My wife and I went out to see 2012. As a “global” disaster movie goes, it was pretty good. But there are a couple of things to note in way of critical observation.
2012: the Accuracy
As with any movie of this type (Deep Impact/Armageddon/Damnation Alley), what we all want to see is a meaningful and engaging story, no matter how improbable the event could really be. It at least has to be conceivably possible and cohesive. So, to do that, there are some things in line of poetic license or just good story-telling that we will allow. So, for this story, we let popular ideas of what the Mayan calendar predicts to be right–if we have their calendar reading correct, of course!
According to an older USA Today article, the Mayan calendar simply ends a single 5,000 plus year cycle at the Dec 23, 2012 date, which would reset to zero.
But here’s one obvious item. In this movie, they have short shots of planets in alignment, and the sun erupting prominences or flares. There’s one quick pan from a near planet (Mercury?) down to the solar surface all full of fury and activity. The first thing I noticed is that planet showing as a crescent.
Now, as far as this solar system is concerned, all light comes from where? The sun, of course. And if we are seeing planets from the surface of the sun, how should the planets appear? Well, it’s from where all the light comes, so we would see a planetary face fully lit up.
Technically, this view would be impossible.Also, I don’t see how the alignment of earth and the sun to other planets or to other celestial objects, like the Milky Way, can have any kind of impact on the entire solar system like they portray.
2012: the "Salvation"
Once more, the only answer to keep people alive is the action of human government (i.e. The STATE), which is the secular humanist savior. In this story, there’s no Divine intervention, no strength in prayer, as many people in the midst of praying get wiped out. It’s true that there’s a slap on the wrist for the U.S. government. They did some bad things to keep the destruction of the world secret, like murdering dozens of scientific and cultural leaders to keep them from talking. But every other world leader is shown as a loving, caring person, who has done all possible to save a few from certain doom. How nice!
Now even though there are no Divine interventions, like I said, there is one thing these governments do that is just like what God did once in the Bible to save a few of mankind from complete destruction. I won’t give it away and totally spoil the whole movie for you, but I will just give a hint: look up Genesis chapter 6. I think it’s rather ironic.
Personally, I think it’s extremely unlikely that anything so completely catastrophic to the whole world would be able to be kept under wraps by all the governments of the world. There are too many people with conscience enough to keep that from happening.
2012: the Bible
Of course, if you know me, you know just what I would say here. The end of the world will not be along the lines of this idea, or whatever any group says will happen in 2012. On Christmas Eve of 2012, we will be able to tell millions that what Jesus said is what we can count on, not this Mayan stuff. The Bible has a “calendar” set up, and when God starts it, THAT will be very reliable.
True, things like what we see in these movies will happen to some extent: nuclear bombs detonating, mountains falling into the sea, asteroids hitting earth, the earth’s crust unstable (As it says in Isaiah, the earth will reel to and fro like a drunkard.). But if we are trusting in the Lord, we can be confident that whatever happens along these lines, we are taken care of in His hands.
2012: the "Salvation"
Once more, the only answer to keep people alive is the action of human government (i.e. The STATE), which is the secular humanist savior. In this story, there’s no Divine intervention, no strength in prayer, as many people in the midst of praying get wiped out. It’s true that there’s a slap on the wrist for the U.S. government. They did some bad things to keep the destruction of the world secret, like murdering dozens of scientific and cultural leaders to keep them from talking. But every other world leader is shown as a loving, caring person, who has done all possible to save a few from certain doom. How nice!
Now even though there are no Divine interventions, like I said, there is one thing these governments do that is just like what God did once in the Bible to save a few of mankind from complete destruction. I won’t give it away and totally spoil the whole movie for you, but I will just give a hint: look up Genesis chapter 6. I think it’s rather ironic.
Personally, I think it’s extremely unlikely that anything so completely catastrophic to the whole world would be able to be kept under wraps by all the governments of the world. There are too many people with conscience enough to keep that from happening.
2012: the Bible
Of course, if you know me, you know just what I would say here. The end of the world will not be along the lines of this idea, or whatever any group says will happen in 2012. On Christmas Eve of 2012, we will be able to tell millions that what Jesus said is what we can count on, not this Mayan stuff. The Bible has a “calendar” set up, and when God starts it, THAT will be very reliable.
True, things like what we see in these movies will happen to some extent: nuclear bombs detonating, mountains falling into the sea, asteroids hitting earth, the earth’s crust unstable (As it says in Isaiah, the earth will reel to and fro like a drunkard.). But if we are trusting in the Lord, we can be confident that whatever happens along these lines, we are taken care of in His hands.
lol yeh,leave it up to a liberal movie to have the state be thier saviour.
ReplyDelete