Last Friday afternoon, I went and saw the brand new Hollywood interpretation of the end times, known as “2012.”
To be perfectly honest, I have been waiting for it to come out, because it looked amazing. Visually, it was absolutely fantastic. The first half of the movie sat better than the last half, though I will not give anything away to those who want to see it and have not yet.
The movie is based on the belief that because the ancient Mayan long calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012, the world as we know it will end as well. Not being one to subscribe to conspiracy theories, I had not given it much thought. As someone who loves history, it is certainly intriguing. Being a realist, the world cannot possibly last forever.
It does make one think. Here are the Maya, an ancient people whose understanding of the world in many aspects far exceeded our own, ending their long calendar on this certain date. No one knows why the calendar ends there.
Maybe they got tired of making it. Maybe they knew their civilization was about to end, and they no longer cared about making their calendar because they would have no use for it. Maybe they really did find something that indicated some cataclysmic event is set to happen in 2012.
No one can possibly know the reasoning behind the abrupt end to the Mayan calendar. What we have are many theories and many different people accepting them, or at the very least, becoming intrigued by them.
We as a society are very interested in these theories, not just relating to the possible end of days in 2012. How many people know someone who had a safe room filled with bottled water and were preparing for the apocalypse in 2000?
There are people who are absolutely fascinated with the inner workings of the church, or of the Freemasons, or any secret society, which is why Dan Brown can continue to write and sell millions of copies of his books. If he were to write a book on 2012 and make Robert Langdon a central character, he would never have to work again.
Nostradamus continues to attract attention, sell books, inspire Web sites and even a television show on the History Channel, 443 years after his death. The name “Nostradamus” was ranked number one on Google search after the 9/11 attacks.
There are many that believe the Mayan calendar and the Book of Revelations in the Bible are both predicting the end to be in 2012. According to the Bible, we are in the last stages of the world right now. In fact, we are past due for the second coming.
The more we engage in wars and witness horrific natural disasters worldwide, the more it seems people are questioning whether this is it.
How many people have heard someone joke after a disaster about it is the end of the world? Whether it is or it is not, it is certainly creating a buzz.
What is this fascination with if and when the world, or at least the civilization to which we have become accustomed, will end?
We have become so fascinated by it that television shows like “It Could Happen Tomorrow” on the Weather Channel are incredibly successful. One I am guilty of watching is the History Channel’s “Life After People,” which is based not on what would happen after some huge event has wiped people out, but more on what would happen if the human race just suddenly vanished.
Also along this line is Alan Weisman’s book, “The World Without Us.” He briefly touches on the fact that most go along believing nothing will end the human race by stating, “Any conjecture gets muddled with our obstinate reluctance to accept that the worst might actually occur.”
The film “2012” and followers of this philosophy are definitely thinking about what would happen if the worst does occur. A major part of the movie deals with the eruption of the Yellowstone super volcano, which is indeed very real.
Though the movie itself is very Hollywood, it is fact that the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, for whatever reason.
We cannot possibly know why. Perhaps the better question is: do we really want to know?
Mallory Boyd is a sophomore geology major.
2013 calendar, anyone?
My point, and I do have one
Published: Thursday, November 19, 2009
Updated: Thursday, November 19, 2009
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