History Film / Waterworld

** Also the Deacon, and in a way the Nord.

* ByronicHero: The Mariner is the less erudite version of this, but par for the course in a less cultured, post-apocalyptic world.

* {{Zeerust}}: An inverted example (coupled with HistoryMarchesOn), in that the real ''Exxon Valdez'' was renamed several times, refitted into an ore carrier in 2008, and finally beached in India and dismantled in 2012.

* ByronicHero: The Mariner comes off as this in a less cultured, post-apocalyptic world.

* GreenAesop: The film's [[AfterTheEnd portrayal of a ruined Earth]] depicts the villains in a world flooded by global warming as wasteful "smokers" (most of whom coincidentally [[GoodSmokingEvilSmoking smoke tobacco]]) who use motorized vessels running on unsustainable fossil-fuel obtained from the ''Exxon Valdez'', an tanker infamous for one of the largest oil spills in history. The [[NatureHero aquatic anti-hero]] and his companions use natural wind-power and eventually [[spoiler: find refuge in a serene [[ThePromisedLand promised land]] with vegetation and fresh water atop the Himalayas.]]

* GreenAesop: The film's [[AfterTheEnd portrayal of a ruined Earth]] depicts the villains in a world flooded by global warming as wasteful "smokers" (most of whom coincidentally [[GoodSmokingEvilSmoking smoke tobacco]]) who use motorized vessels running on unsustainable fossil-fuel obtained from the ''Exxon Valdez'', an oil tanker tanker infamous for one of the largest oil spills in history. The [[NatureHero aquatic anti-hero]] and his companions use natural wind-power and eventually [[spoiler: find refuge in a serene [[ThePromisedLand promised land]] with vegetation and fresh water atop the Himalayas.]]

* GreenAesop: Surprisingly averted, considering the film's [[AfterTheEnd portrayal of a ruined Earth]] and the bad guys' use of an oil tanker, which would have been a perfect opportunity to exploit an environmental message about pollution. That said, the Smokers are portrayed as wasteful and unsustainable, but the movie does not make a message about it.

* UsedFuture: Almost all technology is repurposed from "ancient" (read: 20th–21st century) equipment, and thus looks heavily patched and rusted.

* IncestIsRelative: When the residents of the Atoll ask the Mariner to impregnate one of their women, one of the men comment that they can breed with each other but the results are sometimes "undesirable" (nodding towards a man with glasses), implying that the Attollers have resorted to incest to keep the population going.

* NothingIsScarier: Taking a page from Film/{{Jaws}}, much tension comes from the invisibility of underwater threats. The giant three-jawed [[BuffySpeak mutant-fish-thing]] the Mariner catches for food is only very briefly seen (alive; it has a few more minutes of screen time as mutant sashimi).
* OceanPunk: In all its post-apocalyptic, {{anvilicious}}, GreenAesop glory

* NothingIsScarier: Much tension comes from the invisibility of underwater threats. The giant three-jawed [[BuffySpeak mutant-fish-thing]] the Mariner catches for food is only very briefly seen (alive; it has a few more minutes of screen time as mutant sashimi).

** WordOfGod says it's Denver.

* {{Zeerust}}: An inverted example (coupled with HistoryMarchesOn), in that the real ''Exxon Valdez'' was renamed several times, and refitted into a still-operational ore carrier.

** Even if there '''were''' enough ice to cover the world to the extent depicted, the ocean salt water would become diluted enough to be drinkable. (And kill everything that's adapted to live in salt water.)

* BlandNameProduct: Smeat, an {{Expy}} of Spam. There's ''tons'' of it on the ''Exxon Valdez'' and the Deacon hands out cans of Smeat like it's manna from heaven ''and'' going out of style.

* CoolCar: The rust-eaten shell of a car the Deacon rides in through the depths of his ship colony.

* BlandNameProduct: Smeat, an {{Expy}} of Spam. There's ''tons'' of it on the ''Exxon Valdez'' and the Deacon hands it out like it's manna from heaven ''and'' going out of style.

* CoolBoat: The Mariner's Trimaran, and the Exxon ''Valdez''.

* OceanPunk

* EpicMovie

* RuinsOfTheModernAge: Seen [[UnderwaterRuins underwater]] when the Mariner takes Helen to see where he got dirt from]].

* RuinsOfTheModernAge: [[spoiler:Seen underwater when the Mariner takes Helen to see where he got dirt from]].

* UnderwaterRuins

* TraumaticHaircut

* ButNowIMustGo

* AfterTheEnd