For the most part, mockumentaries do not receive any more credit than presenting parody-centralized, escapism comedy to audiences. While mockumentaries most certainly act as a social commentary for the ways documentary films are made, they usually end up coming second best, losing out to the ‘serious’ issues their sister genre never fails to present. The rap mockumentaries receive is one of unfair criticism, as the films also possess undertones of various civil issues, which seem to get buried underneath a comedic script. Though the film, Best In Show (Christopher Guest, 2000), may appear to be a light comedy, focussing on the absurdity of a dog show on the surface, there are certainly themes of film-making ethics, and the exploration of social issues concerning the early 21st century, layered underneath the film’s seemingly playful exterior. Ultimately, Best In Show illustrates that mockumentaries act as a window into the public’s view of how social issues are dealt with in documentary films. While it would be easy (and not out-of-the-question) to catalogue Best In Show as nothing more than an entertaining mockumentary, it is surprisingly much more than that. These days (with films such as Borat, or Bruno) it is increasingly difficult to realize that mockumentaries are more than just crude throwaway films, but that they are ‘mock documentaries.’ In one way or another, they must deal with the same issues real documentaries face, as they borrow the same template of film making. One of the big issues these films must deal with are, ethics in documentaries. Although Best In Show employs actors to portray the dog owners being caught on film, the film’s director, Christopher Guest, uses them to poke fun at how social actors are treated in most documentary films. To begin, in his book, "Introduction to Documentary," Bill Nichols asks, “Should we tell someone we film that they risk making a fool of themselves or that there will be many who will judge their conduct negatively?” (9). In the same vein as many of his contemporaries, Guest answers this question with an unapologetic “no,” and continues to monstrously exploit the characters of his film. Notably, every character in Best In Show unknowingly comes off as a complete and utter fool at some point in the movie. For example, the film’s naïve Norwich terrier owner, Gerry Fleck, often comes off as sad and freakish, as Guest makes a point of using footage exhibiting Fleck’s “two left feet,�