Before learning about Aristotle's definition of a comedy, I rarely thought about what made a comedy a comedy. In my mind, I would classify any movie that made me laugh as a comedy without recognizing the common aspects present in almost every comedic movie I have ever seen. But after learning a comedy, as defined by Aristotle, is a story of a rise of a sympathetic and ordinary hero that ends in marriage, I soon realized just how many movies fit this description including a favorite of mine, Best in Show.
Best in Show is a mockumentary following five couples and their dogs to and during the Westminster Dog Show as they compete for the award of "Best in Show." Because it is in the mockumentary form, I initially doubted it would fit the description of an Aristotelian comedy but, surprise surprise, it does. Although all five couples play a starring role, the main ones are Gerry and Cookie Fleck, an ordinary, middle-class couple who have a terrier named Winky. The Flecks story arc best fits that of the Aristotelian comedy as Winky wins his category and eventually is named best in show even after Cookie is injured and Gerry (who literally has two left feet) has to walk Winky in the finals. Similarly, three of the other four couples win their categories. Most of these people, despite their quirks, are good people who are average in some way and many feel like underdogs in the competition. One couple's arc even ends in an actual marriage, but you get the feeling the more important "marriage" is that with the dog as the characters who succeed in the competition are the ones who truly love their doggos.
As for being a meaningful art form that enhances our meaning of the world, Best in Show, like many comedies, reveals aspects of human nature through its oddball characters but, for me at least, it makes us question our motives. For the viewer, this movie paints dog shows as a fun event, but ultimately a rather shallow one that brings happiness to a select few while bringing stress and anger to many. This made me wonder what types of activities we all do, not out of love or true passion, but (like the characters of Meg and Hamilton Swan) simply because we have a void to fill. Of course, for me personally this was a very meaningful movie because it introduced me to my life-long passion, competitive dog-breeding (and naming types of nuts).
I haven't seen best in show so I'll take your word for how it goes. I was wondering though could each couple be considered their own Comedy or are they all part of one overall comedy? How would the movie be different if a person saw it as multiple comedies around a central idea or one comedy played by multiple character?
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