Interest in the Mayan Long Count Calendar and 2012 end-of-the-world
prophecies is increasing rapidly with about four years left to the
target date of December 21, 2012 (or thereabouts).
A significant number of new books, as well as reprints of older ones,
on the topic of 2012 are being published, some becoming legitimate
bestsellers, including: Apocalypse 2012: A Scientific Investigation into
Civilization’s End by Lawrence E. Joseph; Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 by
John Major Jenkins; and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel
Pinchbeck.
On the fiction front, Whitley Strieber’s latest novel, 2012: The War
for Souls, is slated to be a Michael Bay-produced (and possibly
directed) film at Warner Bros. Pictures.
An increasing number of mainstream publications are writing about
2012. The New York Times Magazine ran a feature on the topic, focusing
on John Major Jenkins, in its July 1, 2007 edition; USA Today published
an article entitled “Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?” on
March 28, 2007; and Publishers Weekly ran a story about the large number
of new books on the topic on March 26, 2007. A second PW story ran in
the September 3, 2007 edition with a quote from a well-known editor
saying that 2012 “has practically become its own category” of books; and
proving that the trend is only strengthening, a year later the
September 22, 2008 issue of PW in its cover story stated “publishers
agree that New Age readers can’t get enough prophetic 2012 literature,”
and “sales on this topic have been through the roof.”
Perhaps most significantly from a mainstream awareness perspective,
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC) is
directing a new tent-pole film for Sony Pictures entitled 2012. It is
set for wide theatrical release in July, 2009.
The Disinformation Company specializes in publishing articles on
topics surfacing in the culture on its popular website at www.disinfo.com and publishes books
by authors writing in this and related fields. (For instance,
Disinformation author Graham Hancock’s bestselling book Fingerprints of
the Gods was one of the first to focus on the Mayan calendar and its end
date in 2012, and will be one of the bases for the Roland Emmerich
movie.) Of course, in addition to its publishing division, The
Disinformation Company also produces and distributes documentary films.
Producer Gary Baddeley recognized that interest in 2012 was on a fast
track into the zeitgeist in 2007 and initiated the process of planning
and producing 2012: Science Or Superstition with director Nimrod Erez.
The Disinformation team, including co-producer Ralph Bernardo, contacted
and arranged interviews with multiple experts, often obtaining speedy
access due to more than ten years of working with them or colleagues in
their fields.
Interviews were conducted in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego,
Palenque and also shot on location in Mexico and Egypt. Co-producer
Bernardo worked with NASA to obtain illuminating footage of our solar
system and galaxy and was able to locate leading astronomy professor
Anthony Aveni, a cornerstone of the film’s balanced approach. Director
Nimrod Erez worked closely with animators to illustrate the sometimes
complicated concepts discussed in the film, allowing the viewer to see
visually, the hard to grasp phenomenon of precession.
In accord with the Disinformation style of documentary filmmaking and
publishing, the producers attempted to highlight multiple views of the
subject matter and to interview experts who address the issues from
varying and sometimes conflicting perspectives. The goal was to present
the viewer with a balanced look at the 2012 phenomenon, allowing him or
her to form an independent opinion on the debate about what the December
21, 2012 date means to all of us.