Why does the world denigrate (at least once per quarter) one of my favorite movies, Costner's 'The Postman'? Good solid 1950's scifi?

Well, most of the SF of the fifties was not very good. Costner does not seem to do his best work in SF. Even Waterworld was not very good, although it could have been.

I think that when you give in to the temptation to make something that is "ripped right out of the headlines," it just seems trite. The Postman could have been a good film if they were not so heavy handed at times. Waterworld would have been a much better film if they had not used the Exxon thing.

They should have created a world not a message.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.