Dating has certainly changed over the years. We are not simply speaking about the last 30 years. With “Brideshead Revisited” arriving in theaters July 25, it struck us here at SheKnows, what has a century done to dating?
In 2008 women ask men out, men are still asking women on dates and in dog parks across America, canines are letting their masters’ know who they should spend time alongside.
We all know how much the dating landscape has changed even since the ’50s, but adding another half-century pushes the cultural envelope even further.
Then
In the early 20th century, dating was a restricted and heavily monitored activity. Courting was a lengthy, drawn-out process involving families coordinating their children’s romances. Love for was marriage and many times, it arrived after the ‘I Dos’ were done.
In many ways, reflecting the culture at large, it was a necessity. The combination of an absense of birth control coupled with the cultural mores of the time, who one dated was ruled with an iron fist.
Now
Many parents could not even tell you the name of their child’s significant other, or even if they had one. From one-night-stands to online dating services, the standard for the means of dating in this new millennium is that there is none.
After serving as a deejay and emcee for weddings for five years, it was quickly aparent the couples celebrating their nuptials had meet through friends, at bars, sporting events or even through long distance emails. Gone are the hand-written cards and notes passed by mail in an elongated effort to woo a potential partner.
Then
In the early 1900s, it was not unusual for people to attend formal classes to learn the art of courting. Very stiff, extremely formal and honestly quite unromantic, these early courtship situations were heavily dictated by history. In other words, that is how it was always done, so why would we approach dating any differently?
Now
What needs to be learned? Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, people get together and some start a life together.
Then
In one scene from “Brideshead Revisited,” Miramax has has provided SheKnows a still that exemplifies the differences in boy meeting girl etiquette in the 1900s.
The characters are at the dinner table talking about what Charles wants to do with his life. The formality of the act of eating dinner alone will surprise. It showcases manners at the dinner table and how proper they acted back then. Note how the young people are clearly supervised and everyone is far apart.
Now
Most Americans eat on the run in 2008. The idea of sitting at the table amongst friends and family has increasingly become a luxury.
Sure, the meal still serves as a central point of dating. What better way to get to know someone then across a table in a quiet setting enjoying some food? But the mannerisms within that dinner are drastically different than the first half of the last century.
Ladies, how often does a guy pull out your chair for you before sitting down? Sure, many do, but that number is dwindling.
What about ordering for the women, men would do it without hesitation 100 years ago. Many women today would be insulted that their opinions were not included, and rightfully so.
Now, don’t get us started on where the date goes from the dinner table in 2008 versus early 1900s.
Then
Once courting began, the formality only continued. In the clip below provided by Miramax, Emma Thompson’s character is being walked by Matthew Goode. Notice how he properly escorts a woman. Think you’d see this extreme chivalry today? I doubt it.
Now
Women ask men to accompany them to a romantic drama during a summer movie season of cinematic explosions and Jokers. “Brideshead Revisited” arrives in theaters July 25 and possesses all the romance of another era while the audience sits firmly in this one.
“Brideshead Revisited” is a tale of forbidden love. Modern couples enjoying the movie know that there is rarely a forbidden love unless it involves cheating! Who in their right mind is going to tell someone in 2008 who they cannot date? It is rare to say the least.
Starring Matthew Goode from “Match Point” and “The Lookout” and Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson, “Brideshead Revisited” is a romantic epic that arrives for an audience that may be casual and independent in its dating methodology, yet still enjoys a film that can sweep them off their feet leading with the heart.
The film is based on Evelyn Waugh’s acclaimed novel. Waugh’s work is brought to the screen by multiple BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (“Bridget Jones Diary,” “Bleak House”) and Jeremy Brock (“The Last King of Scotland”) and is directed by Julian Jarrold (“Becoming Jane”).
Before heading out on those dates this weekend, enjoy this clip from “Brideshead Revisited,” exclusively provided to SheKnows by Miramax.
‘Brideshead Revisited’ shows how to walk with a lady, circa 1920s
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