2012

I. SYNOPSIS

A geologist, Adrian Helmsley, goes to Dr. Satnam in India and find out the increasing temperature of the earth's core. Adrian notifies Carl Anheuser and President Thomas Wilson that this will cause a series of natural disasters. Wilson, together with other world leaders, begins a secret project anticipating humanity's survival. On the other scene, a science fiction writer, Jackson Curtis meets Charlie who explained to him a theory that speaks of the Mayan Calendar’s prediction of what will happen on 2012. He has a map of the ark project. Jackson rents a small plane to rescue his family. Later, the group where Jackson came secures an aircraft and departs for China. Arriving in China, the group of Curtis is spotted by the army. While in another scene, Satnam called-up Adrian to warn him about a tsunami that would arrive at the location of the arks. The Curtis family, Gordon and Tamara were picked up by a monk on his way to the arks with his grandparents. They stow away with the help of the monk’s brother Tenzin, one of the ark’s workers. As a tsunami approaches the site, an impact driver stuck between the gears of the ark's hydraulics chamber, stopping a boarding gate from closing and makes the ship unable to start its engines. Jackson and his son Noah remove the impact driver and the crew recovers control of the ark, preventing a crash with a mountain. After flood waters from the tsunamis decline, the arks set sail in South Africa where the mountains have risen in relation to sea level. Jackson is reconciled with his family and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The Earth is shown from space, showing a severely changed landscape of Africa.

II. THREE IMPORTANT STATEMENTS

A. President Wilson: “The world as we know it, will soon come to an end.”

This line is basically connected to the line wherein President Wilson was able to validate after the concerted efforts of the brightest scientists of several nations regarding the devastating situation of the world. The movie depicted the terrifying physical convulsions – the end of the world. This end, though there are lot of scientific means to calculate its exact time of occurrence, will come unexpectedly (beyond human reason) and take the living by surprise. One may see here that the present earth will be destroyed and later it will be took place by the new earth.

Putting it in the perspective of Catholic Eschatology, the end or the “Last” has burst forth upon the world. What we human beings hope for, whether at close of history or at the term of our individual mortal lives bears directly on Christ. This event could be transcended by some later event – but of the absolute future that is God. Jesus as the eschatological event opens us to the meaning of the end of the world and the human being. God gives assurance that, however bad things may be, one need only draw back the veil and see things in the perspective of the great battle against evil, and appreciate the length and breadth and depth of God’s victorious power at work among us. There will be an end to history as we know it, and the fads and fashions of this world are passing. When it will come is irrelevant—it will come for each of us at death. Perhaps the best way to describe the end of the world is to see it as history coming to term.

B. Newscaster: “... the victims were said to have adhered to the Mayan-Quiche Calendar which predicts the end of time to occur on the 21st of December this year, due to the sun’s destructive forces... Strangely enough, scientific records do support the fact that we are heading for the biggest solar climax in recorded history...”

Charlie Frost explained that in the year 2012 a disastrous event will unfold. It caused by an alignment of the planets in our solar system that only happens every 640,000 years. Just imagine the earth as an Orange. Our sun will begin to emit such extreme amounts of radiation, that the core of the earth will melt - that’s the inside part of the Orange, leaving the crust of our planet free to shift. The forces of Mother Nature will be so devastating it will bring an end to this world on winter solstice 12-21-12.

In New Age circles, one of the best-known end of time is December 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar is scheduled to run out before it does what all calendars do, that is, to start over. What is happening is the end of the thirteenth Mayan "Great Cycle" (a period a little over 5,000 years long) and the beginning of the fourteenth Great Cycle. The change over no more signifies "the end of time" than the change of a millennium on the Gregorian calendar.

As Christian, we don’t know when will the end of the world come or when will it this happen. There is no indication that it is near, and there is no assurance that it is far. What is important is not when it will happen, but that it will happen. History is short when put in perspective.

C. Adrian: “I know we’ve all been involved in making difficult decisions... to save our human civilization ...But to be human means to care for each other, and civilization means to work together to create a better life...”

The only one moral function of a disaster movie is to focus on man’s altruism in times of crisis. We see how people begin to work together despite previous differences. We witness how a stranger is suddenly willing to sacrifice his safety or at times his life to save another. We hear a grandstanding from one of the characters about unity, humanity and sacrifice. 2012 has all these and delivers the same message: humanity ends when we stop fighting for each other. Unfortunately, the movie portrays disaster and destruction in such a brutal and unsettling manner that it creates a discord between the movie’s message and its presentation. Good disaster movies leave the audience teary-eyed with hope and triumphant compassion for the survivors, but with 2012, you are just glad no one else has to die again.

In Catholic Eschatology perspective, “to save human civilization” means the Gospel has to be preached to all nations before the end comes. It is true that the world will be experiencing great social calamities. However, this event, the end of the world, must bring to each and everyone the full realization of the salvation occurring in Jesus. It is not just about centering to oneself for “making difficult decisions… saving human civilization… caring for each other… working together to create better life…” But rather, it must be understood with burning desire the full manifestation of Jesus in glory. Full participation in His glory supposes participation in his death. Thus, all of us and the world must be subjected to the judgment of the Cross of Christ. The full manifestation of God’s dominion means the full salvation of the human civilization.

III. GENERAL STATEMENT

The world will come to an end, not because it is predicted by the Mayan Calendar; but, as the full manifestation of God’s dominion to the human civilization and the world. Such event is beyond our comprehension, because only God knows when it will come. Thus, we must “believe and live” the Gospel of Christ so that we may always be ready and equipped to face the unexpected coming of the end times.