Chernobyl: The Enemy Is Man

Chernobyl has become the hit of the season. The miniseries recovers the most serious nuclear disaster in history and has once again called into question some of the decisions that were made during those fateful days.

Its significance has been such that, inevitably, we think about our present and the consequences that could result from a man-made environmental catastrophe.

Who are the people in charge? Who are the victims? Chernobyl immerses us in the horror that was experienced as a result of that already distant April 26, 1986, although the consequences remain palpable.

A ghost town, thousands of broken lives, and a government whose top priority was keeping quiet. This political and tragic framework is what Chernobyl gives us , a story of heroes, but also of mistakes and silences.

Aftermath of a catastrophe

Although the title of our article is not very encouraging, the truth is that there were men who were fundamental so that the disaster was not greater, authentic heroes that the series has tried to honor. The tragedy, which had already been half buried in the past, has risen from its ashes and is now on everyone’s lips.

We all know, to a greater or lesser extent, what was and what the nuclear accident of the Vladimir Ilyich Lenin center in the vicinity of Pripyat (Ukraine) entailed. This event triggered the alarms about the dangers that a nuclear accident could trigger ; thus, this energy, despite being one of the cleanest, became a terrifying enemy.

The debate was served, the USSR in the spotlight and the press fed rumors about diseases, mutations and consequences of radioactivity.

Various researchers have postulated that the consequences were not as fatal as they led us to believe and giving an approximate figure of the number of victims is really difficult. Although some studies do warn of an increase in thyroid cancer in the closest regions that would derive directly from the accident.

Svetlana Aleksievich collected in Voices of Chernobyl some testimonies of the survivors, the work has greatly nurtured the new HBO success: Chernobyl . From the hand of a scriptwriter rooted in a rather absurd comedy, Craig Mazin, and a music video director, Johan Renck, the unexpected emerges, a sober, tragic and overwhelming series.

Chernobyl : the keys to success

The Chernobyl series presents a great quality in practically all levels, the time is perfectly portrayed and it narrates the events in a leisurely way.

All three main characters are brought to life thanks to the fantastic performances of Jared Harris as Valery Legásov, Stellan Skarsgård as Boris Scherbina and Emily Watson as Ulana Khomyuk. The first two are in charge of putting themselves in the shoes of two fundamental characters in the history of the catastrophe, while the character of Ulana Khomyuk responds to a tribute to all the scientists who supported Legásov.

Chernobyl presents us with two fundamental arguments: on the one hand, we have a clearly political plot in which the ins and outs of the USSR are revealed, the secrecy and deception to which the population was subjected; on the other, we find a purely human and devastating argument, the true victims and heroes of that April 26, 1986.

Dramatically, but without moving away from the intrigues of power, the secrecy of the Soviet Union and, furthermore, making use of some elements that we could easily find in a horror film, Chernobyl presents us with a reality that surpasses any fiction.

Cold colors accompany a miniseries in which there is not much room for hope, the Soviet Union is portrayed by that coldness. But, even in the midst of the disaster, some characters manage to bring some light, we talk about the selfless courage of the miners, the sacrifice of volunteers, firefighters … In short, of those ordinary men who risked their lives to save the of thousands.

Why is Chernobyl successful ? Mainly, because it revolves in our consciousness, in a still very close historical past whose trace has not been eliminated; a past that we remember just a few years ago with Fukushima. The presence of the invisible and silent killer is described in detail. In a simple way, we managed to understand the magnitude of the disaster.

But let’s not forget that it is a British and North American co-production, a version of events that has been broadcast through a streaming platform and that, apparently, the Russians did not like too much.

Chernobyl uses a cinematographic language to which we are very accustomed and uses elements known to the general public. Perhaps, if we were to put a ‘but’ in it, that would be the fact that it seems to please us all and the vision is not totally unbiased.

Although it is an outstanding series, we can see in it some hint of melodrama, some element a little forced and, perhaps, a certain lack of depth with some secondary characters. Even so, there is no doubt about its quality, its success and that it has managed to bring to the table an issue that should not be forgotten.

Chernobyl : heroes and victims

Our passage through the world is devastating, that is the feeling that one gets after seeing Chernobyl and doing a little research on the current state of the exclusion zone. Through heartbreaking scenes, we discovered that humans weren’t the only victims of the tragedy, there were other victims who had no voice.

We talked about the animals that had to be euthanized. Some survived and have given rise to a fauna that grows and lives without our intervention despite the radioactivity. The series puts this terrible reality before our eyes, showing us how those who truly know how to live in nature had to pay with their lives. 

The series does not leave behind the men who gave their lives to control the situation. We meet Vasily, a firefighter whose story is breathtaking and is just a small example of the human tragedy that Chernobyl brought. In short, the series is perceived as a tribute to those heroes and victims of the catastrophe and human selfishness, while continuing to make judgments towards those who did little or nothing to prevent it.

And so, remembering what was once the most dangerous place in the world, we realize the great lies that were told. And, especially, that the most dangerous enemy was not radioactivity, but man.