The Losing Battle of COOL

Introduction:
Writing about cool would be a lot easier if its definition were not so elusive.. Webster’s dictionary defines “cool” as being collected, exciting, calm, self-disciplined, highly skilled, or clever and sophisticated. It is a word everyone has heard and mostly likely has used. However, although cool is used as a universal term by all ages, the meaning of the word still remains undefined and can change depending upon the situation in which it is used. In spite its lack of a definite meaning, we all strive to be cool to make us feel important. Unfortunately, by trying so hard to be cool to define ourselves, we actually fail at both meeting its definition and having a meaningful life.

Culture of Cool
We are stuck in a culture where being cool holds high importance. Although cool is defined in all different ways, the more dominant, standard definition of cool is that set by society. According to Front Line Video, we face 3000 advertisements a day and 10 million by the time we reach the age of 18. The media provides teens with an image of cool to copy. Commercials are made to send out a message and influence the minds of teens. Advertising is tricky and has its own agenda, yet we buy into it to feel more important or better about ourselves. We define cool, therefore, as what we see. We try to be like celebrities who are famous and rich and are always wearing the newest fashion trends. today the goal is to have success and fame. To be a part of it, teens mimic what they see and try to associate with it by following celebrities. In this way we somehow feel that we are as important and successful as they are. We are surrounded and trapped by this lifestyle.
We also follow the culture map and all live the same way. We go to school and get our education in order to have a good job and enter the same common rat race. This makes us seem more important. By getting that job you make money. With that money a person can buy shit, take exotic vacations, and be just like the people we look up to on our big flat screens. In the end it is all one big attempt to make us look cool. That way we think we can feel valued and have a sense of importance in the world.

Playing Cool
There are many ways we play at being cool. We mask, manipulate, costume, adore and aggrandize ourselves as a way to seem significant and appealing to others and to ourselves. The main concern is how we appear in other people’s eyes. We are on an endeavor to make ourselves attractive. People play a role to put out an image of them that they want other people to see. We do what we need to do in order to make ourselves appealing to others. Our self-presentation is massively important to us. It is something we take very seriously. The fact is we will do whatever we need to in order to fit in. It is top priority to be accepted. It is the reasoning behind the actions people take.
As a result, we all play a role. Sometimes we act to get attention. Someone might play the goofball: the one people rely on for cracking jokes. Some try to be the badass characters: pretending to think highly of themselves, and generally try not to care what anyone thinks. However, being loud, or funny, or rebellious is not always enough. We need to look the part as well. It’s the distinctive clothes and edgy haircuts that are used as key signifiers of cool. Wearing makeup, getting tattoos, staying fit are the things people do to their body in order to create the image by which they wish to be perceived. Sometimes, doing so associates them with other things as well. John fanning described himself as a child who was an outcast, someone who didn’t fit the identity that was expected from him. He took action in rebellion to form his own identity associated with the punk rock bands he liked, “able to be apart of another world.” Linking ourselves to others can provide us with a sense of meaning. A friend of mine recently got a tattoo. It was the first letter of all her sisters names inked on her hip, forever. Her reasoning was that although it may not have much importance or any meaning to anyone else, "I will always know what it means, it will always mean a great deal to me." This marking on her body was a sign that linked her with something else: her family. We use these tactics as a attempt to give our lives some importance. The ways we chose to present ourselves is what makes us feel cool and brings acceptance. This is the feeling we rely on to fill the emptiness in our lives.

The Losing Battle of Cool
Cool is never the same. It changes according to the lifestyle someone lives. Whatever the surroundings are will determine its definition and its impact. Anatomy of an Attitude states, “Cool is not inherent in objects but in people, then what is seen as cool will change from place to place from time to time and from generation to generation.” (Pountain, and Robins).What is cool is always changing, and people continually adapt to it. Being cool is a burden we carry with us. Accomplishing cool requires perfect balance. You cannot try too hard to become cool because then you are immediately not cool. On the other hand, if you don’t try at all you are just weird. It has to be somewhere in the middle. It is comparable and as dangerous as walking the tightrope. In order to make it across you need to stay calm. Any sudden movements will lead you to come crashing down; the stress builds and the fight against the internal panic becomes harder. Because cool has grown to be such an important thing in our lives, it is like we never stop. The end result is we lose who we really are by constantly trying to meet the changing definition of cool.
While conducting street interviews, I came across man with a leather jacket. He gave off an image of the badass who really did not let anything get in his way. I approached him after he crossed the street before everyone else. He strutted my way with his hand in his pocket and a cigarette in this mouth. I did my best to get his attention, hoping he would give me a chance to say what I had to say. He was very relaxed as he stopped. I asked him about cool. In no rush to answer he said "People are cool when they are comfortable with themselves. You gotta be confident with the person you are. And yeah don’t sweat the small stuff.” Most people these days will answer that question in the same way, because the cool defined by society is generally the dominating one.

Conclusion
Reconsidering cool using the above definition, we are not the cool ones at all. In reality the people we consider to be "uncool" are the one who are truly cool. They are the one who do not try as hard as the rest of us to fit in. We are all playing these roles trying to look or act like someone else, while those who are really cool are just being themselves. They are different and not afraid to go against the norm, which follows the originally definition of cool. With less energy spent on the losing battle of being cool, perhaps we can actually find the energy to fulfill our own lives and even have time to be nice to one another!

Pountain, Dick, and David Robins. Cool rules: anatomy of an attitude. London : 2000. 12-33. Print.

commenting

Sam,

Because my triangle partners both failed to post a draft, i am commenting on yours. I am sorry if this seems a little bit messy, you had alot of ideas and i found alot to write down. I hope what i have to say here you find helpful in some ways.

Right off the bat, i think by switching the first two sentence you would have a better hook. the idea that everyone is looking for their own face and all conform to each-other. i think most people would agree. People define cool themselves and follow it based on a collaboration of everyone ideas.

In the end it is each and every one of us trying to create image of cool for ourselves. We tend to gravitate to the people we are most alike. You talk about how people conform to this image of cool. A good resource to use would support the idea you have is the FRONT-LINE: Cool hunting. how these Cool hunting researchers try to find cool, they say "Once cool is discovered, it soon moves on" so they have to find a way to keep up. Once they find it they sell back an image of themselves. The media provides teens with a image of cool that they look up too. it might be something you want to include in your writing.

i like when you mention, "All that being said that doesn’t necessarily a bad thing." so you might want to revisit that somewhere in your paper. using more examples from what we did in class would be good. and maybe adding in where you think you fit in with all of this. hope this helps.

Devin,

My triangle partners are still working on there drafts. I post a comment on your paper, I like reading your writing. and i hope this comment is some what helpful.

For Starters Quoting from Shakespeare was very cool. I really liked the way you incorporated that into your draft. you might have inspired me to use it in my mind as well. Including Shakespeare kinda leads to the history of cool. and shows how cool is never constant and will never stop changing. By making the connection between that and the present, was interesting.

In your draft you use alot of good resources that all add to your arguments. I really enjoyed reading your draft. To make it even better you might want to consider what we can do in response to the dangers of cool. you could always add in more detail about the people today including where you fit in.

ideas in a mess

The Fight for Cool

I imagine Writing about cool would be a lot easier if I myself were cool. The source of uncertainty comes from the word cool itself. A word Webster’s dictionary defines as being collected, exciting, calm, self-disciplined, highly skilled or clever and sophisticated. It is a word everyone has heard and mostly likely has thrown around. Used as a universal term by children and older aged adults the word still remains undefined. Based on every situation and possible definition, the word “cool” remains with no solution. Yet we all strive to have a sense of cool and importance. By trying so hard to be cool and define ourselves we fall in meaninglessness.

Culture of cool

We are stuck in a culture where being cool holds high importance. Although cool is defined in all different ways the more dominant, standard definition of cool is that set by society. Facing 3000 advertisements a day and 10 million by the time they reach the age of 18. The media provides teens with an image of cool that they look up too. Advertising is tricky; no matter what it is there is always a purpose. While we are mostly oblivious to what corporations do we feed into it. Commercials are made to send out a message and influence the minds of teens. The media effects teens. So we define cool as what we see. Celebrities who are famous, who have lots of money and are always carrying the new fashion trends. Sending this generation wanting success and fame. To be apart of it, teen mimic what they see and try to associate them with it. Each dependent on the other. We are surrounded and trapped by this lifestyle. Where we follow the culture map and all live the same way. We need to get our education and go to school. In order to be apart of the meaning rat race and get a good job. Only to make ourselves seem more important. By getting that job you allow yourself to make money. With the money a person can buy all the new updated shit, take exotic vacations, and be just like the people we look up to on our big flat screens. In the end it is all one big attempt to make us cool. So we can feel valued and have a sense of importance in the world.

Playing cool

We mask, manipulate, costume, adore and aggrandize ourselves as a way to seem significance to others and ourselves. The main thing of concern is how we appear in other people’s eyes. So we are on an endeavor to making ourselves attractive. People play a role to put out an image of them that they want other people to see. We do what we need to do in order to make ourselves appealing others. Our self-presentation is massively important to us. It is something we take very seriously. The fact is, we will do whatever we need to in order to fit in. It is top priority to be accepted. It is the reasoning be hide the actions people take. It explains most of the stupid ideas we have.

We all play a role. And to be cool you have to be able to help it well. Acting to get attention. Someone might play the goofball. The one people rely on for cracking jokes.

Being the badass character. The one who does thinks highly of himself, and generally doesn’t give a shit. Although being loud, or funny, or rebellious is not always enough. We need look the part as well. It’s the distinctive clothes and edgy haircuts that are used as key signifiers of cool. Wearing makeup, getting tattoos, staying fit are the things people do to their body in order to create the image they are perceived as. Doing so associates them with other things. A friend recently got a tattoo. The first letter of all her sisters names inked on her hip, forever. She reasoning was that although it may not have much importance or any meaning to anyone else, "I will always know what it means, it will always mean a great deal to me." That the reasoning behind they most people decided to get tattooed. This marking on her body was a sign that linked her with something else, her family. By linking ourselves to the ones we want to be provide us with a sense of meaningful. And we use these projects as a attempt to give our lives some importance The ways we chose to present ourselves is what makes us feel cool, by being acceptance. Which is the feeling we rely on the fill the emptiness in our lives.

Rules of cool

Cool is never always the same. It is on constant move. It changes according to the lifestyle someone lives. Whatever the surroundings that will have a ever ending impact. Anatomy of an attitude states, “Cool is not inherent in objects but in people, then what is seen as cool will change from place to place from time to time and from generation to generation.” (Pountain, and Robins) it varies what a person is surrounded by. It is always changes, and people are adapting to it. Being cool is a burden we carry with us. Accomplishing cool requires perfect balance. You cant try to hard to become cool because then your immediately not. On the other hand if you don’t try at all you are just weird. It has to be somewhere in the middle. It compares to be as dangerous as walking the highline. In order to make it across you need to stay calm. Any sudden movements will lead you to come crashing down. And the stress builds and the fight against the internal panic becomes harder. Because cool has grown to be such an importance thing in our lives, it is like we never stop, and we lose who we really are.

While conducting street interviews, I came across man with a leather jacket. He gave off an image of the badass who really did not let anything get in his way. I approached him after he crossed the street before everyone else. He strutted my way with his hand in his pocket and a cigarette in this mouth. I did my best to get his attention, hoping he would give me a chance to say what I had to say. He was very relaxed as he stopped. I asked him about cool. In no rush to answer he said "people are cool when they are comfortable with themselves. You gotta be confident with the person you are. And yeah don’t sweat the small stuff.” Most people these days will answer that question just the same. Because the cool defined by society is generally the dominating one. Reconsidering we are not the cool ones at all. In reality the people we consider to be "uncool" are the one who are truly cool. They are the one who do not true as hard as the rest of us to fit in. although we are all playing these roles. His or her role does not exceed to be anyone else. They are different and go against the norm, which follows the originally norm of cool.

I stead of putting so much energy into being cool, It would be more beneficial if we directed to just simply being nice.

Pountain, Dick, and David Robins. Cool rules: anatomy of an attitude. London : 2000. 12-33. Print.

So I can think of many examples of how this whole idea of cool fits with the roles we play, the roles we are expected to play. this whole idea of our cultural maps. We tend to follow in other peoples footsteps, not necessarily always doing it exactly. I do not think we ever stray to far from the map our family has made. I am not quite sure what to make of this whole idea. Im still waiting for it to sink in. after what we talked about in class i start thinking. one thing led to another, and i came up with some ideas. That may be very far fetch, but here we go:

I am not someone who listens to alot of rap. Every now and then i will listen to the occasional song. Rappers all have qualities in common. one main thing i noticed is that the majority of them are black. off the top of my head i can only name one white famous rapper, Eminem. Relating back to our unit of cool, other weird idea i thought about is that they rarely ever use their real names. instead they come up with "cool" names like 50 cent, is that how much your worth? or another name like fat joe. i do not know the significance of that, call me crazy but i would not like being known to people as fat joe. then again i would defiantly never become a rapper.

When i was little i remember when the holiday season rolled around we would always go see santa claus. it was a big event, one i always looked forward too. days before all i would think about was what i wanted to tell santa. it was our turn, my sister and i ran into the room. all my excitement turned to confusion when i saw the black santa claus. i did not ask questions, i was speechless. and i think about what it is like for a black children to only see white santa clauses? is it as weird for them as it was for me?

Outline sketch

COOL

Introduction:

I. Definition of Cool based on dictionary: great; fine; excellent characterized by great facility; highly skilled or clever: cool maneuvers on the parallel bars.

II. Thesis statement: We're stuck in a culture of celebrity worship, status obsession, and persistent mediocrity and meaninglessness.

III. Surrounded and trapped in meaningless jobs in a meaningless rat race watching meaningless TV shows. Updating Face book friends, getting unique tattoos, finding new apps on your iPhone, getting clothes from a hip store with semi-nude workers, taking vacations to exotic places, and a buying that big screen TV. Are the ways we rely on to fill our emptiness. This is what makes us feel important and provides a sense of significance to our lives.

Point 1: the aspects of cool

Cool, used as a common word, thrown into any sentence. As easy as it may seem the word cool is impossible to define.

I. It is different according to everyone, and changes based on the situation. However there is a more dominant, standard definition of cool. (Using people we interviewed as examples.)

II. The something bigger we all try to be apart. And this dominate view of how to live our lives. Going to school, going to college, to get a job, get married, have kids, make money to buy shit, to retirement and to die.

Point 2: we mask, manipulate, costume, adore and aggrandize ourselves as a way to seem significance to ourselves and others. We do it all as an attempt to fit the expectations of cool. (Using examples from what Matt said)

I. People change their behavior to get attention. Being loud, the attitude of not caring, telling jokes, showing our wealth through generosity.

II. Things people do to their body in order to change the image they are perceived as. Make up, tattoos, haircuts, weight (exercising, staying fit), tan.

III. Being known. Having a nickname, changing your name, using capitals, initials, hyphenations or being names after something that has meaning already. Creating a bigger image for ourselves by linking our names to jobs and buildings.

Point 3: Brainwashing society

I. Advertising, and celebrities setting examples for teenagers. When we are shown and told what to think and molded. The Merchant of Cool videos from PBS. marketing companies find next concepts of cool, staying updated with new things and selling it back.

Conclusion:

Tattoo-ing

The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word "tatu" which means, "to mark something." Tattoo is a form of art, a permanent marking of ink on a persons skin. It is a way for people to create an image for themselves. It allows person to stand out from the crowd. Can make an impression of a persons morals, style, look, beauty, or experiences. Most times they used to make ourselves more ourselves, more appealing.

A tattoo is a simply way to define yourself. To form our own identity to represent the role we play in society. To associate ourselves with the people we look up too. It can be a common act from anti-conformity. John fanning described himself as a child who was an outcast, someone who didn’t fit the identity that was expected from him. He took action in rebellion to form his own identity associated with the punk rock bands he liked, “able to be apart of another world.”

Throughout history tattooing has been a system of associations, a way for identification. During the holocaust people were branded as a part of their identification system. Everyone linked to a certain number. Which all together build a massive event. Today people continue to brand themselves as a way to link themselves to other things. Megan Rowe the oldest of four was the first to get a tattoo of all of their initials. She chooses to associate herself with all of her sisters.

Not only has tattooing made an impact on people but is also frequently seen used on animals. From Farm animals, animals kept in the zoo, or advertisements, animals have been seen to have brands. Usually branded with serials numbers or marks that symbolize some significance. They are branded with marks used for identification or to association them with owners.

For some reason I have always taken an interest in tattoos. I notice when I see them, and always wondered about them. It is truly what makes a person unique. Tattooing is an art that is represented by everyone differently. People show off who they are and what they have to the rest of the world through the imagery of tattoos. Someday I hope to get a tattoo to mark an important event in my life. One that I am proud of and never want to forget.