Chernobyl: From nuclear disaster to the television series and beyond

In June 2019 Sky Atlantic presented the tv mini-series Chernobyl, based on the events which unfolded in April 1986. In it, the nuclear disaster is recounted by tracing back the initial unfolding of the event down to the trial of the people held accountable. The attention paid to the historical reconstruction of the facts, the use of witness-documents, the reference to names and people that had made decisions and led the different phases of rescue operation in the real event, together with a good script and direction, alongside an exceptional cast of actors, as in the best Complex Tv (Mittell, 2015) have all contributed to its success worldwide. In several passages, the docu-fiction is enriched by the use of archival materials, which contribute to convey the reality effect (Barthes, 1988) capable of rekindling the audience’s interest about the entire event. In its turn, the distance produced by the passing of time – and the tv screen - create an effect of reassurance in viewers: we are not there, 1986 is in the past, it is not our present. The article aims to explore the effects that the tv series has had in today’s setting. In this research approach, the analysis of the narrative construction of the tv series is essential, together with the relevant sources being used, the features linked to the “anthropological shock” described by Beck in 1987, which have triggered recollections of that period in older generations. For everyone it turned out to be a reminder of an important event: the narration of an event which has become a real collective trauma.