The date was December 21st, 2012, when mass populations around the world sat anxiously in anticipation awaiting the end of the last charted day on the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, also known as the predicted day for global cataclysm. Leading up to this date, American media outlets such as the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and YouTube beat these doomsday speculations into the minds of society through every promulgated form of hype imaginable (Wiki). These claims centered around the idea of a disruption in the Earth’s gravitational balance that could lead to humanities mass extinction. Ancient Mesoamerican cultures were highly revered for their astrological research and the creation of the well-known Long Count calendar. And over time scientists have accredited the work of these ancient civilizations with high commendation. Although merit has been given to Mayan theory, modern scientists worked to disprove any theorems of a doomsday occurrence on the anticipated date of December 21st, 2012. Despite modern research not supporting the doomsday movement, many members of the population were sucked into the medias illusion that precautionary measures needed to be taken to prep for the what some outlets described as “the inevitable end to mankind” (Wiki). However, December 21st came to an end, and most of the hype around the doomsday disappeared with it. Other modern theories discuss doomsday stemming from causes like: solar storms, pandemic, planet x, the big rip theory, global warming, gamma ray bursts, computer takeover, electromagnetic pulse, nuclear war, asteroid collision and finally, zombies. Once again, scientific research like NASA, the health protection agency, and the world health organization, have released stem-theories explaining how these events can occur, but the likelihood of mass extinctions can range all the way to tens of millions of years (Moss). Even the world’s leading information source, the church and its leading biblical scholars, are still interpreting the biblical texts discussing the Armageddon (Hornor). Due to these circumstances, the survivalism movement thrives on the bases of uncertainty and impracticality, therefore proving that it is a waste of time and money for anyone to acquire more than the simple preparations for any doomsday scenario.  

One tough distinction to keep in mind when it comes to survivalism is where to draw the line when it comes to emergency preparedness. One of the leading governmental groups responsible for equipping society with the right emergency kits is the Red Cross. These kits cover necessities like, first aid supplies, helpful clothing for situational instances, and different methods of preparing safe food and water. The Red Cross works to prepare humans for different environmental disasters to create a sustainable living guide for an intermediate length of time. These emergency supplies are directly recommended from the government (Katel). Preparedness is one thing. Doomsday prepping is on the opposite side of this spectrum. “Preppers” plan for the collapse of modern civilization as a probable occurrence within our lifetime. The labeling of “preppers” has developed an extremely mainstream connotation, unlike the survivalism movement of the 20th century. With the fears on nuclear war briefly subsiding, the modern media has started shaping a new wave of “preppers” unlike anything of the past (Katel). Current forms of media, more specifically prepping television shows like Doomsday Preppers have seen huge spikes in ratings by displaying a small portion of the doomsday prepping community as borderline anti-life. The first episode of the show highlights several preppers that have invented/crafted several types of tools and shelters that they believe should be introduces to the world of prepping as a model of how to construct proper precautions. The shows anonymous “experts” are then called upon to assess the preppers setups and provide tips for improving them to the maximum (Madison). After conducting more research, these so-called expert’s profiles were released to boost sinking ratings. The article reveals that these chosen “experts” are two men hold qualifications in two very contrasting fields. One of the two men grew on a farm where he learned skills to be self-sustainable. His career then developed toward handy-work and into work as a local pastor. As a jack-of-all trades his passion towards the prepping world was his next step. The other expert is a combat veteran and weapons expert that served in Iraq and uses military style tactics to achieve an efficient prepping style (Meet). Although the experts of this show may seem plenty qualified, there is no certification system for the survivalism movement, or any valid organization to regulate the sale of doomsday prepping materials. 

An article published by the New York Times placed harsh criticism on National Geographic’s Doomsday Preppers claiming that the show made preppers an easy target for ridicule. And only the prepping demographic would find true amusement. The author emphasizes that the longer he watched the show, the more apparent the “preppers” contempt for humankind was. He analyzes the preppers that plan on specific doomsday endings. In his analysis, he negates different ideologies held by the preppers to prove how they can never be fully prepared. For example, he questions how “preppers” who build underground bunkers would combat a doomsday catastrophe that originates underground, via earthquake or volcano. One of the more lasting statements Genzlinger made was that the preppers are looking for the pleasure of being able to say, “See, I told you the world was going to end.” And that what these preppers want is a license to fire. The show Doomsday Preppers in review by the New York Times brings out the “ugliest undercurrents” in the prepping world, while dodging out on the hard questions (Genzlinger). This article reinforces the uncertainty of prepping strategy, and how conflicting theories make it impossible to be fully prepared. Adding on to that, many of the featured preppers in the show have put years and thousands of dollars into acquiring prepping materials, and then they face these experts who likely will tell them their work is not sufficient. These materials are often considered to be specialized for preppers, but lack of a competitive market creates an exponential rise in price for modified gear. 

Whenever the shared belief that civilization faces a collapse, the survivalism movement is at risk of facing exploitation. In the past decade, companies have sought out to manipulate the wallets of apprehensive preppers. Anxiety has proven to be an excellent economic stimulant, and what group is more anxious than doomsday preppers. Ever since its entrance into the mainstream media, the survivalism movement has evolved into a market of goods believed to be necessities. Preppers are always seeking to buy the newest and most updated gear out, and companies can take advantage of this by releasing slightly upgraded products at a high demand. The capitalists pulling the strings have made it their goal to stoke people’s fears, but they lack experience in the field of survivalism. This has sparked plenty of anger amongst experts who feel passionately about the importance of proper survival instruction and this has been impeded by capitalist intrusion. At a recent prepper trade show in Irving, Texas, hosted by the National Self-Reliance Organization, preppers from across the country flocked to spend copious amounts of money on the newest gear in the industry. All the ATM’s in the building were emptied by the end of the day. And no matter what the products were, they sold (Monroe). The advertising ploys of prepping companies target a demographic of people that desire the security that the materials they buy will provide. But what authority is held by the company deeming that the next solar powered wind boat coming off the assembly line is an absolute necessity for when the power grid inevitably collapses. Fear is the guiding impulse for purchases like this, when most survival gear just sits in storage all the while depreciating in value, and being replaced in stores by “new and more improved” gear. No matter how much money is spent by preppers there will always be situations they are not prepared for. In an article posted by CNN several men who have spent ridiculous amounts of time and money prepping for certain disaster scenarios and attaining materials to rebuild civilization in a post-apocalyptic world. One of the men Patrick Geryl estimated he had spent more than one hundred and thirty thousand dollars prepping for the predicted end of the world in 2012. He is currently working on saving to buy a one hundred thousand dollar “unsinkable yacht” to sail from his home in Belgium to his bunker in South Africa. As the author of “How to Survive 2012” and eight other books about the destined catastrophe of 2012, his credibility is damaged, and all his survival gear just sits in storage collecting dust. Phil Burns, one of the co-founders of the American Preppers Network recommends to set twenty percent of his income to the side, whether it goes toward supplies, or emergency training (Ellis). Realistically, twenty percent of an income is illogical to put into depreciating survival assets. 
