The definition
of apocalypse described by Burgess and Nur (2008) is “The battle at the end of
the world, as described in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Sometimes also
used to describe any religiously charged major societal upheaval” (Burgess and
Nur, 2008). This essay will investigate this definition and see if it fits
contemporary beliefs. Ideas of the apocalypse have fascinated the public
throughout history. Every society has different ideas or predictions about a global
cataclysm that will end the world. The end was once interpreted as a
supernatural event in which the Earth would be purified by a Deity or divine
God. Scientific beliefs about a natural cataclysmic event that will end the
world compete with religious theories. During the investigation of Roland Emmerich’s
film of 2009, 2012, Solar flares, pole
shifts, Earth crust displacement, the Rapture, the Mayan Calendar, the Hopis
all give detailed accounts of how the Earth will be destroyed. 2012 shows the conflicting ideas of
contemporary society; and this essay will show the various theories and how
they act as a guide for surviving the end of the world. The theme of conspiracy
theory is also extremely evident throughout society today and these theories
are exposed in 2012.
The
Mayans predicted the end will occur on 21st December 2012; The
Mayans were “the most mysterious of the civilisations of pre-Columbian
America,” (Thompson, 1996, page 191) whose Calendar ends in 2012. Holba
Mentions Arnold’s suggestion that a cataclysmic natural disaster will occur in
2012, “by way of the “ring of fire” (Hart and Holba, 2009, page 91). This
destruction would be caused by volcanoes and tectonic plates amongst other
natural destructive forces, coinciding with Mayan Calendar prophecy. Arnold’s
theory is rooted in science and does not depend on sacred texts. Holba also
states that Gilbert connected the Mayan culture with astrology and astronomy to
produce his theory of the end. The Mayans were advanced in aspects of astrology
and astronomy; they suggested an impending astronomical polar shift that would
occur as a result of planetary alignment or as Wojcik states “the configuration
of the planets in the solar system“(Wojcik, 1997, Page 9).
Wojcik also
states that the Hopis were another group in Native America who believed in “The
Great Purification” that would occur before a global cataclysm. The prophecy is
based on the idea that if “sacred knowledge is rejected and if the planet’s
resources continue to be exploited after this period of Tribulation, the world
would be destroyed” (Wojcik, 1997, Page 9). The Hopis believe we are in the
fourth world. The three previous worlds have been destroyed; first by fire;
second a pole shift; and finally the third world was destroyed by a flood, (Apocalypsesoon.com,
2003-2008) and similarly in the Bible, like Noah, the chosen are warned and
they build gigantic boats out of reeds. The Hopis believe that the end of the
world will occur due to “the increasing corruption of Hopi spiritual values,
which will eventually result in the purification of the world, so that life
will begin anew and pure” (Loftin, 2003, page xxv). They do not believe in a
definitive end but a series of chances to conform to the rules of the Hopis
sacred teachings. Keller states that the Hopis view of the world is that it is
“part of a cycle of periodic world changes” (Keller, 2005, page 149). There are
many variations in the Hopi prophecies, for example; Hundley writes how Lloyd Hildebrand
states that “Some prophecies of the Hopis indicate that time will end in 2012,
in full agreement with the Mayan calendar’s end date” (Hundley, 2010, page 114).
Hundley also points out that after the end, some prophecies indicate that
“there will be a “Golden Age” after 2012” (Hundley, 2010, page 114) full of
peace. These themes are all used in contemporary cinema today; ensuring
mythmaking in film is understood universally, using the similarities of
religions and beliefs.
Science has
indicated that solar flares could cause problems for Earth in the future.
Recently Stanford University published an article on The Strange Case Of Solar Flares And Radioactive Elements, stating
that in 2006 the sun sent a beam of radiation and particles to Earth “Purdue
nuclear engineer Jere Jenkins, while measuring the decay rate […] noticed that
the rate dropped slightly during the flare” (Stanford University, 2010). The
article states that their results show “their findings strengthen the argument
that the strange swings in decay rates were caused by neutrinos from the sun”
(Stanford University, 2010). The swings were parallel to the elliptical orbit
of the Earth and as the Earth was closer to the sun, it would be exposed to
more neutrinos, which would change the Earth’s decay rate. As shown in 2012, the neutrinos melt the Earth from
the core; like a microwave. There are various scientific theories on how and
when the end will come and one would suggest that a scientific explanation seems
more plausible than the Rapture.
The Bible’s predictions that God
will cause another apocalypse have been wrong in the past. Weber (2000) states
how there have been many predictions which have turned out to be false. Thompson
states that Reverend Baxter, the editor
of the London Christian Herald,
announced in 1889 that a Rapture of 144,000 Christians would occur in 1896 and “
the world would end in 1901” (Thompson, 1999, page 120-121). James (Date
unknown) writes in his article, The 2012
Prophecy, that there is no set date for this event. So the belief in
whether there is a set date is arguable amongst the believers. The main belief
in Christianity is that The Second Coming of Christ will occur in stages.
First, faithful Christians will be taken away from Earth; The Rapture. This
will be followed by a reign of Christ for 1000 years, and then comes the
Tribulation or judgement. A war is then fought between good and evil and the
evil will be tossed into “the lake of fire, i.e. Hell. After that, God will
destroy Heaven and Earth because they have been polluted by sin” (Reinckens,
1998, Online).
Conspiracy theories are used in
popular culture to represent the current conspiracies that have severely
affected society; an example would be the conspiracy of suspicious deaths
including important figures such as JFK and Princess Diana. Knight states “The
assassination of President Kennedy in Dallas in 1963 has inspired more
conspiracy thinking in America than any other event in the Twentieth century” (Knight,
2000, Page 76).The questions remain of who really killed them? Was it the
government? The conspiracy of a New World Order can also be seen; the idea of
uniting the “world’s superpowers to secure and maintain global peace, safety,
and security.” (Bilson, 1996-2000, Online). Troitsina (2010) writes that
Nostradamus wrote of “a threat from the East” that will cause the apocalypse.
“Saint Matrona Moskovskaya of Russia predicts a cataclysm when “everything will
fall through the ground.” “Everything will melt like ice” (Troitsina, 2012).
These various themes of Apocalypse and conspiracy are evident throughout
Emmerich’s 2012. This essay will
investigate those representations and look at the social and cultural contexts
of these ideas.
There are many
conflicting ideas in 2012: Scientific
theories, apocalyptic theories, religious theories, even conspiracy theories.
To start with we will look at the scientific theories the film tries to deploy.
The film starts with images of planets moving into alignment, the sun emitting
solar flares, and sending neutrinos to Earth. The effect of solar flares and
Neutrinos are being studied; an article published by Stanford University (2010)
appeared on ScienceCentric.com shows this. In The Sun Newspaper, on 13th
December 2010, Alex Peake wrote that a solar storm had been predicted for the
following morning, cause power failures “and interfere with communications”
(Peake, Monday 13th December 2010, page 22) for a short while; so
the effect the sun is having on our Earth is being monitored closely. The film
uses scientific knowledge to explain the natural cataclysm that ends the world. An Indian Scientist, who monitors solar
flares, states the flares sent the highest recorded count of Neutrinos down to
earth, which have mutated into a “new kind of nuclear particle” (2012)
causing a physical reaction, melting the earth’s core from the inside
like a microwave. Throughout the film there are news flashes showing various
apocalypse theories. The Indian Scientist states that the Earth’s crust is
destabilising and evacuation must begin. Another scientist states that “All
scientific advances, our fancy machines…The Mayans saw this coming thousands of
years ago.” (2012). At the Whitehouse,
the Geologist explains that
The temperature
of the subterranean crust...that is, the cement that holds our land mass in
place...is increasing at a rapid rate, much faster than anticipated. As a
result, we've observed extreme polar instability. The magnetic fields have
decreased by more than 80 percent... in the last 48 hours (Emmerich, 2009, 2012).
After this an earthquake measuring
10.9 occurs and the land crumbles as the plates shift beneath it and sink the
land below sea level. The Earth’s crust is shifting and when it stops, Tsunamis
will occur. The Earth’s crust shifted 23 degrees South West, 1578 miles, in 2012 and the Earth’s poles have also reversed
their magnetic field. “You’re telling me the North Pole is somewhere in Wisconsin?
”. The Scientist replies “actually that’s the South Pole now”. Once again the
Geologist’s calculations are wrong and there is another wave coming from the
East, so once again the end will be sooner. The Himalayas are no longer the
highest in the world after the ‘end’ is over. “It’s now the Drakensberg Mountains
of KwaZulu-Natal. The entire African continent has risen. Several thousand
feet, and it likely never even flooded. That's why they call it the Cape of
Good Hope” (2012) as they set sail
for Africa to Start a New Age.
Moving on one
will investigate the conspiracy theories that are fluent throughout 2012. The Geologist visits the
President, and whilst people protest for “NO G8”, the president heads a G8
conference in which he asks the interpreters to leave, showing the secrecy conspiracy
theme that run through the film. The President states they must work together
to save humanity. The secret extends to Cho Ming Valley in Tibet, where they are
building their escape; telling the Chinese, who they have working on the
project, that they are building a Dam. But they are Building Metal Boats; Arks
in fact. The film takes us to the Louvre where the president’s daughter and the
Director of the Louvre are collecting precious Art to ‘keep safe’ in a Bunker
in Switzerland “There are too many fanatics out there that could damage her. Just
think about the beautiful Buddha statues they blew up in Afghanistan” (2012). Later in the film we notice that Afghanistan
is one country, not on the Arks; here the conspiracy would be that they blew
these up to get rid of any evidence of other cultures than those on the Arks.
The Director of the Louvre then discovers that the Art is not in a bunker in
Switzerland; stating he has proof that the tunnels are empty and has called a
press conference to expose the truth. He then drives into a tunnel in Paris in
which his car blows up. It is later stated on a news report that he was killed
in the same tunnel that Diana had died. Ideas about the Princess Diane
conspiracy spring to the conscious mind. A conspiracy theorist who preaches on
radio throughout the film, speaks of various theories, predictions and
suspicious activity. He is asked by the protagonist of the film what it is he
so passionate about. Stating that “It's the apocalypse. End of days. The
Judgment Day, the end of the world, my friend. Christians called it the
rapture, but the Mayans knew about it...the Hopis, the I Ching...the Bible,
kind of...” (2012) the theorist plays
a cartoon of the science behind the ‘end’ which states
In ancient
times, the Mayan people were the first civilization to discover...that this
planet had an expiration date. According to their calendar...in the year 2012,
a cataclysmic event will unfold... caused by an alignment of the planets in our
solar system...that only happens every 640,000 years. [...] Our sun will begin
to emit such extreme amounts of radiation […] called neutrinos... that the core
of the Earth will melt. [...] leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. In
1958, Professor Charles Hapgood named it Earth Crust Displacement. […] The
forces of Mother Nature will be so devastating...it will bring an end to this
world on winter solstice, 12-21-12. (2012)
He even has newspaper clippings depicting
suspicious deaths of important figures and states how secrets are kept safe and
when someone uncovers a secret and tries to expose them, they are ‘dealt with’;
one headline being what we have witnessed in the film. “Head of the Louvre Assassinated”.
He states one man gave him a Map before they killed him so he knows where the
government are building the ‘ships’. Another method of secrecy is the text
messages; sent to those who bought tickets. To activate the message, it must be
opened by fingerprint on a touch screen phone; making sure aspects of the
evacuation are secret. Anheuser states that the new world will need people who
can contribute and ensure the continuity of their species. Anheuser also states
that the geologist had betrayed the code of secrecy.
Anheuser - We
had to monitor everybody. How do you think we kept it a secret so long?
Geologist - So we just killed anybody
who tried to talk?
Anheuser - Anybody who tried to
talk...was not just an enemy of the state; they're an enemy of humanity.
Geologist - The director of the Louvre,
an enemy of humanity?
Anheuser - After he called a press
conference he was! (2012)
This presents the viewer with the
‘truth’ even if it is only a film and not reality. Anheuser also states how
people were ’chosen’, “Same way your art was: By experts from all over the
world. We had geneticists determine the perfect gene pool to repopulate” (2012), but the truth is, they could
afford to pay. The final conspiracy seen in 2012
is how the many World leaders unite as one to create a period of enlightenment
in a new world, a new age, and finally, a New World Order.
Throughout
the film residues of religious stories and theories try to compete with scientific
theory. 2012 shows that it is science
that prevails; not the God-Fearing humanity that expects to be saved by the
Lord. There are Believers on the streets with boards stating “Repent, The end
is near”. Even the radio station in which the protagonist Curtis listens to
with his children is playing Godly Music that they sing along to, until it is
interrupted by lost signal and the ideas of a conspiracy theorist are heard on
another station instead. There are numerous visual representations of American fears
such as 9/11 and the Twin Towers and the general destruction of well-known
monuments; such as Christ the Redeemer, crumbling in Rio and the Sistine Chapel
splitting between the fingers of God and Man, crushing praying Christians. The
Religious flock to the streets to pray, we are presented with images of
Christians, Jews, Muslims and Indians praying for hope. Anheuser mocks the
President of the United States for praying in the chapel at a time as serious
as this. Anheuser states that along with the US President; the Italian Prime
Minister has also decided to stay behind and trust in prayer. There are many
interesting themes in the film such as the fact that the scientist, who
discovered that the world was ending, represents God. As he warns America
(Noah) about what will happen so that they can be ready. This shows that even though
the film denies religion it uses the Christian story of Noah and the Flood to
represent their means of survival. A Christian film analyst explains his theory
that in 2012, the Indian Scientist dies
along with his wife and son, “In my opinion, this is symbolically God, HS, and
Son. In the Bible, God sent the warning to Noah of a flood and to build an ark.
This movie symbolically kills God.” The Christian analyst also states that the
Ark numbers that survive 4, 6 and 7 represent certain books in the Bible.
Genesis is ark
number 4 […] floating in between ark’s 6 and 7. […]Genesis, Chapter 4 is all
about Cain’s disobedience to God, […] Chapter 6 and 7 is about the Flood
judgment. I felt that in the film the boat number 4, named Genesis, was
symbolically overcoming the flood judgment represented by the literal flood
around them, and also by literally intersecting boats 6 and 7. […] technology
“saves” them, man overcame “judgment” by sheer will and intellect, and those
who trusted in faith and prayer…well, they were “nuts” and got crushed by their
own church buildings. […] boat 4, the Genesis, speak at the end of the film
about building a new place to call home...just like Cain did. (Word Press,
2009)
Humanity disobeys the idea of God
creating an Apocalypse and uses Noah’s story to save the non-believers God has
tried to destroy, or in the case of 2012;
the earth has tried to destroy. There
are many themes of social discourse in 2012,
and the discourse still continues.
One’s closing
comment would be that of the Tibetan Monk who had stowed away on Ark Four with
others that his brother should have faith, his meaning being faith in man not
God. The scientists and non-believers start a new world just as Cain did,
disobeying God. The Ark is used against God; instead of the Ark saving God’s
Chosen the Ark saves the non-religious, the scientific, and the rich. A range
of Social and Cultural conspiracies that are globally feared are evident in 2012. The conspiracy theorist preaches
the ideas; adamant the government is keeping secrets from us, which during the
film turn out to be true. He states the theory of the Christian Rapture and we
can apply this to the government’s collection of their ‘chosen’ ones. The waves
from the East and West are represented in terms of countries in the film. When
we think about the East and West, the Western half of Civilisation seems to be
more advanced in terms of technology and the treatment of people. So this film
shows the opposite - how the East is moving faster to destroy the World (“The
End will come from the East”). So, what is the definition of Apocalypse? It was
found the definition discussed in the introduction has little significance in
current contemporary beliefs. Due to new scientific research, one can say that
Apocalypse means any form of disaster or intervention that causes the Earth to
be destroyed causing human extinction, a cleansing of the Earth. This essay has
shown various beliefs that are current in society in 2010/2011, and it has
demonstrated how the ideas of Apocalypse and conspiracy are used in
contemporary cinema. One investigated some of the social and cultural
interpretations the film represents and also some global fears too. 2012 does
present a very morbid picture of the future for the ‘ordinary people’ but a
glorious one for those high in power and money. Just as the world fears a New
World Order will occur, it finally does in 2012 and the fears of society are
realised through images onscreen.
Bibliography
Burgess, D., and Nur, A., (2008)
Apocalypse: Earthquakes, archaeology and
the wrath of God. Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Hart, K. R, and Holba, A. M,
(2009) Media and the Apocalypse. Oxford:
Peter Lang Publishing.
Hundley, R., (2010) Will the World End in 2012? : A Christian
Guide to the Question Everyone's Asking. Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
Keller, C., (2005) Apocalypse Now and Then: A Feminist Guide to
the End of the World. United States: Beacon Press.
Knight, P. (2000) Conspiracy Culture: American Paranoia From
Kennedy to the X-Files London: Routledge.
Loftin, J. D., (2003) Religion and Hopi life. Indiana: India
University Press.
Peake, A., (13th
December, 2010) ‘Sun Storm Hits Today’. United
Kingdom: The Sun Newspaper
Thompson, D. (1999) The End of Time: Faith and Fear in the
Shadow of the Millennium. London: Vintage .
Weber, E., (2000) Apocalypses: Prophecies, Cults and
Millennial Beliefs Through the Ages London: Random House .
Wojcik, D., (1999) The End of the World as We Know It: Faith,
Fatalism and Apocalypse in America New York: New York University Press.
Websites
Apocalypse Soon (2003-2008) Prophecies of Hopi Indians. Apocalypse
Soon
http://www.apocalypse-soon.com/prophecies_of_hopi_indians.htm (Accessed
11/12/2010)
Bilson, V., (1996-2010) The New World Order the Jeremiah Project
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/ (Accessed
11/12/2010)
Hilley, J., (2009) The End of the World? The Asteroid Apophis
May Hit Earth in 2036. Bukisa http://www.bukisa.com/articles/31113_the-end-of-the-world-the-asteroid-apophis-may-hit-earth-in-2036#ixzz17vLqB3pt (Accessed 12/12/2010)
Reinckens, R., (1998) The Rapture. Godonthe.net
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/rapture.htm (Accessed 11/12/2010)
Stanford University (Date Unknown) The Strange Case of Solar Flares and
Radioactive Elements http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/10082629-the-strange-case-solar-flares-radioactive-elements.html (Accessed
11/12/2010)
Troitsina, M., (2010) Apocalypse Predictions: Threat from the East
and Fire from the Sky. Pravada.
http://english.pravda.ru/society/anomal/25-01-2010/111817-apocalypse-0/ (Accessed 11/12/2010)
Word Press (2009) A Christian Film Analysis. Word Press
http://wisdomoftheworld.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/2012-a-christian-film-analysis/ (Accessed
12/12/2010)
Filmography
2012 (2009)
Roland Emmerich. USA: Columbia Picture
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