Weekend Economists Stamp Out Ignorance December 27-29, 2013

[Demeter]

21. The Postman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bPxBW1Ox13Q

The Postman is a 1997 American post-apocalyptic film directed by and starring Kevin Costner, and based on David Brin's 1985 novel of the same name. The film co-stars Will Patton, Larenz Tate, Olivia Williams, James Russo, and Tom Petty. It was filmed in Metaline Falls and Fidalgo Island, Washington, central Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona.

The film is set after an unspecified apocalypse has left a huge impact on human civilization. A nomadic survivor flees a warlord's army while unwittingly inspiring hope of restoring peace.

After a nuclear war, civilization collapses leaving pocketfuls of survivors in rural areas and small towns maintaining some semblance of civilization. Others have joined armies that prey on the survivors.

In 2013 an unnamed nomadic survivor (Costner) enters the flatlands of Oregon. Needing food and water, he trades performances of Shakespearian plays. The nomad is captured by and conscripted into a neo-fascist army known as the Holnists, named after deceased founder and ex-farmer Nathan Holn, now run by General Bethlehem.

During a hunting expedition the nomad, nicknamed Shakespeare by the Holnists, escapes by jumping into a river. He takes refuge in a dead postman's mail carrier van. With a bag of mail and the dead postman's uniform, he arrives at Pineview, Oregon. He claims to be an actual postman from the newly restored U.S. government to gain entry. As he is able to produce a letter addressed to a member of the town, they give the Postman food and a place to live in the abandoned post office.

The Postman inspires a teenager named Ford Lincoln-Mercury, who presses him into swearing him into the faux restored postal service. The Postman is approached by Abby (Olivia Williams) seeking a "bodyfather" to impregnate her due to her husband's infertility. Pineview's sherriff is sceptical of "The Postman" telling him to get out of town the following day. Meanwhile, a pile of mail has been left at the door of the post office. Leaving Pineview, the residents give the postman a horse and the sheriff hopefully gives him a letter to his sister.

During a raid of Pineview, General Bethlehem learns of "the Postman" and his tales of restored government. Scared of losing his power, Bethlehem burns the American flag and post office. He kills Abby's husband when refused permission to have sex with her and kidnaps her. The Postman surrenders during a battle with the town of Benning, Oregon. Abby captures a gun and fires on Bethlehem as he orders the execution of the postman. The two narrowly escape into the surrounding mountains, though the Postman has been badly wounded.

The Postman and Abby hide in an abandoned cabin. Abby tells the Postman she is pregnant with his child. As spring arrives, the two cross the range and run into a young girl, who claims to be a postal carrier. She reveals that Ford Lincoln Mercury has organized a postal service of his own. They help towns and settlements to communicate and inadvertently spread the fictional tales of a restored government. Bethlehem orders the execution of the postal carriers, and the ensuing fights escalate into a running small-scale war. The Postman gets help from a Vietnam War veteran, who teaches him guerrilla warfare tactics.

His postal carriers, mostly teenagers pitted against a better-equipped enemy, encur mounting casualties. Dismayed, the Postman orders everyone to disband. He writes a last letter to be delivered to Bethlehem, saying the postal service is over and that the restored government is gone. Ford volunteers to deliver the message, knowing that he will be killed afterward. Bethlehem reads the letter and is disappointed that he has won without a fight. He plans to kill Ford and another captured deliverer. When the two captured postal men meet, however, they do not know each other: the other man introduces himself as a postman from California. Bethlehem realizes that to destroy the idea of the postman, he must kill the postman. He decides to keep Ford as a hostage, but murders the other postman.

The Postman, Abby and a small group of postal carriers travel to Bridge City, built on an old dam wall. The settlement is run by a celebrity from before the war (Tom Petty), though never mentioned by name, it is alluded to that he was "famous once". Seemingly trapped between the dam and Bethlehem scouts, the enclave leader helps the Postman to escape on a cable car to find volunteers for an army to fight Bethlehem forces.

In a voice over of King Henry V's speech prior to the Battle of Agincourt, the Postman stirs himself to war and manages to rally troops. Relishing the challenge to full battle Bethlehem and his army meet the postman's army across a field. Not wanting casualties from the battle the Postman challenges Bethlehem for Holnist leadership invoking "Law 7" which he learned of during his time in the conscript army. The law states any Holnist member can challenge the leader and if victorious take leadership. Bethlehem realizes that the Postman and "Shakespeare" are the same man. He accepts the challenge and is defeated. He does not accept his loss or the Postman's subsequent offer to build a new, peaceful world. He captures a gun and tries to shoot the Postman but is killed by his former first officer. The officer surrenders himself and the rest of the Holnists follow. In a voice over Abby tells that she and the Postman have a baby girl, whom she names Hope. The post office continues, rebuilding the country.

The story concludes 30 years later. Hope attends a statue unveiling tribute to her late father, who is recently deceased, in St. Rose, Oregon. From the modern clothing, and signs of modern technology it is suggested that the country has grown in development to approximate its pre-apocalypse status. The statue bears the inscription, "He delivered a message of hope embraced by a new generation,". A man and his wife stare at the statue of the Postman catching a letter from a small boy -— echoing a scene from earlier in the film, with the man saying "That's me."...wikipedia

IT WAS NOT A CRITICAL SUCCESS...BUT, THE MORAL OF THE STORY...