
• The chef is Kojima.
• The food is the story/game of MGS4, and the snake is obviously Snake, the main character of the game.
The food is all disgusting, the chef is angry and vulgar with how hes preparing it. This is a reflection of how Kojima viewed MGS4 and the painful obligation it was for him to make. “You gotta be loyal to your body, to the people you’re cooking for.” Loyal to the series, to the fans. [Mr. Wolfe’s note: “loyal to your body” might even refer to his “Body of work”.]
“If he says its filling, you know its filling! Believe me, he aint lying. This guy doesn’t joke around about his food. Oh no…. He is….dead serious” This is sarcastically talking about how Kojimas games are viewed and how he is viewed. This guy doesn’t joke around about his games, he takes them very seriously. If he says it has depth, it has depth etc… I’m not quite sure what Kojimas getting at, but it seems to be rooted in some bitterness. [Mr. Wolfe’s note: Notice that he is literally peeling the skin off of a crocodile head. The crocodile head is a beloved icon of MGS3, and it might represent having to rip apart all of the old games and use their rotting flesh to concoct some new meal out of them. For evidence of this in the rest of the game, just look at how the “Beauty & The Beast” unit are just remixed names of old FOXHOUND and the Cobra Unit members, and how much of the game is just randomly piecing together old material. You can see here how unpleasant it is to Kojima to rip apart dead things and use them again.] The Chef/Kojima angrily tears apart the food. The show is basically showing you Kojima brutally creating a disgusting mess. It’s quite depressing when you think about it.
When the host asks if his wife liked the food/the game: “She was mad because I hadn’t made it for her sooner.” This made me laugh. It obviously relates to the fans complaining and demanding the game, likely relates to all the pressure Kojima had to make the game. Fans, Konami, team, death threats, loyalty etc.
The show ends with a member of the audience coming up to slice the snake. The Chef then angrily shouts that it will be the last chapter in this Snake’s life.
So once again, by looking between the lines, we get inside Kojimas head to see his frustrating relationship with MGS4. I’m sure this could be expanded on too. There’s a few lines I’m sure had meaning as well but I couldn’t quite see what was trying to be said.
Thanks for Reading
Threedogg is a talented Twitch streamer who has probably played more Metal Gear than anyone else in the world.