Chernobyl

Chernobyl should have been released in October. With its subject matter and direction, it carries aaaalllllll the symptoms of a classic horror. The decision to take the story deep into that territory was perfect. What’s mostly so scary is that it’s not science fiction, it’s science nonfiction. After a nuclear meltdown at the Russian Chernobyl power plant in 1986, toxic radiation saturates the town of Pripyat, Ukraine USSR. While one could easily surmise the white men haphazardly saving the white man from the white men is the antagonist in this tale, the real killer in this story is virtually silent and invisible - nuclear radiation. Where the showmakers could have depended on a lot of horror tropes like jump scares and high tension to deliver fear, they simply rely on the actual reality of the story.

Chernobyl arrives at a perfect time. The political turmoil happening right now sounds like a deep echo from Russia’s past. A lot of young adults have heard of the nuclear tragedy but aren’t very familiar with its details. Through this tale, we learn about the cost of ‘LIIIIIES’ and the serious, snowball effects of them, vs. the cost of truth. HBO took a brilliant true story and packaged it in that glossy, gorgeous way only HBO can do. Now, biopics can definitely suck, (see; Lifetime), but I’m not sure the network has ever made a bad show. Since seeing the freshly starved GoT fans welcome Chernobyl with open arms, I’ve been torturing myself to really rack my brain about what is so appealing to the show, and I keep coming back to the basic story of it all. Chernobyl will surely get Emmy nominations, (CALLED IT) the acting is careful and refrained, the direction nailed the mise-en-scene, and it fits a quirky criteria like Limited series. But why, really, does everyone love it so much? It’s because of the story. This was a surefire, no-fail plan that some genius at HBO decided on. The subject matter is fool-proof, unlike the ‘fool-proof’ nuclear test. Incredible stories make for incredible TV. 

One major aspect HBO keeps nailing time and time again, is finding attentive, distinct directors with every show they make. When I refer to the direction generally I’m saying the ‘arrangement of everything placed in the frame,’ the mise-en-scene. Chernobyl is five episodes of extremely well-crafted television. We’re witnessing that perfect amalgam of great concept, screenwriting, acting, production design, and overall effect. Seeing the courtroom scenes smattered with cold, staring eastern bloc faces made me wonder what the casting call must’ve requested. The music groans like a contorted siren, mimicking that pillow effect you get from going to a loud concert. The fuzziness of the radiation-measuring dosimeters match the grainy film. That scene of children playing in the debris from the blast, all slow-mo and blurry…we essentially watch them make snow angels out of nuclear ash. It’s chilling. 

What I really need to say about Chern-chern, as I call it, is that it feeds the deep rooted tragedy-lover in me who craves to see the face melting, monster-making version of this story. I look at it as a glorious nihilist-pleasing sh*tshow that just so happened to have happened. Nuclear tragedy brings utter despair. We witness the immediate and gradual decay of the local first responders and power plant workers. Big boss Dyatlov, acting as the ‘Snape’ in this story, refuses the obvious facts with a cold, demeaning nature. He should have died right away, as he was physically close to the actual blast. But karma came for him cuz he spent a decade in prison for his mishandling of the disaster. How wild is that?! When a man appears with his skin disintegrating, puking like a coed, Dyatlov is like “ugh take him to the nurse I guess.” Dyatlov is a real life antagonist.

While the human peril is easy to follow in this story, the science of it all isn’t. The actual events of the blast never get explained thoroughly until the very end, during the trial. But I suppose that’s what actually happened, huh? The situation was shrouded in secrecy as the world searched for facts. The USSR was a socialist state until 1991, obsessed with its world reputation being portrayed as nothing but a superpower. They wouldn’t show any error or wrong moves, and buried anything painting them as incompetent, foolish, or weak. (This reminds me of a reality tv personality - any guesses? Yes, RHOBH star Lisa Vandertrump! Except LVP would NEVER order the shooting of dogs, no matter how deadly they may be.)

Personally I see the show as Why We’re F**ked; Humanity - an Observation - to be filed under Nihilism, exhibit A-Z 5. Loved it. But will the recent Emmy nods elicit an inapplicable season two??