Buddha's head submerged in flood water
from Typhoon Morakot (AP Photo)
"End of the world" scenarios are big business, in religion and in trade, such as books, movies and so on. Christian Apocalyptic/Armageddon novels and videos have sold hundreds of millions of copies, especially during chronological milestones such as the year 2000—who can forget Y2K hysteria? Of late, as we approach the year 2012, we have seen an enormous proliferation in books, movies and websites touting Doomsday storylines of all manner. Naturally, movie studios have been salivating over the prospect of blocks-long lines waiting to see their latest disaster films, including and especially as concerns "2012."
One of these awaited movie is the fare set to be released by SONY studies in November, called—you might of guessed it—"2012." Naturally, SONY wants everyone in the world to see their movie—and to have the bejesus scared out of them, so they have evidently committed a grandiose hoax to drive the sheeple into those theaters in stampedes. I speak about a peculiar new website called "TheIHC.com," which has burst onto the small screen like the Flying Spaghetti Monster on steroids. When I first saw this strange website being advertised—on a kid's TV station, no less—I thought, who the heck has the money to be advertising such an odd site, which definitely declared that the earth would be destroyed in the year 2012 and that we puny humans could increase our chances of survival by joining a lottery offered at the site, which defaults to the domain InstituteForHumanContinuity.org.
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Homes collapsed in raging flood waters
from Typhoon Morakot (AP Photo)
Based on its claims concerning the year 2012—which has its roots in purported Maya prophecy of the "end of the world" (largely debunked)—I immediately thought this website must belong to some bizarre New Age group, but who would have the kind of money to put together such an enormously expensive ad campaign? Wealthy businessman Joe Firmage and his alien endeavors did come to mind at first. I finally took a look at the site and when I did a search for its principal "world-renowned scientists" such as "Dr. Frederic West" and "Dr. Satnam Tsuratani," claimed to have been putting together this world-saving organization for 30 years, they did not show up in the search engines, except on one site—and that wasn't even TheIHC.com! In fact, oddly enough, that site didn't show up at all.
It didn't take long to figure out this scam designed to terrify us into the theaters. One scan of the "whois" registry showed that the Institute for Human Continuity site is registered to SONY pictures in Culver City, California. Having lived a stone's throw away for many years, and having gone to the studios on a number of occasions, I knew the address well. The "SONYPICTURES" in the site's domain name servers didn't escape my acute detective skills either. (Tongue firmly planted in cheek, get it? Geez.) Of course, others have already discovered this hoax, recognizing the "scientists" as actors from the movie. (The "2012" link and copyright to SONY at the bottom of the site is overlooked by many people and doesn't show up in some browsers.)
Although TheIHC.com site is dramatic and exciting—and it may even be truthful to the extent that most markers point to the world being in deep trouble—it is not a real organization and is obviously designed to increase ticket sales for SONY's coming release "2012." A hoax, a fraud, a spoof and a farce, but clever marketing nonetheless, just like all the biblically based apocalypse merchandise
Sources & Further Reading
The IHC: The Institute for Human Continuity
Comments
I thank you for putting some research into and coming to the same conclusion as myself. However, I think they are stepping over the line with this one. I know people absolutely petrified of the events being pushed by the media. Literally altering their life styles, refusing to have children. Marketing may be marketing, but lying is lying. And this is one lie that I insure you will cause mayhem and unfortunately probablly even death when its all said and done; and I do not mean because of a "cellestial body". And what disappoints me more is stations like the Discovery Channel further pushing misinformation. They are supposed to be there to educate not make reality tv shows. Simply put it's too much, and I'm sick of it. I vow to create as large a movement as possible to boycott this movie 2012.
thank you for posting this.you seem to be very smart and i think your absolutly right.plus if for say the world was going to end don't you think they would have something more other then a human continuty.I'm not going to lie but i don't think anyone should be scared of the end of the world.Isn't everything supposed to end anyways?So what if its in our life time at least we all had a good run.So anyways thanks alot your a very smart women!
Okay, I`m not trying to sound rude here, and I`m willing to bet that my post will be deleted anyway. Right on the screen you can read (I`m paraphrasing here)`This film is not yet rated` and `Columbia Pictures`. Personally, I thought it was funny when I saw it for the first time. It reminded my of the advertising of `The Blair Witch Project` when everyone thought it was a genuine film that someone found. (To carry on with that thought, I also enjoyed the mocumentary that they made afterward.)
If some people are going to freak out when they see this commercial than maybe that`s a sign of just how uncivilized we have become. Get out of your homes and socialize. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.
I`ll end my comment now, although I can go on much longer. Maybe I`ll use this as a the basis for my masters thesis.
Damn. The world's not ending in 2012? Now I find out after I cashed in all IRAs and 401Ks and spent all the money. :(
Hi Acharya. Mike aka Dylan88 from supercon
Wow a fake website, that's really stooping to a new low. Jerks.
Budda is lucky that he can still breath in that picture! Other statues fatally drowned in that flood.
That website might be a scam, but what are the chances of something happening with the dawning of the age of Aquarius. Why were the ancients so obsessed with the precession of the equinoxes? Perhaps there is some sort of natural cycle, that we are unaware of, that happens to be in line with this precession.
Nice detective work Acharya.
Wow the man hours that must have gone into discovering this fake website must be astronomical. Well done good sir.
That commercial is just sick.
I thank you for putting some research into and coming to the same conclusion as myself. However, I think they are stepping over the line with this one. I know people absolutely petrified of the events being pushed by the media. Literally altering their life styles, refusing to have children. Marketing may be marketing, but lying is lying. And this is one lie that I insure you will cause mayhem and unfortunately probablly even death when its all said and done; and I do not mean because of a "cellestial body". And what disappoints me more is stations like the Discovery Channel further pushing misinformation. They are supposed to be there to educate not make reality tv shows. Simply put it's too much, and I'm sick of it. I vow to create as large a movement as possible to boycott this movie 2012.
Just to further comment on what you said Aaron. All the studying I have put into the subject has led me to believe that the transition between ages isn't set to occur in the year 2012. Also as far as the term vernal equinox being thrown around, it only occurs in March. Which is as we know a full 3 months behind the end of the world as we are being told. Just figured I'd debunk another potential rumor that the typical person may not be aware of.
Of course its a hoax if youve seen the commercial at the end you can see at the bottom of the screen it says this film is not yet rated
Dayne W says:
"Wow the man hours that must have gone into discovering this fake website must be astronomical. Well done good sir."
Wow - that must have taken you all of a few seconds to write your a-hole comment, and you didn't even figure out that "good sir" is a SHE. SHE says it didn't take long, so what's your point? Get a life.
If that's true then I've seen this "fake" trailer in the movie theatre as well as on youtube. i think i might be a christian movie about to come out. if that's true ..... i won't be going. too many people have been hurt by these elitist religion. enough is enough already.
Thanks .. that was my instinct exactly.. Now I went to the site and submitted my data.. I am curious what is going to come back.. :)
Wasn't it obvious it was a movie when the commercial is on t.v. and it says right at the bottom of the screen "This film has not been rated"? So it's a creative way to get people to pay attention to this movie coming out with a website, what's the big deal?
So 2012 thing has been debunked? What has debunked it?
Man thinks they know alot of stuff that they do not know. You may think that 2012 is BS, but theres a chance it could be for real. Theres a good chance that the sun flipped venus in the past. Which gives it the wrong rotation. But its only a theory, no one was around when and if it flipped. Now if the alignment can flip the earth or even just flip the magnitism of the earth. We are in for a wild ride, which many will not live through, if any.
I like those kinda movies any way. But i dont think if Armeggedon happens , no man will be able to run from it. And as crazy as the world is , and how Godless the world is, its ripe for that to go down.
Ill be seeing the movie :)
oh yeah, let me clear up the 2000 scare. It wasnt an end of the world kinda scare, but the inablity of computers to be able to make the adjustment to the new year/numbers.
So 2012 thing has been debunked? What has debunked it?
Man thinks they know alot of stuff that they do not know. You may think that 2012 is BS, but theres a chance it could be for real. Theres a good chance that the sun flipped venus in the past. Which gives it the wrong rotation. But its only a theory, no one was around when and if it flipped. Now if the alignment can flip the earth or even just flip the magnitism of the earth. We are in for a wild ride, which many will not live through, if any.
I like those kinda movies any way. But i dont think if Armeggedon happens , no man will be able to run from it. And as crazy as the world is , and how Godless the world is, its ripe for that to go down.
Ill be seeing the movie :)
Wow guys...why are you taking this comercial so damn seriously??? Its just a new and inventive way to promote a movie. CALM THE HELL DOWN.
lol Audrey
Well my husband and I saw the commercial for the first time last night. I of course had foreknowledge after reading this article, so I was prepared. My husband, however, did not. I look over at him and his jaw is hanging open and he is going "whaaaaaat?"
Is the evolution of civilization like a cancer on the earth caused by a deviation from that natural order, like a genetic mutation? When we strayed from living in harmony with nature we created a system of control that we've all entrapped ourselves in. Which must continually be fed, more, more, more.
Or is the evolution of civilization part a part of a natural order of intelligent beings, and perhaps we are just in the adolecent "growing pains", because we aren't quite evolved enough to handle this new situation.
Imagine if we were to start a counter-cultural revolution, and disband into small independent communities, living off the land. How long would it be before someone had an idea, of how to make life a little easier, how to grow in power by merging with other tribes etc. Would the cycle start over again? I wonder if the cycle has not been going on for thousands of years.
But if it does happen, I want Acharya to live in my camp. Otherwise, I'll trade for her.
its a good add, please pull the stick from your anus.
we all see what we want to see, this site, the video, and the film have been out in the public domain for over six months now..i too, when i first saw the site thought to check it out, but when i found out it was sony i was actually relieved that the end was not so near!
heh heh heh you said sheeple. I like that. But I gotta disagree with ya, according to my Magic Eight Ball the world IS ending in 2012!! The proof is gonna be that George W. Bush is gonna get elected for a Third Term!!! If that's not armageddon I don't know what the hell is!!!
As much as I admire Acharya and hate religion and all of this apocalyptic crap, let's take it one step at a time.... This is just an advertisement, FOR A FICTIONAL MOVIE! No "great detective work" needed to know that the site belongs to Sony. It is clearly stated on the home page..... Fiction does not equal a hoax.
After reading several books on 2012, what I got from it was, the destruction on earth would take place in the human mind as a transcendence from our egoic way of thinking of self, spiritual amnesia and then awaken to the call of enlightenment as referenced in Eckhart Tolle's latest book. "A new Earth".
I do agree with the Hollywood disaster movie being absurd.
Entertainment perhaps, but fantasy fiction.
Google 'Rotten Tomatoes' for ratings of 2012 movies.
2013 will be a good year! People in general are 'dumned down'
and more and more live in a one dimensional world from a 'flat screen TV and computer missing the multiple other other dimensions which are available WITHOUT drugs!
For goodness sakes people lighten up....anyone with a lick of sense can tell the website is a hoax. The pics of the scientists look like fame grabs. Not to mention the mention of "The Movie" at the bottom of one of the pages. All in all a pretty clever marketing ploy. A little use of your critical faculties would expose it as such. I guess things haven't changed much since War of the Worlds.
Its all about the money, like always. It doesn't matter how stupid, misleading, and just plain wrong something is, if it will make somebody richer they will do it. They will put it out there and laugh all the way to the bank. It is just a movie, and I hope that the people who believe in the Earths 2012 demise do meet their end. Really, you religious fanatics are scemers just like Hollywood and Wall Street. Good article.
The comment about the "detective skills" was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Perhaps I should have included a smiley face next to it and other indicators of humor.
I realize that the Institute site has been around a while and that others have determined it to be a "spoof" or hoax. However, as can be seen from comments here, some people have taken it seriously - and it is being adverised even on children's TV stations. Not all children will be aware that it is a spoof.
Chris I says: "For goodness sakes people lighten up....anyone with a lick of sense can tell the website is a hoax."
I can only reply to that by asking, "have you ever noticed that common sense is really not all that common?"
I believe Acharya did refer to "sheeple". You know, that flock of mindless bleating creatures who will believe any snake oil salesman who promises..... well, who promises pretty much anything. These are the same people who actually believe that some attorney in Zimbabwe needs their help in order to retrieve several million dollars from an American bank, and that if they don't forward some other chain email to at least 10 people in the next 5 minutes that something bad will happen to them the next day, and that Bill Gates is tracking a certain email and will donate 10 cents every time it is forwarded.
Considering how many suckers have fallen for those, should we really be that incredulous that some people would actually believe that the IHC site is real?
I saw the previews to 2012 at ComicCon this last July. Aside from the mystical slant which is usually always a waste of time for thinking brain cells, the CGI of the destruction of LA is fookin spectacular! This last aspect is the only reason I would want to see this film in a big screen theater. However, I do hate when people spread doom, gloom and fear in order to suck people into their fold (read billfold), just like organized cult-religions, so I probably will boycott.
Great investigating with the whois search, but there's a link to the movie at the bottom of the page - right next to Sony's copyright.
I picked up the book 'The Mystery of 2012' a while back out of curiosity and one of the essays really grabbed my attention. It was 'A Singularity in Time' by Peter Russell. It spoke of the exponentially quickening pace by which things are changing around us. Each epoch in human history has laid the foundation for the next - technology is growing exponentially. Today we are sharing information and ideas with one other through this beautiful medium at the speed of light.
It's very interesting - the parallels between this spiral model of human development and the golden ratio which patterns much of what we see around us.
Sony says "cheers" for continuing the marketing of their silly but well funded and probably fun to watch film. (I liked Knowing too). Nice site though! Choice of ad venues may well be questioanable, but I bet my fine teacher DM considers MTV a kid's channel!
Come on...detective work? I hope your article is as facetious as the site in mention. It says right at the bottom of the page "Explore the 2012 Movie Experience" and "2009 Sony Pictures Digital Inc". I do agree that children won't be able to tell the difference, but maybe it will get them talking to their parents.
Jesus is coming in 2012 and the tribulation period will begin. Repent and be saved John 3:16. It's all there is Revelations the end is near just as Jesus and the bible predicted. Better be ready for the rapture!
I thought the site was a bit more convincing than the commercial itself. When you first see the commercial you are thinking
"w t f?" and then when it ends there is a banner at the bottom that says "this film is not yet rated." Not hard to figure out, especially if you've heard of the movie.
Jesus is coming? Oh no! We better stop him!
,
Sure anyone with ANY adult "sense" will know it is a movie, but
I remember "War of the Worlds, Y2K, The Day After" and many people
just can't seem to separate real event fiction, from truth!
Now lets just hope we DON'T get fragged December 21, 2012 because
the sequel won't even get to DVD yet!
‘666’ Demystified. Interesting in connection with this article is the following: 'The Book of Revelation', Frederick Engels 1883, [Derived from: Professor Ferdinand Benary’s lecture in Berlin University , in 1841]
Source: Marx and Engels On Religion, Progress Publishers, 1957;
Transcribed: by Andy Blunden. [ www.Marxists.org ] (See: Section organized by topics: 'religion'. To save time, for those in a hurry, read only the last half of article - about 1 1/2 pages)
The average religious believer will take to this hoax with great enthusiasm especially during this time of economic and mental distress. And when the predicted time arrives and nothing happens they will make up an excuse that they can believe in....and this kind of gullibility will go on and on until scientist find the gene for gullibility and are able to destroy it. That is a prediction you can believe in.
yesterday, my girlfriend and i was watching tv (history channel) thats when we saw the commercial for ihc, and so far ive seen it 3 time airing on the commercials, im not the type to claim somethings as a hoax right of the bat, i just find it kinda strange that they would allow a commercial ad for a so called end of the world, save your life through lottery, to be seen by the world of television, unless it was a serious matter. if anyone has any facts and maybe proof about ur claim, i would love to hear it, to understand whats going on a bit better
This is just viral advertisement for the 2012 movie, based off of the book by Whitley Strieber. Nothing more.
I thought the site was a bit more convincing than the commercial itself. When you first see the commercial you are thinking
"w t f?" and then when it ends there is a banner at the bottom that says "this film is not yet rated." Not hard to figure out, especially if you've heard of the movie.
Verry convincing, I acually believed it for a while
kudos to Sony, verry clever
Read the Terms of Service, ARBITRATION down. It sounds like you sign away your rights... and have no say about it. And, if the ownership of the company changes, all of the terms and conditions still apply. I feel sheepish in saying this, but the United States have been steadily moving toward Governmental ownership and operation of many of our once great privately owned and operated industries (Banks, Automobiles, now Health Care). I fear that the POSSIBILITY of governmental ownership of Sony could trick people into signing away there rights. I fear I sound crazy, but I do not trust the current administration running the executive branch of the Government. The world may be coming to an end, but I recommend that you don't give away your rights. I know fine print is always vague and convoluted, but this seems to be a little different then most...
Just one Mans Opinion,
God bless.
Ha Ha who to beleave I feel so gullible I actually signed up for the lottery partially as a joke and partially curious as to what kind of e-mails I would recieve in the future about this well timed spoof. The reasoning behind my visiting this web page started when I was watching a U.F.C fight on SPIKE T.V, I saw a commercial advertising a safe haven for mankind in the year 2012, this was only the begining haha I had not visited the site until i saw the same commercial on the history network so I thought.... this is worth checking out.Following my intuitive thoughts I visited this site and found a awesome web page equipt with interactive senarious and fairly good visual effects, which I found remotely convincing, okay okay a little more than remotely convincing lol.Upon further exploration of the web page I found two names the first Dr. Frederic West and the second Dr. Satanam Tsuratani of course I googled them and found this page so let's hope I'm not being lead astray again.outofroom
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