The movie that is going to be discussed for the purposes of current critique paper is a documentary “Chernobyl uncensored”. Another name for the film is “The Battle of Chernobyl”. Using the testimonies of Chernobyl disaster’s witnesses, materials from video archives and the photographs of a famous Chernobyl photographer Igor Kostin, the creators of the film revisited the large-scale nuclear incident at Chernobyl power plant that took place in 1986.
I chose the film for review due to two reasons. First of all, it is necessary to remember that the Chernobyl disaster was the most significant nuclear power plant catastrophe in the history of mankind, and an understanding of its drivers and consequences is crucial for the promotion of nuclear safety worldwide. Secondly, the film, directed by Thomas Johnson is of exceptional quality that can be proved by its considerable popularity on the Internet and participation in a variety of festivals.
As it was already mentioned above, the film “Chernobyl Uncensored”, directed by the U.S. director Thomas Johnson, is dedicated to exploring the disaster at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The Chernobyl disaster took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in a small town of Pripyat in Ukrainian SSR. The plant was directly governed by the Soviet central authorities. The film starts with introducing the disaster itself without directly referring to its scale and consequences.
However, already during the third minute of the film, a viewer gets to know how many persons were involved into countering the consequences of disaster and how many suffered from it (Johnson, 2013). Having referred to the scale of the catastrophe and its deadly consequences, the film proceeds with addressing the reasons for the catastrophe’s emergence, the catastrophe itself and countering its consequences.
The major purpose of creating the film deals with using the example of Chernobyl power plant accident to emphasize the importance of nuclear safety. In my opinion, the film is highly important for several interconnected reasons, and shall be viewed by both professionals in the field of nuclear energy and broader community.
First of all, while addressing the drivers of the Chernobyl disaster, specialists come to the conclusion that the lack of “safety culture” was the major factor that led to a catastrophe. In this view, understanding the link between the negligent attitude to compliance to safety requirements and extreme consequences is crucial for specialists, working in the field of nuclear energy to promote safety and security.
Secondly, the general public’s understanding of the importance of nuclear safety is vital for ensuring an accountability of those, working at nuclear power plants, and civil oversight. Finally, the Soviet authorities’ failures in relation to nuclear safety can be extrapolated to other spheres of life and governance, so that the views understand an extent to which the authorities’ accountability and transparency, as well as timely access to environmental information are important for the overall security.
The film is both quality and interesting. The quality of the film is ensured by the combination of multiple sources of information, allowing for conducting the complete exploration of a disaster. Apart from using the testimonies of the catastrophe’s witnesses, the film also employs multiple expert opinions. In this way, while watching the film, a viewer gets an ever more profound insight into the events that took place in 1986 in Pripyat. Secondly, the quality of the film is ensured with the help of its spectacular nature. The visuals, used in the film, are well-developed, and allow a viewer to imagine the landscapes of Ukraine and people, living there.
An interestingness of the film is determined by the fact that it combines primary data (e.g., photos, videos and testimonies) with the secondary (e.g., expert opinion), so that a viewer feels himself/herself as taking part in reconstructing the events of the disaster. The film can be characterized as insightful, educational and alarming. Insightfulness of the film stems from the fact that it aims to reconsider the reasons for the Chernobyl disaster, its emergence and the aftermath, thus providing a viewer with an insight into the disaster as a whole. The film is educational, because it allows one to learn about the world’s severest nuclear disaster and the importance of nuclear safety. Finally, the “Chernobyl uncensored” is highly alarming, because it allows a viewer to see the importance of nuclear safety from the totally new viewpoint.
The “Chernobyl uncensored «is highly relevant with regard to the course. As the course encompasses information regarding ensuring general and healthcare system’s preparedness to nuclear disasters, the case study of Chernobyl is highly relevant in terms of the course. The film allows tracing specific mistakes, made by the central authorities of the Soviet Union, when countering the disaster, analyze them and avoid their repeating in case of a nuclear disaster.
The major strengths of the film include a combination of multiple sources of information, insightfulness and suspense. The firm is free from apparent weaknesses.
References
Johnson, T. [Elenin NWO] (2013, 20.04) Chernobyl uncensored – documentary [Video file]. Retrieved 25 February 2016 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS3WvKKSpKI
