Chernobyl

Regular readers know I am a big fan of zombie fiction, but would you believe I was reluctant to watch this “historical re-telling” of the Soviet Union’s nuclear meltdown? The reason is obvious, of course. Zombies aren’t real. Both are huge windows on the state of the world, political and cultural tales relayed through social media that in itself is part of the messaging (how is the social media portrayed and employed?). But I don’t have to wipe my brow and think how FREAKING lucky we are as a species to have survived the nuclear power era if I’m watching zombies, because zombies aren’t real. If there is one thing that makes me sweat it is the thought that any kind of zombie apocalypse would be the absolute end of the world because there are still nuclear power plants on Earth. You know how long a plant can go without humans before malfunctioning, melting down, and making areas the size of the US uninhabitable for thousands of years? A week or so. (I did read one person who described what would happen and ended with, “But if we’re all dead, why does it even matter?” LOL Kudos) (I also wonder sometimes how well zombies would “survive” a world-wide nuclear meltdown.)

The official Soviet (now Russian) response to how many people died as a result of the 1986 accident is 31. Most scientists will tell you it was a few thousand more than that. Tens of thousands people were displaced and probably that many more were injured. The town closest to Chernobyl is Pripyat, still almost entirely uninhabited, though you can do a guided tour for just a few hundred dollars. The HBO mini-series was made by the same guy who did The Last of Us series, and it is a riveting, fairly realistic and factual rendition of a confusing and much covered up bit of crucial world history. One morning in April a Soviet reactor blew up, though an explosion was regarded as unimaginably unlikely. It blew massively radioactive material all over the place and the exposed core released incredible amounts of deadly radiation straight into the air. The local firemen called in to douse the roof fire died horrible deaths in just a few days and were buried as heroes in Moscow, in lead coffins covered in tons of concrete because their bodies will be dangerous to living things for the next thousand years or so. The coverup began pretty much the same moment the place blew up.

It’s super scary stuff because, again, it actually happened. It could happen again. Fukushima, anyone? The filmmakers got a lot right, especially depictions of that grim and gritty era and the amazing – and unfortunately currently relevant – political culture and machinery that opposed every effort to actually work the problem. If you watch this be aware that the Soviet Union actually was that colorless and, by American standards, hopelessly grim. The buildings were grey boxes full of tiny rooms, everyone smoked cigarettes and swilled vodka. I’m not being facetious, it was the culture. You had to live with the expectation that government forces might disappear you at any moment if you were suddenly determined to be a problem. (Sound familiar?) Beyond a well done washed out look, the filmmakers made sound a large and important part of the process. I hope they won awards for that. The acting is great across the board, with the filmmakers often choosing actors who look eerily like the original characters. Writing is very strong, actually using what happened in the day to inform how the story is portrayed. Thousands of real life people were reduced into only a few, making what could be a confusing mess into good and clear drama.

This is one of the better documentaries I’ve seen, though the filmmakers call it a “historical re-telling” with the major theme being “the cost of lies” and the “triumph of delusion”. Pretty heavy stuff and very well made. One of the things I was reminded of was it had only been a couple of decades since Hiroshima and Nagasaki when this happened. It has a feeling like trying to fly a jet using horses to pull it. The whole history of nuclear energy and martial usage is complex and fascinating, and the scariest story ever.

To make it even worse for myself, I then looked up the Three Mile Island emergency, a whisker thin dodging of a nuclear meltdown in the US, seven years before Chernobyl. I watched the Netflix documentary on that, even though it was not well done. Something I had entirely forgotten was the movie The China Syndrome having been released twelve days before the accident. I saw that in the theater and it frightened me, which was the intent. I didn’t realize how stupid lucky the filmmakers were in predicting what would happen nearly beat for beat. If you watch Chernobyl, be assured the Soviets watched what happened in Pennsylvania, saw the corporate coverup and resulting near catastrophe, and did a great job recreating it with the same near world-wide disastrous result.

I was impressed with how historical accuracy can be maintained in a Hollywood drama. It’s not something you see very often and I think it’s very well done. Beyond being horrified at how these kinds of events have happened and probably will happen again, it’s great to see that sometimes storytellers can make historical events relatable, accurate and well made.

Triggers: gory renditions of horrible real life deaths, full frontal male nudity

Available on: HBO/Max, Hulu, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, YouTube (primetime), Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Fandango at Home

LINKS:

• Chernobyl – HBO Official Site
• Chernobyl – IMDB
• Chernobyl – Wikipedia

CFR: In Addition

Oh I remember this and I thought it was brilliant. Hubby and I watched it when it first came out and waited impatiently for the new episodes to drop.

Everything that Cranky says about it is true. It felt realistic and gritty. And oh so sad and terrifying. I have loathed nuclear power since I was a little girl. My father was a big environmentalist and he hated it. My mother hated it too. Nuclear power shows what absolute greed and lack of caring and empathy for others will do. Although a nuclear meltdown brings more doom and destruction FOR LONGER than other disasters.

I had a friend whos mother was a nuclear physicist. He said she watched the show and said it was accurate and terrifying. In fact, the more she learned about nuclear power, the more cautious she became.

I think about Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and I hear Bon Jovi’s Living On A Prayer in my mind. We somehow survived and that to me is a miracle.

I remember watching Chernobyl and feeling enraged at the hubris of the Soviet government not telling the truth about their meltdown. I am even angrier at the American incident. We should know better.

I am a member of the generation that during parties in high school we discussed how if the bombs were dropped, we were walking to ground zero. We knew better than try to survive radiation.

Now, if you are wondering if Chernobyl on HBO is worth your time the answer is HELL YES! It is very well made. It is terrifying. In the end, you might just raise a glass of vodka to those who risked and sometimes lost their lives to tell the world the truth about the disaster. Bless them all.

Finally, a song I have listened to since it first came out is the classic by Dan Fogelberg, Face the Fire. It is a raging anti-nuclear power song that was written in rage against the Three Mile Island accident. Decades later, it is still classic. Enjoy.