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Dr. Benet Davetian featured in CTV documentary on September 20
| News
Dr. Benet Davetian, chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department, talks about civility in To Hell With Manners! The Decline of Civility, a documentary presented by CTV’s W-FIVE on Saturday, September 20, starting at 7 p.m. AT.
A news release issued by CTV describes the documentary: Have we lost all respect for our fellow citizens, or should we blame it on our sped-up and chaotic lives? In To Hell with Manners!, narrated by William Shatner, award-winning Montreal filmmaker John Curtin travels across North America and the U.K., proving just how disrespectful society has become.
From cell phone users chatting in restaurants and theatres to enraged motorists cutting each other off and employees losing it in the office, says a news release from CTV, it seems that we are ruder than ever. Some blame the decline of civility on stress, jungle capitalism and distracting technology, while others see it as a logical result of the revolutionary ‘60s, when baby boomers tossed out their parents’ stilted etiquette and opted for an “anything goes” approach.
With interviews from manners experts from across North America, Curtin exposes the darker side of how we sometimes interact. As Professor P.M. Forni of the Civility Project at John Hopkins University explains, good manners and civility are not about which fork to choose when eating a salad, but rather how we treat one another in everyday life. “And what could be more important than that?” he says.
While Curtin documents a visibly pregnant woman left standing on the subway and a total stranger berated by anonymous comments on the Internet, he also introduces us to those who have taken on the task of improving manners and provide solutions on how we can get nice again.
To Hell with Manners! is written and directed by Gemini Award-winning producer John Curtin, and is produced and developed by Kaos Productions Inc. in association with CTV.
A news release issued by CTV describes the documentary: Have we lost all respect for our fellow citizens, or should we blame it on our sped-up and chaotic lives? In To Hell with Manners!, narrated by William Shatner, award-winning Montreal filmmaker John Curtin travels across North America and the U.K., proving just how disrespectful society has become.
From cell phone users chatting in restaurants and theatres to enraged motorists cutting each other off and employees losing it in the office, says a news release from CTV, it seems that we are ruder than ever. Some blame the decline of civility on stress, jungle capitalism and distracting technology, while others see it as a logical result of the revolutionary ‘60s, when baby boomers tossed out their parents’ stilted etiquette and opted for an “anything goes” approach.
With interviews from manners experts from across North America, Curtin exposes the darker side of how we sometimes interact. As Professor P.M. Forni of the Civility Project at John Hopkins University explains, good manners and civility are not about which fork to choose when eating a salad, but rather how we treat one another in everyday life. “And what could be more important than that?” he says.
While Curtin documents a visibly pregnant woman left standing on the subway and a total stranger berated by anonymous comments on the Internet, he also introduces us to those who have taken on the task of improving manners and provide solutions on how we can get nice again.
To Hell with Manners! is written and directed by Gemini Award-winning producer John Curtin, and is produced and developed by Kaos Productions Inc. in association with CTV.
Contact
Anna MacDonald
Media Relations and Communications, Integrated Communications
