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MIND YOUR P'S & Q'S
A return to old-fashioned manners is brewing
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The
decline of good manners is not a new topic - our grandparents have been
lamenting the loss of good etiquette forever - but, now, it appears to
be on its way to becoming a national concern. It may have been the
advent of texting during dinner that really broke the camel's back, but
the lead-up has included everything from talking loudly on cell phones
to not taking the time to hold an elevator door. Social media may be
largely to blame, with sites like Facebook making it easy to ignore an
acquaintance (ever try ignoring or deleting a friend in the real
world?) and Chatroulette's "nexting" structure that lets users skip to the next person
if your current chat partner is unappealing. This decline of civility
has provoked a burgeoning movement towards old-fashioned decorum:
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MIEN Magazine:
In an effort to find sanctuary in the age of hooligans and ladettes,
this British online magazine was created to help readers improve their
social graces. Decidedly not for fuddy duddies, the fashionable mag
covers etiquette within the context of contemporary culture and style.
From what cocktail to drink to what hat to wear, MIEN has useful tips
for any aspiring Eliza Doolittle. The mag recently brought its
philosophy offline in the form of pop-up space The Parlour. An old Clerkenwell store
was transformed into a salon straight out of the Victorian era.
Visitors were invited to participate in activities like letter writing,
card games, music recitals, and - imagine! - actual face-to-face,
in-person conversation. Absolutely no modern day gadgets were
permitted. We imagine thumbs were twitching.
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Manners Movie: Even Hollywood has taken an interest in the topic of comportment, as Warner Brothers is developing a romantic comedy based on the late American queen of good manners, Emily Post. Similar to the story of My Fair Lady
(with some gender role reversal), the plot chronicles the tale of a
manners coach who transforms an ill-mannered man into a perfect
gentleman. The film will incorporate Post's bestselling book, Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home,
along with the the manners empire it subsequently spawned. While the
studio will certainly most value the potential box office dollars the
movie could generate, we'll be happy if it does nothing other than
remind those lacking professional decorum to return their calls and
emails.
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Etiquette Education:
Some adults are becoming so frustrated with kids' blatant disregard for
decency, presumably stemming from tech addiction, they're taking
matters into their own hands. Parents are signing up their kids for manners classes and pushing manners curricula in schools, such as this one, as a means of combating the country's current bullying
epidemic. Tired of witnessing the rude behavior exhibited towards girls
in school corridors, a high school Latin teacher in Arizona recently laid down the law, chivalrously speaking.
We're not sure that boys waiting to sit at their desks until all girls
are seated is the answer, but if this attention to gentility ultimately
keeps students' eyes on the teacher and not their Facebook profiles, he
may be on to something.
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* References to products and services in trendcentral do not imply our endorsement, but rather are intended to provide objective insights into emerging trends and examples of those trends. trendcentral is published by The Intelligence Group, a trend research and consumer insights company focusing on youth culture. For more information on our services, or to subscribe to our syndicated Cassandra Report studies, please contact Noelle Weaver at 212-277-5244 or via email at nweaver@intelg.com.
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