{"id":1082,"date":"2011-01-31T12:28:10","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T18:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/?p=1082"},"modified":"2011-12-26T15:58:41","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T21:58:41","slug":"chernobyl-25-years-revisited-chapter-4-disaster-porn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/31\/chernobyl-25-years-revisited-chapter-4-disaster-porn\/","title":{"rendered":"Chernobyl 25 Years Revisited – Chapter 4 Disaster Porn"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Disaster Porn in Pripyat<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n $\"\"$ <\/a>
Room with a View in Pripyat - Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Stalker and Call of Duty in Pripyat and Chernobyl<\/h2>\n
I saw first hand, and later heard my guide laugh at how many people actually ask if there are mutant monsters running around Pripyat. Perhaps this is due to the influence of games like Call of Duty and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. that take place in Pripyat and Chernobyl. \u00a0I also noticed that most of the visual work since the accident \u00a0is tainted by making the desolation and evacuation of the city seem like the result of a nuclear bomb rather than a nuclear accident. In any form, radiation is invisible and deadly, but it does not blow-out windows and destroy buildings. \u00a0The broken floors and crumbling walls are mainly the scars inflicted by a massive clean-up operation, but not of the accident itself or of the ensuing evacuation.<\/p>\n
The evacuation per-se, although painfully delayed by Soviet commanders for 36 hours, was a relatively calm event. Over 800 buses, 300 cars, and two trains were sent up from Kiev. Over loud speakers, and on the radio, residents were told to pack one bag because they would be gone for only three days. \u00a0Over 30,000 people were evacuated in three hours. \u00a0A few days later another 100,000 were evacuated from the surrounding towns and villages. (You can see a video of Pripyat before and during the evacuation here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n
Gas Masks as Props<\/h2>\n
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Gas Masks, Tim Suess<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Common examples of images that portray the wrong face of the tragedy are the many on-line photographs that show literally hundreds of gas masks. Gas masks are ubiquitous rubble in many buildings; on the floor, in corners, on old furniture. \u00a0 I must clarify something here: Gas masks were not used during the nuclear accident! \u00a0Masks have limited effect in protecting against radiation. Instead, they belonged to stockpiles for civilian use in case of a chemical or biological attack. Later, looters entered Pripyat and removed the silver inside the masks’ filters to then sell on the black-market. Using the masks as props to underline the tragedy is misleading and uses drama at the expense of truth.Another example is the<\/p>\n
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Example of Gas Mask Disaster Porn, Chernobyl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
deliberate re-arranging of artifacts as photography props. Empty t.v. sets and chairs are set-up in dramatic poses in the most unlikely places. \u00a0Dolls or shoes are repositioned as macabre props. \u00a0In the operating room of the hospital, \u00a0I found old Band-Aids and a urinary pan on the operating table–obvious signs of somebody trying to stage drama. At times this borders on disaster porn.<\/p>\n
Pripyat Graffiti<\/h2>\n
Sometimes the interference is tasteful. A group of street artists painted graffitti on many buildings c.2005. \u00a0There are conflicting versions as to whether or not they entered illegally from Belorussia, or were granted permission by the Ukrainian government. \u00a0 Regardless, all of it is either bitter sweet or slightly comical.<\/p>\n
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Pripyat Graffiti 1, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pripyat Graffiti 2, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pripyat Graffiti 3, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Such interventions made me uncomfortable, but helped me focus on developing the first axis to my work. \u00a0Before it fell into further day I wanted to create a historical record of the city and its architecture. Pripyat is a bit unique among all the ex-Soviet cities in that it still shows many outward signs of being Soviet. \u00a0A standing statue of Lenin, Soviet stars on street plaques, and on buildings; \u00a0even the city itself was built to look like a hammer and sickle from the air. \u00a0Other cities cleansed themselves of these outward Soviet insignias. Pripyat was\u00a0was also comparatively affluent, and coveted by young couples and families. \u00a0Because of the work at the nuclear plants, salaries were up to five times higher than the Soviet average and infrastructure was generous. \u00a0It had five swimming pools, various schools, a dance and cultural center, and many cafes. I wanted to restore some of the lost dignity to the city, and through this, show traces of the elegance it aspired to.<\/p>\n
In my next chapter I will explore the city in-depth, but for the moment I am presenting some examples of how the city is overwhelmingly intervened: \u00a0Gas masks on pedestals, footballs and basketballs delicately put together on a rotten floor.<\/p>\n
Link Chapter One<\/a> \/\u00a0 Link Chapter Two<\/a> \/ Link Chapter Three<\/a> \/\u00a0 Link Chapter Five<\/a> \/ Link Chapter Six<\/a> \/<\/p>\n
See Pripyat 25 Years Later: \u00a0Complete Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"\"$ COMPLETE GALLERY\/GALERIA ONLINE:\u00a0http:\/\/www.smithjan.com\/pripyat.html<\/a><\/p>\n
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Gas Mask 1st Place, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Basketball put next to Football, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Carefully placed ball, Jan Smith 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Disaster Porn in Pripyat Stalker and Call of Duty in Pripyat and Chernobyl I saw first hand, and later heard my guide laugh at how many people actually ask if there are mutant monsters running around Pripyat. Perhaps this is due to the influence of games like Call of Duty and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. that take place … <\/p>\n
Read More “Chernobyl 25 Years Revisited – Chapter 4 Disaster Porn”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[477],"tags":[367,443,49,482,465],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1082"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1185,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1082\/revisions\/1185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}