We started hearing about a possible series called The war in Ukraine, during the holiday season. too absorbed in Emily in Paris, we did not dwell on it. Even in January, many claimed that The war in Ukraine would not take place. Economic reasons were at stake.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Then, on February 24, BANG! The war in Ukraine explodes on our screens. Monster advertising campaign, all the media only talk about that. We have no choice but to watch it.
The first episode is captivating. Russia attacks Ukraine, bombing several cities. Planes, tanks, ravaged neighborhoods. Scenes reminiscent of the outbreak of a world conflict. Everything to feel concerned.
We look The war in Ukraine a lot of. Glued in front of our TV. From morning to evening. Like any good series, the success lies in the depth of the characters. Here, we are spoiled.
In the role of the villain, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The sparse hair, the slimy little eyes, the expressionless face, the emotionless tone, the denazification speech. Always in a dark suit and tie. His setting: a huge table, as long as death, at which he sits at one end and his guest at the other. A plan worthy of Dictator of Chaplin. A mad tyrant worthy of James Bond.
In the role of good, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. Full hair, frank eyes, beard like Bruce Willis in Armageddon, the passionate tone, the allied speech. Still in combat gear. His setting: the streets of Kyiv that he bravely walks through. A plan worthy ofApocalypse Now by Coppola. A hero worthy of Marvel, without superpowers, but with super wills.
And in secondary roles, thousands of residents crammed into shelters or crossing borders. Heartbreaking stories of love and bereaved families.
Second episode: the Russian army seizes Chernobyl, the horribly famous nuclear power plant. A series we watched last year. We always like it when two series intersect. We feel more intelligent, in familiar territory.
Third episode, the action is not lacking: several war crimes revealed, astonishing resistance of the Ukrainian people, threats of the use of atomic weapons made by Putin and economic sanctions put in place by the West. Economic sanctions is the boring end of the series, but the rest is heartbreaking.
Fourth episode, during which we realize that it will not be a flash series of six episodes. The 100e day, already (although it’s easier to say already when you’re not there). The negotiations are broken off. Russia occupies 20% of the territory. Ukraine clings. And the rest of the world is getting used to it.
We will get to at least 12 episodes, if not 18. A second season is also expected, even if the audience begins to drop. It’s going around in circles. In February and March, it occupied all our thoughts, but here we are in June, we have had enough of destroyed cities, bloodthirsty words from Putin and even calls for help from Zelensky. It doesn’t have the same effect anymore. It gets repetitive.
Well, well, it’s decided, let’s let go The war in Ukraine. It becomes anxiety-provoking. Can’t wait for the fourth season of Stranger Things !
What ? The war in Ukraine is not a Netflix series. And while we gradually lose interest in it, more and more people continue to die.
It’s easy for us to look at something else, but for Ukrainians there is no other thing.
For us, these are only images, in the infinite thread of images that slide before our eyes. For them, it’s the world in which they are taken, even with their eyes closed.
How not to get tired of the war in Ukraine? How can we prevent it from getting bogged down in the quicksand of our indifference? I do not know. That’s why I’m asking. To ask the question is to be questioned again, but for how long?
It is the last burst of sensitivity, before the war in Ukraine joins all these intolerable injustices that we ended up tolerating, unfairly.