The doomsday which is 2012 theory has sprung from a Western idea, not a Mayan. Mayans insist that the world will not end in 2012. The Mayans had a talent for astronomy, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
Once in every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center or core of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon. The next time that will happen is on December 21, 2012;(possibly) which happens to be the same day the Mayan calender expires.
In addition to the Mayan calendar, the modern doomsday myth is bolstered several ostensibly scientific reasons for a disaster. Examples include a pole shift, the "return" of Planet X or the Sun's sinister counterpart Nemesis, a galactic, planetary, or other celestial alignment, global warming, global cooling, a massive solar flare, a new ice age, and so on.
None of these have any basis in respected science. For example, the "galactic alignment" between the sun, Earth, and galactic center happens every December. The best alignment was reached in the 1990s and was accompanied by its own set of doomsday theories. Alignments since then have been increasingly poor.
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Produced by Roland Emmerich
Mark Gordon
Harald Kloser
Larry J. Franco
Ute Emmerich
Written by Harald Kloser
Roland Emmerich
Starring John Cusack
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Amanda Peet
Thandie Newton
Oliver Platt
Danny Glover
Woody Harrelson
Music by Harald Kloser
Thomas Wander
James Seymour Brett (additional score)
Cinematography Dean Semler
Editing by David Brenner
Peter S. Elliott
Studio Centropolis Entertainment
The Mark Gordon Company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) November 11, 2009 (World premiere)
November 13, 2009(Canada & US)
November 21, 2009(Japan)
Running time 158 min.
Country United States
Language English
