The basic formula for a hero quest begins with the departure. For the Postman, his hero quest begins fairly classically. We see him first in the desolate world as a mercenary wanderer with no interest in finding other people. “Avoid civilization at all costs,” he reminds his mule (and brief animal familiar), Bill. Yet, when he comes across a little town, the Postman chooses to risk entering, anyway, not because he desires human contact, but because he is hungry, and the townspeople have food. In Campbell’s formula, the call to adventure is followed by the hero’s initial refusal to go. Costner’s Postman is no different, and his immediate reaction when the Holnists arrive to collect conscripts is to hightail-it out of there. He wants no part of their town or their army and this is most obvious when, struggling against Bethlehem’s guards, he protests “I’m not with these people!” Having been forced into events, the Postman is provided with “supernatural” aid that equips him for the journey ahead. In his case, this occurs when he finds the mail truck and takes the dead carrier’s uniform and mailbag. At this point, the Postman comes to the first threshold of his quest, where he must decide whether or not to embark on the quest. As all heroes do, the Postman accepts his mission by taking the letters of the Pineview citizens and heading out to deliver them. During this part, The Postman encounters his “oracle” in the form of Irene March, who tells him “I have a good feeling about you. You’ll do what’s right.” The Postman’s departure phase ends when he meets with General Bethlehem in his camp, in the proverbial “belly of the whale” (“Monomyth”).

At this point in the film, the Postman enters the initiation stage of his quest. This begins with a road of trials including getting shot and stranded in a cabin all winter long, and joining the young group of postal carriers established by Ford Lincoln Mercury. Traditionally, the road of trials is followed by an encounter with “the goddess” who provides the hero with aid and support. The Postman uses the character of Abby in this way, but she also serves as a mentor for the Postman, giving him advice, taking care of him when he is injured and spurring him on to action when he would rather do nothing (Vogler). As a “goddess,” Abby fulfills this role early during the departure, when she bids the Postman to sleep with her (to which he acquiesces rather quickly).

The Postman follows the road of trials with other common elements, including temptation away from the path and atonement with the father figure, but the film puts them in opposite order. In the movie, Sheriff Briscoe is the Postman’s father figure, who is initially very suspicious of the Postman’s intentions, until the Postman returns to Pineview with mail. Briscoe then admits, “I was wrong about you.” The Postman’s temptation away from the path occurs after this, when Bethlehem’s forces invade Pineview and execute some of the people, including Briscoe. Believing he can mollify Bethlehem by disbanding the postal carriers, the Postman does so, choosing to return to his wandering roots with Abby and forget the Postman ever existed. His disillusionment does not last long, however, and the Postman finally gets the ultimate boon in Bridge City when he again takes up the mantle of The Postman and decides to muster the people against Bethlehem, demonstrating this by putting his hat back on. In a cinematic twist, his enlightenment is revealed more obviously in the end of the film when he dramatically proclaims, “I believe in the United States!”

Having attained his ultimate boon, the hero embarks on the return stage of his quest. The Postman climbs into the Bridge City lift to take a “magic flight” back to where Bethlehem’s forces are waiting. He crosses the return threshold by riding up to face Bethlehem with an army at his back, and attains mastery of the situation by revealing his Holnist tattoo, able to confront Bethlehem on Bethlehem’s terms and beat him with the noble ideas of his other, more hopeful world. But the Postman is not ultimately successful until Bethlehem’s loyal subordinate shoots and kills the General, demonstrating the rescue from without common to many hero quests. After this, the Postman returns to Abby and their baby daughter where he now has freedom to live. Having given hope and order back to human kind, we see the Postman finally attain apotheosis when his grown daughter unveils the statue of him to the cheering crowd.

The Postman has a lot in common with classic hero quests beyond just borrowing the format. The character of the Postman, and his fight to restore democracy to war-ravaged America is somewhat reminiscent of Theseus, who became King of Athens, only to build a commonwealth allowing the people to rule themselves (Hamilton, 216). The Postman’s repeated efforts to fix problems created by Ford, and later, his attempt to rescue him from Bethlehem, also ring similar to Theseus’ relationship to Pirithous, who was Theseus’ loyal friend but terribly prone to trouble (218). Furthermore, the Postman’s oracle, Irene March, is an old blind woman suggestive of Tiresias, the blind seer involved in the hero quest of Odysseus (Wilson).

But the Postman’s quest also differs from the classic model in two significant ways. Firstly, like all modern hero quests, The Postman is intended as entertainment rather than education. It tries to impart a lofty message about the greatness of American democracy, but mostly it is an exercise in fantastic settings, over-the-top orchestration and dramatic battles. Classic hero quests were more concerned with teaching their audience a moral lesson. Secondly, the Postman never loses his hero gloss. He attains enlightenment, saves the day and lives happily ever after, whereas most of the famous heroes (Theseus, Jason, Hercules) met their ends in disgrace and sorrow. The lesson in classic myths was that these heroes were still bumbling humans at heart, succeeding only when the gods acted favorably towards them. Today, however, we prefer to see bumbling humans elevated to hero status and then remain there. The Postman is just one example out of dozens of movies that use Campbell’s hero quest to tell its story. It uses the material well and creatively, even though the subject matter is mostly ridiculous and the story predictable. Regardless, The Postman continues to be one of my favorite movies. Enjoyable for its stunning visuals and uneven acting, I now appreciate it for its mythic qualities, as well.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1942

Leeming, David Adams. The World of Myth. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990

“Monomyth.” Answers.com

Vogler, Chris. “A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” The Skeptic Tank.

Wilson, Andrew. “The Classics Pages: Tiresias.” The Classics Pages.