History Film / ThePost

* SpiritualSuccessor: to both ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen'' (with which it shares both a setting and the RealLife character of Ben Bradlee, though it takes place years earlier) and ''Film/{{Spotlight}}'' (with whom it shares a co-screenwriter in Josh Singer). ''Film/{{Spotlight}}'' also features Ben Bradlee's son, Ben Bradlee Jr., in a supporting role.

* BrickJoke: Ben Bradlee's daughter is selling lemonade at 25 cents a cup only for Ben to declare that the price has gone up to 50 cents. Later, we see the daughter march past with a sign where the original price is crossed out at the new price painted on. Still later, we see the huge stack of cash she made.

* OneSteveLimit: If it wasn't a true story, there's no way two major characters who play similar roles would both be named Ben.

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_post.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:310:Find those pages!]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_post.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Find those pages!]]

''The Post'' is a 2017 [[HistoricalFiction historical drama]] directed by Creator/StevenSpielberg and starring Creator/MerylStreep, Creator/TomHanks, and [[AllStarCast a slew of well-known character actors you probably recognize from TV]].

It tells the [[BasedOnATrueStory true story]] of how Kay Graham, publisher of ''The Washington Post'', along with editor Ben Bradlee, defied the White House to publish the leaked government documents later known as the Pentagon Papers, which detailed how the government had spent years misleading the public about the Vietnam War.

* AlanFridge: Bagdikian refuses to name Dan Ellsberg as the source of the Pentagon Papers, but is advised that ''The Washington Post'' could be held in contempt of court if he is the same source used by ''The New York Times''. The use of anonymous sources is also a much larger plot point in ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''.

* CostumeEvolution: Kay Graham's wardrobe transforms throughout the film. She starts out wearing blues and grays that make her blend in with the scenery and other characters. But when she begins asserting herself in the dispute over the Pentagon Papers her wardrobe shifts to golds and yellows to make her stand out. By the end, she's wearing boldly patterned clothes to symbolize that she's gained confidence and has fully stepped into her role as publisher of the ''Washington Post''.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Kay's lawyer says that a "disaster" would constitute Ben getting hit by a bus, the world running out of newspaper ink, or the bus coming around the block and hitting Ben again. Kay lets off a hardy laugh at this.

* EveryoneSmokes: The free use of tobacco in the 1970's is lightly touched upon throughout the movie, but when the ''Post'''s senior reporters start digging into the Pentagon Papers, they start sucking down cigarettes while filling Bradlee's living room with thick smoke.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: When Marina is offering lemonade to the reporters while they're reading the Papers, one of them quips, "Does it have vodka in it?"

** A more subtle and downplayed one is given to Ben by his wife. She points out that Kay is risking a lot more than he is (he already has a reputation as a talented maverick, so could get a job at another paper easily if the Post collapses, while Kay would lose everything,) and by mentioning how Kay has spent her entire life being taught to be a background figure to men, she also draws attention to how Ben casually turned ''their'' house into a headquarters for ''his'' colleagues without asking whether she minded the intrusion, or questioning the snacks and meals she provided for all of them. He doesn't apologise, but he accepts the rebuke and takes it to heart.

* NiceToTheWaiter: Averted in the case of [=McNamara=], who Kay sees being very nasty to a subordinate at the Supreme Court hearing despite being genuinely friendly towards Kay herself in earlier scenes.

* OscarBait: The film was hit with [[https://screenrant.com/oscars-2018-best-picture-no-bait-movies/ multiple]] [[https://highlandernews.org/31752/oscar-bait-y-post/ accusations]] [[https://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2018/01/catnip-hacks of]] this: ChristmasRushed for awards season consideration, a historical drama featuring some of the biggest names in film and TV in a dialogue-heavy plot with a timely message and fronted by a disadvantaged woman in a field dominated by men. (During the Golden Globes ceremony, one of host Seth Meyers' jokes involved the film being showered with awards, though it failed to earn any that night) While doing fairly well critically and commercial, it ultimately failed to make a splash in the awards circuit and was nominated for only two Oscars and is predicted to lose both (though it nevertheless managed to snag a coveted Best Picture nomination).