Lesson 11 Representation and Perception: The Best in Stereotype
The comedy mockumentary "Best in Show" is a clever deconstruction of the many stereotypes associated with dog owners. This is interesting for me to see because it shifts the focus from the dogs as the form of comedy to the owners. There are plenty of stereotypes at play here. These stereotypes are interesting for me to see because it shows what we think of people who participate in dog shows, and dog owners as a whole.
The first stereotype for these dog show owners is the fact that they have no children. The dog for one reason or another serves that purpose for the owners. This is not my favorite stereotype for many reasons. Firstly I think it is fine to not have a desire for children. This is something that is starting to change from when this movie was made in 2000 but there is the idea that dogs are meant for people with families and single people. This isn't true, many people have animals to allow us have connection when it is hard to connect with humans. Animals help us to understand the world around us. The dogs and owners in the movie were able to connect even a little bit because of the bridge the dogs offered them.
The second stereotype that "Best in Show" works with is that many gay people participate in dog shows. I have to be honest I was supersized by the depiction of the gay characters in this story. For 2000 it was impressive how restrained they were in the depiction. I still don't think it's good representation but it was good for the time. This stereotype I think connects back to the first stereotype I talked about. People would assume that it is better for gay people to have dogs than children. This is wrong. There is nothing else to say. It's wrong and I'm glad that this perception is slowly changing. I think that the way that "Best in Show" deconstructs this stereotype is interesting. They ramp everything up to eleven and let the audience see the absurdity of their perception. This is something I am grateful for because you see the characters as the stereotypes that they represent. This deconstruction helps the audience to question their biases and have a greater understanding and hopefully empathy towards others.
Lastly "Best in Show" also works to deconstruct stereotypes for those who participate in dog shows who are straight. I didn't realize this movie commented so much on sexuality until now but these are stereotypes that they chose to work with. The characters who are in straight relationships are honestly some of the weirdest characters in "Best of Show". The couple from New England that we are first introduced to are my least favorite part of the whole movie. They are so annoying with their constant fights. What I had to laugh at was the different traits that characterized them. The fact that they asked others if their clothing was J. Crew or LL Bean was funny. The writers took the stereotypes of the socialites of New England and exaggerated every element of it. It was funny for me especially because my father could easily be put into that same group. He grew up in New England and completed his graduate degree back east. His side of the family has many of the same characteristics of these characters but not to the same level and with the benefit of having other characteristics. I also liked what the writers did with the couple from Florida. The fact that any man over 35 ish had slept with the wife became more and more absurd as the movie went on. The writers didn't care about making it even realistic.
This movie was interesting because the dogs weren't the characters. The people were the ones that had the most focus. This is investing because all though it is a movie about Dog Shows the dogs didn't feature much. These stereotypes of people who participate in dog shows was were the comedy and story was derived from. That's the one sad part. I would have loved to have seen more of the dogs and see how their character reflected that of their owners. I think that is the one thing that would have made the comedy even better. There could have been respect given to the dogs if they were a larger part of the story but there really isn't anything I can say about them because of their lack of focus.
I think over all "Best in Show" is a good movie and holds up twenty years later, but it isn't a dog movie. It is a comedy about people who participate in dog shows. The dogs are more of plot devices rather than characters. This works, but I would rather it be about the dogs and how they relate to their owners.
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