Mass suicide in the Mayan city of Tikal, Guatemala. Killer solar rays that will erupt and heat the Earth’s core, resulting in a shift of the tectonic plates. This somehow linked with the galactic alignment of the Earth, the sun and the centre of our galaxy. Welcome to the world of Roland Emmerich’s “2012”, the latest creation of a movie director with a clear apocalyptic appetite with movies like “Independence Day”, “Godzilla” and “The Day After Tomorrow” already to his credit.

Call it the alternative, esoteric or new age community: fact of the matter is that in the past decade, this community has grown from being seen as completely surplus to requirements which no-one noticed or took serious, to a new market, and one still largely untapped, except by Hollywood film writers – Emmerich prominently amongst them. His “2012” movie has highlighted that, as was the case with “The Da Vinci Code”, this genre is on the up. However, the vital question one has to ask is whether this mass publicity has created any true change for the better.

Some in the new age community are no doubt happy that the world now knows about the 2012 phenomenon. At the same time, however, the message is one of utter doom and gloom, on a far grander scale than anything ever portrayed. Is that the message the new age wants to send out to the world?

Another question should also be asked, which is how Emmerich arrived at this apocalyptic vision of the future. The premise of the film is that the Mayans predicted the end of the world, for December 21, 2012. Though it is a highly popular opinion, fact of the matter is that they did not. The problem of the movie and the common misunderstanding of the 2012 phenomenon is this: three 2012 theories have been piled on top of each other, thus creating a monster that has also spawned this movie – and has sown confusion across the world. I recently learned how a ten year old child asked her parents whether it is indeed true that there is an ancient prophecy that the entire world will die… in three years. I know of another child that, having seen the movie, is now obsessing over the same worry. Is this what we want our children to worry about?

The first contributing theory to this misunderstanding is that the Mayan calendar is somehow linked with sunspot activity. This notion was popularised in 1995 by Maurice Cotterell in “The Mayan Prophecies”. The dust jacket claims “The present world will end on 22 December 2012”, to continue in smaller lettering “So prophesied the Maya 5,000 years ago”. Cotterell had argued as early as 1986 that the Mayan calendar of 1,366,560 days contained knowledge of the sunspot cycle and that the Mayans encoded this “wisdom”, as this cycle had a direct effect on the welfare of the human race. In the book, Cotterell predicted a sudden reversal in the earth’s magnetic field, a notion central to the “2012” movie, where the somewhat pioneering work of Charles Hapgood on the subject – popular in many catastrophic theories – receives repeated exposure too.

The second theory is that the sunspot activity will have disastrous effects on planet Earth. This doomsday thinking as related to 2012 was aired by Cotterell, but popularised by Belgian author Patrick Geryl. The author of a number of books on the subject, Geryl has also founded a non-profit organisation, the “Official Survival Group 2012 - New Global Trust”. Geryl considers the 2012 cataclysm a “scientifically underbuilt global event that will dramatically change the world and only if we prepare duly, some of us may be able to survive.” His organisation is focused on providing a location and the means to survive, upon which they will rebuild a new civilisation after the cataclysm.

Geryl states that when the “sun’s magnetism reaches a crucial point, the sun’s surface will be subjected to immense storms. They will cause a super-catastrophe on earth, without equal. The astronomical Zodiac of the Egyptians described the exact dates of the previous disasters and their consequences for our planet.” Reminiscent of 19th century piramodology, in which every nook and cranny of the Great Pyramid used to show that biblical prophecy was being fulfilled, Geryl writes that “When you combine the facts of these phenomena, you are able to prove the source of the number 666, known from the Bible as the number of the Apocalypse. It is taken from the Egyptian civilization and indicates an aberration in the sunspot cycle, which lays the foundation for the forthcoming world cataclysm.” Geryl is an apocalyptical preacher, often wagging his finger in the face of disbelieving 2012 phenomenon observers, whom he chastises for “not believing him”. His forecast clearly inspired Emmerich, for Geryl identifies this as the cause for the catastrophe: “upheavals in the sun’s magnetic fields will generate gigantic solar flares that will affect the polarity of the entire Earth. The result: our magnetic field will reverse all at once, with catastrophic consequences for humanity. Massive earthquakes will demolish all buildings on the planet, and instigate colossal tsunamis and intense volcanic activity. In fact, the Earth’s crust will shift, sweeping continents thousands of miles away from their present positions.”

In “How to Survive 2012”, Geryl considers the challenge to survive 2012 as being on par with Noah: “It is a blueprint for all of you who want to re-live the story of Noah. I explain thoroughly all the problems we are going to encounter and which precautions we need to take. I expect to inspire enough people so that together we can resume life on earth in a new civilization.” Clearly, Emmerich took note, for the means of survival in “2012” are indeed a flotilla of giant arks.

The third theory is that 2012 is linked with the galactic alignment, whereby, from the Earth’s perspective, the sun will align to the Galactic Centre. This theory was put forward by John Major Jenkins in “Maya Cosmogenesis 2012”. Nowhere, however, does Jenkins link this with doomsday scenarios and he is furthermore explicit that this is a slow process, whereby December 21, 2012 is one calendar date for a much longer – and geologically harmless – phenomenon. Still, what the “2012” movie has done, is take all three separate theories together, and mix them into the spine of the story, whereupon Emmerich and co. have equally reworked parts of “Deep Impact”, “War of the Worlds” and “The Poseidon Adventure” to create a 158 minute long story that on more than one occasion is totally unbelievable.

Emmerich also seems to have gotten inspiration from other new age sources. With a title like “Apocalypse 2012”, Lawrence E. Joseph might have subtitled it “an optimist investigates the end of civilization”, but his ten page description of the Yellowstone supervolcano clearly inspired large segments of the movie. The movie also relies heavily on the myth of Atlantis: “Jackson Curtis” has written a mediocre novel on the destruction of the civilisation. The lost civilisation features prominently in “The Mayan Prophecies” and in Geryl’s theories. Of course, the destruction of a civilisation by violent earthquakes and floods – which is supposedly how Atlantis’ demise occurred – is precisely the manner in which the earth succumbs in “2012” too.

It is therefore clear that the alternative community and its authors created this modern misunderstanding about 2012. “We” have sent out a message to the world that the world will end in 2012. “We” cannot blame anyone else. Furthermore, the methodology of theory building used by Geryl and Cotterell to substantiate their theories are typical of “our” community. It is the same number crunching and code-breaking that made “The Da Vinci Code” famous. But it is not science. And it is often based on totally misguided notions.

I will be the first to argue that the 2012 phenomenon is extremely interesting. But the majority of those involved are absolutely non-apocalyptic in their approach. Alas, the vociferous and doomsday preachers have largely taken centre stage, with television documentaries riding on the coattails of the movie interested in imaginary Nostradamus’ prophecies for 2012 or devoting endless hours to an “2012 apocalypse”. Alternative authors are given a stage to step in the limelight to have their voice heard, even though it may not be in their own best interest, or the message the alternative field should send into the world. “We” may have set the stage for three years of the world pondering the idea whether, indeed, the world might end in 2012 after all. A fear based on a mistaken notion. And hence, those who often identify themselves as truth seekers, have contributed – knowingly, unknowingly or innocently – to another lie. That is not a good thing.

Paranormal fear is what makes Hollywood go around this November, it seems. Starting off with “The Fourth Kind” and finishing with “Paranormal Activity”, November 2009 also just happens to see one of the biggest movie releases ever: “2012”. The common denominator? All of these films use topics that could be described as paranormal, esoteric or new age and twist them into a fearful plot. “Fear the weird” seems to be the topic not just of this Halloween, but the month of November.

First to be released was “The Fourth Kind”. Pretending it is the true story of Alaska psychiatrist Abigail Tyler, who uncovers a series of alien abductions in her hometown, leading to the death of her husband and disappearance of her daughter, the film uses the same ploy as “The Blair Witch Project”: pretending some of the characters are real and that genuine footage is used. In truth, nothing of the movie is genuine. Though some claimed abductees have argued that the movie is representative of their trauma, fact of the matter is that none of those have emerged from a hypnotic session in near-total paralysis because of floating above their bed while reliving their abduction experience. Or kill their entire family before turning the gun on themselves. Or other things best not divulged in the interest of not spoiling the plot of this movie too much. But it is clear that the movie is quite visibly a mixture of the more traumatic abduction stories, as principally promoted by Budd Hopkins and Whitley Strieber, with a mixture of a Twin Peaks setting and a Sitchin-esk fascination with the Sumerian language. As one commentator on the movie noted: not even the landscape around Nome, Alaska as depicted in the movie resembles the real, flat setting of the small town. Nor do many – if any – claimed abductees speak entire Sumerian sentences over again.

The last fear movie to be released in November will be “Paranormal Activity”, whose trailer uses the reaction of a crowd called in for a pre-release screening to show how truly horrifying the movie seems to be. In this case, the premise seems to hinge on the notion that even your bedroom is not safe from paranormal intruders, obviously set out to turn peaceful dreams and lovemaking into a worse than worst nightmare. You are not safe anywhere from fearful intrusions, for, indeed, “The Fourth Kind” equally identifies the bedroom as the most unsafe place of the house. “Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

Caught in between both major releases is “2012”, which is riding high on the fear connected to the 2012 phenomenon. Will the world end? It’s a question that is beginning to weigh heavy on the global mind. In the run-up to the movie release, the Discovery Channel devoted an entire weekend to the question whether 2012 signalled the apocalypse. Indeed, I was told how an Italian ten year old schoolgirl two weeks ago asked her mother whether it was true that in three years’ time, everyone was going to die. The motorway billboards in Los Angeles are advertising the movie 2012 and question whether we are ready… to die. Ten years after the apocalyptic craze created around the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 that was mentioned by the 16th century French alchemist Nostradamus, the world is going gaga over December 21, 2012, the end date of the Mayan Long Count Calendar.

Will the world end in 2012? The short answer is a simple no. The Maya have never claimed the world would end in 2012. They “merely” used a calendar – the so-called Long Count – which ticks over on December 21, 2012. It is indeed true that this period of time – rather than the exact date itself – was seen as a period of change, but there is no indication whatsoever that this change is as catastrophic as 2012 makes it out to be. For in the movie “2012”, it is clear that the end of the world is literally going to happen, including gigantic tsunamis and terrible earthquakes.

I enjoyed “Independence Day” – from the same director as “2012”. Why? Because no-one left “Independence Day” thinking this was genuine. But the entire premise upon which the promotion of 2012 is released – if not based – is that it is a “fact” that the “Mayans predicted it”. In truth, the Mayans predicted very little about 2012. They identified a calendar date and linked it with change. That is all. And when one reads the fine print of the Mayan cosmology, it is clear that the prophesized change was sociological, not geological.

Three movies, and three times fear-mongering. Geoff Stray, one of the foremost authors and followers of the 2012 phenomenon, argues that nothing in the Mayan cosmology is about the end of the world. His conclusion is diagonally against the beliefs of Belgian author Patrick Geryl, who is a veritable prophet of doom. In November 2008, Geryl literally wagged his finger in front of my nose, stating it was at my own peril not to believe him, as he has always been proven to be right about these matters.

Geryl follows in the footsteps of the Christian apocalyptic doomsayers. His prophecy of doom – like Strieber’s – is eagerly picked up by Hollywood, who use it for fear-mongering science fiction movies. That is in itself nothing too bad. The problem I personally have is that the moviemakers falsely claim it is all “true”. The truth is that nothing about the 2012 phenomenon argues what is depicted in the movie; the same applies to “The Fourth Kind”. And though some will have experienced traumatic paranormal activity in the bedroom, it is equally clear that a lot – in fact most – paranormal activity is totally benign.

Christians take to the street as soon as someone dares to imply that Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ might have been married. And their irk is given front page news. But the alternative community seems to think it is alright as to what is happening this November. They somehow feel “proud” that Hollywood has devoted attention to these phenomena, and seem to think that the fact it is completely over the top fear-mongering, is a small price to pay for the exposure they receive. That, alas, is in my book not good enough. Furthermore, no-one of the alternative community is interviewed to discuss matters such as 2012. Indeed, the principle interviewees in the major newspapers are the sceptics: those who believe there is nothing immaterial to this universe. Who completely trash everything to do with 2012. Or alien abductions. Or paranormal activity. One thus gets the impression, from leading newspapers, that the entire alternative community embraces 2012 apocalyptic preaching. That is simply not the case.

Some might argue that all of this fear-mongering is part of a wider conspiracy, to create fear. Equally, some conspiracy writers seem to claim there is another purpose to these movies, specifically “preparation”: that somehow, the public is sensitized for a major revelation. It rides high on that decade-long ambition that somehow there is sufficient evidence that ET is real and that the American president should acknowledge their existence.

I wish such thinkers well. But in the meantime, let us see what these movies are definitely doing: they are, whether by accident, design or conspiracy, painting everything that is outside of the ordinary in the most negative and fearful daylight that could possibly be. That is sad. That should be a serious concern. And, specifically, they ride high on bogus footage and claims about alien abductions and the 2012 phenomenon, and, indeed, Mayan cosmology. That should be a serious concern.