The Unknowability of Post-nuclear Landscapes in the Russian Television Series Chernobyl, Exclusion Zone

The chapter explores the limits of humans’ ability to comprehend the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster. Focusing on the Exclusion Zone’s contaminated landscapes. The chapter engages with the existing visual vocabulary for depicting Chornobyl, in order to demonstrate how it evolves as a binary opposition: the contaminated area is usually depicted as a locus of either
human abandonment or nature’s vengeful return. The chapter further
demonstrates how the series problematizes familiar historical accounts
and artistic representations. By rearranging them in accordance with sci-fi aesthetics, the series seeks to render intelligible the effects of radioactive fallout, which often go beyond the boundaries of human perception.