Sometimes I totally forget the theme of the class (Happiness) and completely miss the purpose of some of the things we are shown in class. When Professor Kaufman showed us “Best in Show”, I dismissed the concept of happiness and just laughed at the hilarious movie. But at the end of the movie, Professor Kaufman mentioned how all the dog owners had their own definition of happiness. This may be true but after watching the movie, I feel that we are happy when we see that something or someone close to us is happy.
Throughout the mocumentary, the various dog owners took great pleasure in taking care of and making sure everything was perfect for their prized pooches. They all went to great lengths to make sure that their dogs would be happy and put their best paw forward for the dog show. Some of the treatment seemed very peculiar and exaggerated, but it was done in the best interest of the dog, regardless of how crazy it made the owner seem. For example the opening couples, Meg and Hamilton Swan, treat their dog as if she were their actual child. When the dog accidently sees them having sex, they take her to a therapist to try to make the song “understand” that sex is a beautiful thing between “Mommy and Daddy”. They feel that therapy will help make their dog happy and in turn increase their happiness because it is their responsibility to provide for and maintain the contentment of who they love (in this case, a dog). Failing at this job would, no doubt, cause conflict as it did in the movie; failing to keep their dog Beatrice happy caused a rift in the couple’s relationship until they got rid of Beatrice and got a new [lower maintenance] dog because the guilt of not being able to keep her happy made them themselves unhappy. This familial relationship led me to believe that our happiness is based on our loved ones happiness’. And “Best in Show” depicted that this is especially true when we feel responsible for their level of happiness.
Happiness has a mirror effect sometimes. Much like when people move away from someone who is depressed because their mood is “contagious”. So i guess in this case, the question is not WHAT can make us happy, but WHO will make us happy?
