Knit Sightings

I was watching Four Brothers (again) last night on TV and I was noticing the manner in which the mom was knitting. She was holding one of the needles in her hand like a pencil, instead of having both under her palms, ends down. It struck that so many of the women I have seen knitting on TV and movies knit that way, yet in real life I've only seen one person do it -- Sally Melville. According to Wikipedia, that style of knitting was "briefly popular" around the turn of the 20th century because it was thought to be more ladylike. Sally said in my hearing why she prefers it, but I forget. So what's up with all the people on TV? Are all the actors in Hollywood preparing for roles being taught by the same person? Is it Sally Melville?

Maybe I just don't see enough other knitters in person. Maybe there's lots more of this going on that I think.

If you click on that link for IMDb, there is a picture of the mom knitting. Also, why is it that people on TV and movies are always knitting rectangles? Why are they are never knitting a sleeve?