Chernobyl illuminates institutional flaws
The 1980s offered a lot of fears—strangers, Satan, communism (nothing new), etc. Some of these, like communism, have shifted some. We’re not afraid of communist countries really, but anything that might resemble socialism, like tax increases for schools, I guess, are downright terrifying (tax cuts for the extremely wealthy are A-OK, though).
Satan has lost his grip on the nation’s youth, now that Dungeons & Dragons is mainstream and heavy metal has gimmick bands like Okilly Dokilly (Ned Flanders themed). And strangers? Well, now that we have more guns than people, strangers aren’t quite so frightening.
We have new fears now—Russian Twitterbots, mommy bloggers, climate change. The last, of course, is more dangerous than anything Satan could have come up with during the ‘80s. A recent report even claims that human civilization could end by 2050, due entirely to climate change.
Our leaders are grappling with how to cut carbon emissions, hoping to transfer energy production away from fossil fuels to sustainable energy models using wind and solar. These are worthwhile solutions, indeed. But due to another fear from the 1980s, one option is being left out, despite its ability to cut carbon emissions drastically.
Nuclear power lost favor in the U.S. after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, but the resistance to nuclear was solidified due to the disaster in Chernobyl in 1986. If you ask, most people can tell you about some vague details—radiation poisoning, birth defects, cancer. A miniseries from HBO, however, tells the story in more human terms.
It’s not one that demonizes the technology, but explains how human systems can wreak havoc on the natural order. While we are able to bend nature to our will, our selfish and petty worldviews can cause that nature to break in dramatic and horrifying fashion.
One of the things the Chernobyl series does well is explain the science in easily understandable terms. I have no background in nuclear power, but I could reasonably explain the disaster thanks to the series. Essentially, a safety test was scheduled for the power plant, which should have been completed long before the plant opened. It had been running for several years and the management needed to complete the tests.
The test required the plant to run under low power, which was not good for surrounding factories that needed the power to complete quotas for the month. Due to this, the test was scheduled for midnight. The night shift workers had never performed a test of this nature. Management ignored all safety protocols. A series of complicated maneuvers were made to successfully complete the test.
These maneuvers set up an exact sequence of events that would trigger an explosion due to a fatal flaw within the reactor. It was an extremely unlikely scenario that only happened due to gross negligence peppered with institutional ignorance.
The series focuses on the causes of the disaster only marginally, however. It’s more concerned with the human stories created by an impossible situation. The plant workers who desperately tried to find out what happened. The first responders who died trying to control the fire. The men who lost their lives trying contain the radiation. The residents of nearby Pripyat who lost their homes, many of whom suffered and died due to radiation exposure. The ignorant and self-serving politicians who tried to ignore, deflect, and cover up the true nature of the disaster.
The series is a complex framework of humans working to save potentially millions of lives within a system that refuses to accept blame or even acknowledge a terrifying, world-changing reality. Despite taking place in the Soviet Union, there are far too many frustrating parallels to American politics, particularly concerning an overwhelming devotion to a single party ideology.
There’s nothing critical to say about the series. The writing, directing, acting, and filmmaking are all exceptional. Understandably, the subject matter might keep some away. I’m rarely a fan of the disaster film—they tend to focus on the victims, heightening the drama and body count for effect. But Chernobyl is more than a disaster series. It’s a film about responsibility. About consequence. About doing the right thing in the face of annihilation.
Chernobyl is an inspiration for what’s to come.