the postman (1997)

this is a very strange film that has followed me since my original viewing of it. don't get me wrong, there's nothing spectacular in its total aesthetic (costner *is* pretty goofy, the tone a little *too* sentimental, the amerikana propaganda a *little* too unbearable, etc...) — yet, I believe, quite a bit can still be gained from this film; especially in the short term. it's important to prophecy :: and here, this is done well: it is a fabric, primarily (abandoned gas stations in the middle of a herzogian desert-scape, the postmaster's name being Ford Lincoln Mercury, contemporary stock motivation books [as if a rare-survived classical text] deeply inspiring the fascist overlord ['Seizing the Way to Win'], the propaganda-fictional president's name being Richard Starkey, a widely-winked to but unnamed cameo by the constantly grinning Tom Petty ['I know you. You're famous.' 'I was once. Sorta. Kinda. But not anymore.' ], etc). // the unique ability to prophecy inherent in the human species, -- not of an accurate prediction of future events, but in imagining potential future states: and in imagining, opening up a psychic space for the reflection / contextualization / renegotiation / new planning / crystallization of present events / spirits / considerations, ... affecting the present to directly effect the "future" ; this is a genuine ability to prophecy, albeit fuzzy in accuracy and where the spiritual-medium is the classical dramatic-narrative. 'the postman' (1997) takes place in a ravished post-United States, 2013. the opening credit sequence plays a montage of 'archive' radio broadcasts breaking the news, only pieces of phrases popping into clarity "...power grid failure... the evacuation... rise of hate crimes and racially motivated attacks... the FBI... and protect their long denied rights... plagues that followed..." :: what an intriguing moment of cinematic-coincidence presenting itself on the april of 2012. this is the pleasure (terror?) of prophecy. in order for the psychic life of a civilization to flourish, it desires and requires a healthy proliferation of new-idea(s) new-perspective(s) PROPHECY. for this simple curiosity, it was worth reviewing.

a personal, mildly unrelated note :: the communities of this post-apocalyptic USA resettle into closed off hamlets. many years pass, many people die within of natural old age, and many children are born. assuming there is no village internet (which i believe to be a vital fight that must be won moving toward the post-apocalyptic united states that will eventually come at the hand of those who lead us globally - perhaps Mesh Networking and solar power generators?) // HOWEVER, assuming there is no village internet nor electricity ... that the cinema is a luxury within these hamlets, and are more a matter of memory to an elder viewer than immediate re-access for the whole community ... assuming they have books, perhaps personal and communal ... and in the rush to evacuate, not every book was grabbed (only the key few). what books would they be? what would a child grab that could stay with them into the journey of this dramatic re-orientation of civil human organization? — being one for the deepest history books: the terrorizing fall of contemplative Athens, the fast explosion of eternal Rome, the dramatic dissolve of the United States. forget hollywood: they're playing a decadent insider's game of low-risk investment masked by highly-tuned psychological-emotional branding, linked by fear and desire, to siphon the blood of the crowded poor's time, labor, mind, and economy. a new kind of cinema must emerge and will eventually reveal itself. the task is to create with a new kind of spectator in mind, which, in turn, will require utilizing new means of communication based, primarily, on a subtle prophecy...