Perhaps it is the perverse appeal of mass destruction and the idea of a return to “simpler”, depopulated, tribal living that compels the recurring popularity of End of The World theories.

2012 is the latest apocalypse du jour, rooted in the fact that the old Mayan calendar ends somewhere in December of that year.  But, according to some, not even the Maya believed the world would actually end at that time.  The Telegraph consulted Guillermo Bernal, “an archaeologist at Mexico’s National Autonomous University” who notes that Mayan inscriptions refer to dates well beyond 2012 “including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.”  The same article consults a “Guatemalan Mayan Indian elder” named Apolinario Chile Pixtun, humourously noting that Pixtun is “tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the end of the world. ‘I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff,’ he said. ” 

Also beleaguered by panicked 2012 inquiries is Dr. David Morrison, a NASA scientist who fields the questions submitted to NASA’s online public “Ask an Astrobiologist” service.  According to the site: “Ask an Astrobiologist has received nearly a thousand questions about Nibiru and 2012, with more than 200 answers posted.”

“Niburu”, it turns out, is a fictional planet some believe is on crash course with planet earth, and that Mayan astronomers correctly predicted would make impact on December 2012.

The deluge of worried questions has compelled Dr. Morrison to draw up a summary of 2012 world destruction claims and address them.  Interestingly, Dr. Morrison implicates Sony Pictures in a panic-mongering viral marketing campaign meant to promote their new disaster film about the 2012 apocalypse:

“The pseudoscientific claims about Nibiru and a doomsday in 2012, together with distrust of the government, are being amplified by publicity for the new film from Columbia Pictures titled 2012, to be released in November 2009. The film’s trailer, appearing in theaters and on their website , shows a tidal wave breaking over the Himalayas, with only the following words: ‘How would the governments of our planet prepare 6 billion people for the end of the world? [long pause] They wouldn’t. [long pause] Find out the Truth. Google search 2012’.”

“The film publicity includes creation of a faux scientific website (www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/) for “The Institute for Human Continuity”, which is entirely fictitious. According to this website, the IHC is dedicated to scientific research and public preparedness. Its mission is the survival of mankind. The website explains that the Institute was founded 1978 by international leaders of government, business, and science. They say that in 2004, IHC scientists confirmed with 94% certainty that the world would be destroyed in 2012. This website encourages people to register for a lottery to select those who will be saved; a colleague submitted the name of her cat, which was accepted. I learned from Wikipedia that creating this sort of fake website is a new advertising technique called ‘Viral Marketing’, by analogy with computer viruses.”

I sent a message to Sony Pictures Press Offices quoting the above passage and stating that “I was hoping I might get a comment from Sony explaining the philosophy behind such a marketing campaign that might easily be seen as unscrupulous at best, and potentially harmful panic-mongering at worst.”

I received a swift reply from Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President of Media Relations:

Doug,

We are aware of Dr. Morrison’s article. If you take a moment to look at the home page of the site, you will see numerous references to the movie and the source of the material including the Explore The 2012 Movie Experience links, the copyright notice of Sony Pictures, the 2012 title logo and the Sony Pictures Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and California Privacy Rights links. It is clear that the website is connected to the promotion of a fictional movie. Thank you for your inquiry.

So then, yes, I went to the website, purused it a bit, and found, strangely enough, that I agree with both Dr. Morrison and Mr. Elzer.  It is a “faux scientific website” exploring human survival in the impending 2012 disaster, but it is also clear - to me - that the website is connected to the promotion of a fictional movie.

That isn’t to say, though, that Dr. Morrison doesn’t have a legitimate gripe.  Clearly, there are those for whom the fictitious nature of this scenario is not at all clear, as Dr. Morrison knows all to well.  Is Sony Pictures to blamed for their gullibility?

But, in a culture wherein a significant percentage of people actually confess to believing that President Obama is the Anti-Christ, and a man fakes his 6-year old son’s death-defying helium balloon ascent allegedly because he specifically “believes the world is going to end in 2012” and “because of that [belief] he wanted to make money quickly, become rich enough to build a bunker or something underground, where he can be safe from the sun exploding”, (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6391911/Balloon-boys-father-wanted-TV-fame-before-world-ends-in-2012.html) can we really believe that Sony’s marketing ploy can be taken all-in-good-fun, and not as a cynical attempt at profiteering from the very real fears that are manifested from what Dr. Morrison refers to as “cosmophobia”?

I leave the question open….

Read the full article | Print this article