Apocalypse Now?

Chances are that if you’ve seen the movie 2012, you won’t be sleeping well on December 20th. Skyscrapers crumbling to the ground, tsumani’s, and massive earthquakes are just some of the disasters showcased in 2012, but how accurate is the movie in representing this supposed doomsday?

NASA widely dismissed the film, predicting that December 21st will be just like any other day here on planet Earth. In response to the polar shift displayed in the film, NASA has stated that it is “impossible” and “very unlikely.” However, the Mayan calendar, another major aspect of the film, does come to an end on December 21, 2012. Just as the ordinary calender ends on December 31st every year, the Mayan calender ends on December 21st, 2012. The Mayan Calender does start back up again on December 22nd just like yours does on January 1st. Hollywood seems to have left this part out of the movie. Every other aspect of the 2012 movie, including black holes and solar flares, has also been equally debunked by NASA and other scientists.

The film 2012 ,which came out in 2009 and grossed over 700 million dollars at the box office, captivated audiences everywhere and kicked off an apocalypse media frenzy. Shows like Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic Channel, and documentaries like 2012 Apocalypse on the Discovery Channel and Nostradamus: 2012 on the History Channel followed the film in portraying the end of time prediction. Even the American car manufacturer GM used the 2012 phenomena for promotion. In February, GM aired a Superbowl commercial  in which a group of friends drive Chevy Silverados through the ruins of civilization after the 2012 apocalypse. When one of the friends inquires as to the whereabouts of another man, it is revealed that he died because he drove a Ford.

However, freshmen Byron Castillo and Josh Bailey seemed skeptical of 2012′s actual significance on December 21st.  Castillo commented, “It’s definitely not going to happen.” Bailey seemed a little more pessimistic stating he was “unsure what was going to happen” come December 21st.

Will the world cease to exist after December 21st? Will humanity not live to see another Christmas, Superbowl, or Fourth of July? The only way to definitely answer these questions is to wait until that day comes and cross our fingers that the movies and television shows are wrong.