2012

As the deadline for this project draws near (yes there is a deadline), I started pondering on what posts I should post to end off with. I've explored many documentaries as I had indicated in the first post, and I've actually pretty much achieved my purpose of deconstructing media portrayals of environmental change. But what I realised is that after so many posts, I hadn't touched upon popular movies! and we know that we all love a good blockbuster. (For those who find this frivolous, I'm sure there are good art house films out there as well)

And what movie could possibly be more apt for the year 2012 than... you guessed it 2012!! :):) Sure it is has not much environmental motif to it, its very armageddon-ish, with a purported scientific message about how the world was going to end in 2012. Note the method chosen for the world to end though. It HAD to be natural disasters, and of all things (the one that really affected the world), A FLOOD! I'm not quite sure how Mayan's had envisioned the end of the world, but I suppose I'm pretty sure that there were a lot more non-environmental disasters in the biblical version (notes the allusion to Noah's ark in the movie).

And so yes, I do believe that there are some environmental concerns within 2012, much less with the actual credibility of the magnitude of the disasters portrayed, but more so the prevailing environmental worries in recent time. I admit this blog post isn't going to sound particularly academic, and hugely biased (but then, what is a blog for). There are many ways to interpret the movie 2012, and many different focus. But here, I will be discussing briefly the environmental aspect to the movie.

In recent years, there has been a rise of unpredicted (or badly predicted) mega natural disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes and more. All of these have been attributed to this huge concept of "Climate Change". There have been other movies with the same concept such as The Day After Tomorrow , another climate change doomsday movie. The reason why these movies do so well is because it is something that many people worry about. Having been educated by various media reports about disasters happening around the world (both developed and developing countries), it is no surprise that people can possibly see such catastrophic events happening close to the "End Times". This movie would have probably provided the same shock effect as say a documentary on the possible disastrous effects on climate change, only in a more entertaining and less scientifically accurate manner. I am quite sure that many in the theatres were informed about the possible consequences of global climate change through this movie, with its stunning digital effects. As Geographers, climate scientists, ecologists etc. we may sigh at the complete inaccuracy of the film (as we understand various climatic processes to be), we cannot help but acknowledge that perhaps movies (sensational ones especially) are a REALLY good way to teach people about climate change.

But anyway, I chanced upon some movie background videos. They are mostly in cartoon form and serve as a kind of historical background to lost civilisations and its Mayan origin, and hence scientific basis (well, ok they claimed to be based on astronomical cosmic events). Apparently the Mayan calendar predicts that the earth had been destroyed and re-created 5 times in the past and predicts all future end of the world events. I know i sound really sceptical, but I've always been fascinated by ancient lost civilisations (used to read books on conspiracy theories), so just take a look at these videos, if not for educational purposes, just for entertainment:

2012 Movie Background Info

Looks like even in 2012, global environmental change will continue to be of prime importance! Pun intended.