Off-Topic Discussion > General Discussion
HBO's Chernobyl
Rhymes:
So in spite of my better judgement (and desire to sleep tonight) I decided to sit down and watch Chernobyl.
It's stunning, and harrowing, and I almost wouldn't believe some of the **** the people in it say if I didn't know that it really happened. Absolutely blown away.
0rph3u5:
For Context:
About Chernobyl on HBO.com
General Battuta:
--- Quote from: Rhymes on May 07, 2019, 04:41:55 am ---So in spite of my better judgement (and desire to sleep tonight) I decided to sit down and watch Chernobyl.
It's stunning, and harrowing, and I almost wouldn't believe some of the **** the people in it say if I didn't know that it really happened. Absolutely blown away.
--- End quote ---
It's really good. Phantom has (correctly) pointed out that it's trying to oversell the scope of the disaster — that artsy montage of ash falling on people in the first episode implies cancer and misery in their futures, but really they're probably all fine. Evacuating civilians from Chernobyl killed more people than Chernobyl ever did.
Fortunately when it does stay in scope, it's incredible. The shots of the core in that first episode walked that thin line between realism and pure terror. I hope we get the heroic/tragic efforts of the liquidators front and center, and I really hope they walk us through the sequence of events leading up to the explosion.
And I've got to compliment the production design, it really nails all the little details of sets and set dressing that sell the time period.
0rph3u5:
--- Quote from: General Battuta on May 11, 2019, 11:25:41 am ---that artsy montage of ash falling on people in the first episode implies cancer and misery in their futures, but really they're probably all fine.
--- End quote ---
Well, two things on that ...
One, the scientific study into the effects of the exposure to the particulates released during the Chernobyl disaster has been hampered significantly by political pressures and/or lacking infrasturcture ever since the accident. Mostly because priority was given to investigate immideate over the long term effects. Even the UN reports are very "maybe" on long term effects of the exposures - mostly because the data avalible is insufficent to support more definitive conclusions.
Two, maybe this one is lost on outsiders, but around the Baltic Sea the scare of the effects from the "Chernobyl Cloud" was a real cultural thenomenon, as is the memory of it. For example, both during my military service and my university studies I underwent training with regards to exposure to nuclear material. Each time the instructors found it appropriate to tell an anecdote about where they were in the immidiate aftermath of Chernobyl and who the catastrophe shaped their view nuclear power and radioactive material.
Rhymes:
Also, the bridge those people are standing on is nicknamed the Bridge of Death because all of the people watching the fire from there (supposedly) died, either from radiation sickness or cancer. Unfortunately I can't find any sources to verify that--might have been exaggerated recollections from the survivors.
In terms of what's verifiable, Lyudmilla, Vasily the firefighter's pregnant wife? Her baby was born with serious birth defects and died after a few days. Whether that exposure happened on the bridge or not I'm not sure, but I wouldn't say it strains credulity.
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