The Postman (film)

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A 1997 movie based on a book by David Brin, about a wanderer in post-apocalyptic Oregon who ends up disguising himself as a US Postman and weaving an intricate story about the US government being reformed. It was not a very successful movie, tanking at the box office, derailing Kevin Costner's career and winning several Razzie Awards.

Tropes used in The Postman include:
  • 0% Approval Rating: General Bethlehem's followers apparently hate him every bit as much as the townsfolk they oppress. Not a single one of them seems unhappy to see him gone after the one racist redneck killed early on.
  • After the End
  • Alternate History: In 1998, "The Doomwar," an event that erased technology, caused the downfall of society.
  • Armies Are Evil: Averted. The Holnists are probably the least enthusiastic gang of rapists and plunderers in history.
  • Badass Bookworm: General Bethlehem. He then subverts it by having the books he's done with burned.
  • Beard of Evil: General Bethlehem.
  • Blatant Lies: All of Shakespeare's lies about the reformed United States government go unquestioned despite how obviously evasive and unconvincing he is.
    • No one questions that the new President of the United States has the same real name as Ringo Starr.
    • Possibly justified by the fact that it's not that he's convincing, but that people just want to believe in these things that badly.
  • Celebrity Survivor: Tom Petty.

Shakespeare: I know you. You're... famous.
Tom Petty: I was once... sorta. Kinda. Not anymore.