'I don't know my lines'

While thinking about politeness it becomes apparent how much of our reality is completely constructed by it. We're all obligated to conform to particular modes of behaviour and most of us do it without thinking. Because of this, transgression of the rules of politeness can cause a disorientation and be either frightening or funny (or both).

It's often used in the artistic realms that thrive on such a disorientation - surrealism and comedy. In writing about the subject I thought of a number of sketches or scenes from various films that use this transgression to make us either laugh or keep us up at night and so thought I'd put a few of them here so you can see what I mean.

To run smoothly dinner parties depend on everyone behaving just as they oughta. Which is why so many films and plays are set during them. A drama unfolding by someone not doing what's expected. In 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' Luis Bunuel has a group repeatedly trying to meet up for dinner parties that are always interrupted by some bizarre event or another, like in this scene.

It can be just as weird seeing someone being polite in the most inappropriate situations. Like telling someone you've just accidentally fired nuclear weapons at them. For me this is one of the funniest scenes ever filmed.

Another dinner. This one from David Lynch's Eraserhead. Henry Spencer meets his girlfriend's parents. It gets awkward.

In terms of the politeness of public, social situations it's difficult to say who's being more obnoxious than who here, but, I dare say, we're all on Alvy Singer's side. (There's another layer of formal rule breaking in this scene in that Allen addresses us - the audience - making us conscious of our act of watching. How rude of him.)

A host is obligated to be the most polite and accommodating in any formal situation. The entire point of Basil Fawlty is that he's the last person in the world who should be running a hotel.