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How the American Class System is Stereotypically Represented Because America is known as the “Melting Pot” of cultures, there are many very different types of people from different backgrounds. However as we see in the movie “Best in Show,” they can all come together for a central cause. The idea behind this movie is that there are no ethnic minorities, just stereotypes of different social classes, which is the most common. (Martinez 26) As defined by Judith Andre, a stereotype is “a conventional, formulaic, and usually oversimplified conception, opinion, or belief: a person, group, event, or issue considered to typify or conform to an unvarying pattern…” (Martinez 26) Throughout the movie we are introduced with various social statuses and lifestyles. These include: the very wealthy gold digger (Sherri Ann Cabot), the “redneck” (Harlan Pepper), the lower class (Gerry and Cookie Fleck), the yuppies (Meg and Hamilton Swan), and the homosexuals (Stefan Vanderhoof and Scott Dolan). Even though these are completely different groups of people, they are able to come together for a common bond, which is training their dogs for this prestigious dog show. These people came from different states across America and although they may seem normal in their part of the country, when placed in the same situation and place, their differences come out. The reason for this is, as Lynn Weber states, “Race, class, gender and sexuality are contextual. Their meanings vary not only across historical time periods, but also across nations and regions during the same period.” (Martinez 15) Throughout the movie, Sherri Cabot and her standard poodle have the edge in the dog show, because of the fact that they have been the previous winners. The dog also has its own hired trainer, which believe that this is a statement on the fact that the wealthier the people have more resources to take charge over people with less money.
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