The iron screen: An ideological analysis of the discourse on Russia through the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl

Abstract

In TV fiction, over the past years, it has been possible to detect the recuperation of specific themes linked to a particular sociopolitical context: the Cold War. The Russians and the Soviet era are becoming gradually more commonplace in highly popular television serial narratives like the miniseries Chernobyl (HBO/Sky UK, 2019). Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to determine how its discourse is constructed and its relationship with the television industry and the current sociopolitical reality in the United States. The ultimate intention is to reflect on how TV fiction has become a valuable benchmark for gauging the situation of a specific society and how it has contributed to constructing its collective imaginaries.