Chernobyl in the popular consciousness
Encyclopedia
The Chernobyl disaster
, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was the world's greatest nuclear accident.
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was the world's greatest nuclear accident.
Literature
- The disaster is the plot-driving device in the 1988 Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
miniseries Meltdown, featuring WolverineWolverine (comics)Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
and Havok. - Martin Cruz SmithMartin Cruz SmithMartin Cruz Smith is an American mystery novelist.-Early life and education:Born Martin William Smith in Reading, Pennsylvania, he was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing in 1964...
's 2005 novel, Wolves Eat DogsWolves Eat DogsWolves Eat Dogs is a crime novel by Martin Cruz Smith, set in Russia and Ukraine in the year 2004. It is the fifth novel to feature Investigator Arkady Renko, and the first set during the new independent era.-Plot:...
, is set mostly in Chernobyl, when Moscow detective Arkady RenkoArkady RenkoArkady Renko is a fictional detective who is the central character of seven novels by the American writer Martin Cruz Smith.-Character timeline:...
investigates the murder of a powerful businessman in that area, after the businessman's partner has died in Moscow of radiation poisoningRadiation poisoningAcute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
. Both victims are found to have had some involvement with the accident, twenty years earlier.
- The novel Party HeadquartersParty HeadquartersParty Headquarters is a novel by Georgi Tenev , awarded with Vick Foundation . The plot evolves around the big change brought about by the collapse of the Communist Regime in Bulgaria. The novel addresses emblematic events of the 80’s and 90’s – the Chernobyl disaster, the anticommunist protests,...
by Bulgarian author Georgi TenevGeorgi TenevGeorgi Tenev is a Bulgarian novelist, short story writer, playwright and film/TV screenwriter.Major topics in Tenev’s works are the cultural and ideological void in the post-totalitarian societies and the consequent emerging of counter-cultures; the fall of utopias and the social amnesias...
deals with Chernobyl impact on the integrity of the former Communist block in the late 80's. Large episode of the book is set as an exchange of letters between the protagonist and “little unknown Soviet and Ukrainian comrade” describing the catastrophe.
Music
- David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's 1987 song "Time Will CrawlTime Will Crawl"Time Will Crawl" is the second track on David Bowie's album Never Let Me Down and was issued as the second single from the album.The lyric is themed around the pollution and destruction of the planet by industry , and is often praised by critics for its restrained production compared to...
" was inspired by the disaster. - The Japanese punk band The Blue HeartsThe Blue Heartswas a popular Japanese punk rock band that performed from the mid-1980s to the early-1990s. In 2003, they were ranked by HMV Japan as number 19 on their list of 100 most important Japanese pop acts...
' song "Chernobyl", on their 1988 single "Blue Hearts ThemeBlue Hearts Themewas the fourth single by the Japanese band The Blue Hearts. Though it was released after their major debut, it was written before they signed with a major label. It was released as a "double A-side" track on July 1, 1988, with "Chernobyl" , a controversial single that was included with the release...
", was written in protest of nuclear power. The band's record label at the time had ties to the nuclear industry, thus the group left the label to release the song. - "Mayday in Kiev", a song by WatchtowerWatchtower (band)WatchTower is an American progressive metal band based in Austin, Texas. The band were influenced by late 1970s progressive rock and acts such as Rush and UK as well as the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
on their 1989 album Control and ResistanceControl And ResistanceControl and Resistance is the second album by progressive metal band Watchtower, released in 1989.-Track listing:# "Instruments of Random Murder" – 4:06# "The Eldritch" – 3:17# "Mayday in Kiev" – 5:48# "The Fall of Reason" – 8:01...
. The song title is a pun on the May DayMay DayMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
celebrations, which were held in the Ukrainian capital KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
only days after the explosion as if nothing had happened, and the emergency signal MaydayMayday (distress signal)Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
. - The German electronic band KraftwerkKraftwerkKraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
mentions Chernobyl at the beginning of their 1991 remix of their song "RadioactivityRadioactivity (song)Fatboy Slim covered "Radioactivity" on his compilation album Late Night Tales: Fatboy Slim. The song was released as a limited edition 7" single.- Track listing :# "Radioactivity" - Fatboy Slim# "Everything Is Everything" - Bootsy Collins...
", released on the album The Mix. Chernobyl is mentioned along with other places of nuclear incidents and accidents, such as HarrisburgThree Mile Island accidentThe Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
, SellafieldWindscale fireThe Windscale fire of 10 October 1957 was the worst nuclear accident in Great Britain's history, ranked in severity at level 5 on the 7-point International Nuclear Event Scale. The two piles had been hurriedly built as part of the British atomic bomb project. Windscale Pile No. 1 was operational in...
and HiroshimaAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiDuring the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. The names were included in the remix of the song because some critics had found the original version of the song to be too optimistic towards nuclear energy. - The music video for the 2007 song "What We Made" by British rapper ExampleExample (rapper)Elliot John Gleave , better known by his stage name Example, is an English singer and rapper signed to Data Records. His name arose due to his initials being E.G., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "exempli gratia", which means, "for example".Example's third album Playing In The Shadows...
is shot on location at Pripyat, focusing on some parts of the city that has been greatly affected by the disaster. - The song "Spam" by the band Save Ferris claims that the product is made in Chernobyl, to rhyme with the line, "It's pink and it's oval."
Film and television
- In the second-season episode "The HostThe Host (The X-Files)"The Host" is the second episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 23, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured guest appearances by Darin Morgan. The episode is a...
" of The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, the episode's main antagonist, a mutant creature dubbed "Fluke-Man" is traced to a Russian freighter that was carrying radioactive sewage away from Chernobyl. - On September 30, 2009, Destination TruthDestination TruthDestination Truth is a weekly American paranormal reality television series that premiered on June 6, 2007 on Syfy. Produced by Mandt Bros. Productions and Ping Pong Productions, the program follows paranormal researcher Josh Gates around the world to investigate claims of the supernatural, mainly...
, a reality televisionReality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series on SyfySyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
, aired an episode that features a paranormal investigation located at the site. - In the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the Autobots and NEST travel to Chernobyl to retrieve ancient Cybertronian technology (initially, they were supposed to discover the source of a radiation leak). However, once it was retrieved, the Driller beast suddenly appeared and ravaged the plant in attempting to get to the technology.
- In 1995 Japanese animator Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazakiis a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
wrote and directed "On Your MarkOn Your Markis a song by the Japanese rock duo Chage & Aska. At their request, animator Hayao Miyazaki produced a music video for the song. The music video was created in 1995, is entirely animated, has no dialogue and runs for six and a half minutes. The song was used in advertisements for NEC.-Synopsis:The...
", a music video for Japanese pop duo Chage & Aska. This was essentially an animated music video lasting almost seven minutes. The opening scene shows a clean, old-fashioned and apparently deserted small village which is dominated by a huge, asymmetrical version of the Chernobyl "sarcophagus." In an interview in "Animage" magazine in 1995, Miyazaki compared the sarcophagus in the video to Chernobyl, noting the survival of plant life. - In the television series MilleniumMillennium (TV series)Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Millennium aired on the Fox Network from 1996 to 1999. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were ostensibly set in or around Seattle, Washington...
, the first season episode "Maranatha" sees the hero, Frank Black, tracking a Russian anti christ figure who caused the Chernobyl disaster. - In the television series The EventThe Event (TV series)The Event is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. The show was created by Nick Wauters, and premiered on NBC on September 20, 2010...
, the character Thomas is said to have been responsible for the disaster at Chernobyl after attempting to transport the fuel rods from the site using alien technology. - In the 2005 comedy film Deuce Bigalow: European GigoloDeuce Bigalow: European GigoloDeuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is the 2005 sequel to the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, from Happy Madison Productions. Rob Schneider returns in the role of a male prostitute Deuce Bigalow who visits his former pimp T.J...
, the character Deuce Bigalow meets Svetlana, a woman who was born in Chernobyl, and, as a result of the disaster, has a penisPenisThe penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
instead of a nose. - In the 1994 film Naked starring David Thewlis, the eccentric protagonist Johnny quotes the Book of RevelationBook of RevelationThe Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
and remarks that the Russian translation of Chernobyl is 'wormwood.' This quote is also used as a sample in the 1997 album OrblivionOrblivionThough Orblivion was recorded in May 1996, it was not released until almost a year later, due to Island Records' desire to promote it as a follow up to U2's techno-rock album Pop. Orblivion sold very well in Europe as well as the United States, where it reached the Billboard Top 200...
.
Documentary films
- Chernobyl: The Final WarningChernobyl: The Final WarningChernobyl: The Final Warning is a 1991 made for television movie. The film chronicles the Chernobyl disaster.-Cast of Characters:*Jon Voight as Dr. Robert Gale*Jason Robards as Dr. Armand Hammer*Sammi Davis as Yelena Mashenko...
, a 1991 film exploring the disaster. - Black Wind White LandBlack Wind White LandBlack Wind, White Land is a 1993 documentary film, researched and produced by the founders of the Chernobyl Children's Project International and explores the tragedy about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 and its consequences and handicapped development for the people of Belarus, Russia and...
, a 1993 documentary film exploring the disaster and its consequences for the people of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. - Chernobyl HeartChernobyl HeartChernobyl Heart is a 2003 documentary film by Maryann DeLeo. The film won the Best Documentary Short Subject award at the 2004 Academy Awards....
, a 2003 documentary film observing the effects of the disaster on the health of children in the area. - The Unnamed ZoneThe Unnamed ZoneThe Unnamed Zone is a 2006 Spanish documentary film by director Carlos Rodríguez about the lives of three young Ukrainian children directly affected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.- Synopsis :...
, a 2006 Spanish documentary film three young Ukrainian children directly affected by the disaster. - White HorseWhite Horse (film)White Horse is a short documentary by filmmakers Maryann DeLeo and Christophe Bisson that features a man returning to his Ukraine home for the first time in twenty years. Evacuated from the city of Pripyat, Ukraine in 1986 due to the Chernobyl disaster, he has not returned since then...
, a short documentary about a man returning to his Ukraine home for the first time in twenty years. - "Surviving Disaster: Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster" , a BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
docudramaDocudramaIn film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
about the events at the Chernobyl plant during the accident and the immediate aftermath, focusing on the role of Valery Legasov.
Video games
- The computer games S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of ChernobylS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a first-person shooter video game by the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, published in 2007.It features an alternate reality theme, where a second nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone in the near future and causes...
and its prequelPrequelA prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear SkyS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear SkyS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, is the prequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, a first-person shooter video game by Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. The game consists of a roughly 50/50 mix of new areas and old, remodeled areas from the previous game...
and sequelSequelA sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of PripyatS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of PripyatS.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is the sequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, a first-person shooter computer game by Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is the third game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series....
, are based on the Chernobyl plant, disaster, and the surrounding areas, and in the first two games the power plant is the setting of the final stages. The power plant is guarded by a fanatical cult called the "Monolith", who believe in an alien crystal which resides in Reactor #4. - The video game Call of Duty 4: Modern WarfareCall of Duty 4: Modern WarfareCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. A handheld game was made for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America, Australia, and...
features a mission taking place in Pripyat. Modern Warfare 2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles and the Microsoft Windows operating system. Officially announced on February 11, 2009, the game was released worldwide on...
also features a mission set in Pripyat. - In Maniac Mansion if the player reads the Nuclear reactor it says it was made in Chernbyl.
Further reading
- David R. Marples The social impact of the Chernobyl disaster, chapter 4 Images of Chernobyl - Arts and the Public, pp. 125–160