Cool isn’t so easy nor is that simple to achieve. There are a lot of different parts to this desire that people have for coolness. One of them being that we are a part of socialization, where our society imposes on us what is or isn’t cool. We in return try to follow and become those things, in order to matter and feel some sense of self. We can’t ignore the norms of society which therefore lead us to create and play different roles in our lives to suit them.
Cool over time
It's no question that what’s "cool" has changed over the years and people have changed with it. What's cool today certainly wasn't cool 20 years ago. Cool is something that is forever changing and evolving. Like the latest trends, what's cool today might not be so cool tomorrow. We as individuals and as a society also change along with it. “ If cool is inherent in people rather than objects ,then what is seen as cool will change from place to place, from time to time, from generation to generation.” (Pountain, Dick, and David Robins. Cool rules: anatomy of an attitude. London : 2000. 12-33. Print. ). For example the different style eras, from the 196o’s, when the whole hippie look and lifestyle was in because at the time there was a drug-induced revolution against traditional American values happening in society. To the 1970’s- 1980’s when the punk look was in to rebel against the other mainstream trends that were out and to go along with the anti-government theme. These style eras are evidence of what’s seen as “cool” changing over a period of time with society and people following it. Every generation has their own idea of cool based on how they were brought up during their time but regardless will need to change to fit into the “new” cool societies and generations.
Others perspective on Cool
There are many different perspectives on what cool is and how it is defined. A major difference between people’s ideas of cool is either being “authentically” cool or being “fake” cool. “Cool is an attitude or personality type that has emerged in many different societies.” (Pountain, Dick, and David Robins. Cool rules: anatomy of an attitude. London: 2000. 12-33. Print.) Cool is a lifestyle and part of people’s culture. It’s a way of dressing, talking and acting. Cool is the individuals’ way of adapting to the ideas of society. The way people have described being authentically cool is “being you" or “being original”. Our identities have many different faces and some of them might be “fake”, being just products of the situation we are in. I don’t believe that anyone can ever be truly authentically cool because people are always going to be inspired by something or someone else around them. Like through the media, the media sells a lifestyle and a culture to societies. We are marketed what cool is through the media. From all the magazines, movies, music videos, etc. being watched and listened to and all the celebrities we look up to. We can’t help but be influenced by all that surrounds us.
Cool as a performance
We are constantly being watched by society. Therefore we concern ourselves with influencing the way others treat and look at us. In order to be cool or seem important we turn to playing different roles in our lives. I think that everyone wants that special recognition from others. We all want to be apart of "a group/tribe". We want others to acknowledge our importance and one way to do that is through being cool via the "characters" we choose to play. These "characters" enable us to get attention and approval from those around us. We turn to using various methods to execute these performances perfectly. By making the self seem different and much bigger as an attempt to matter. We turn to aggrandizing ourselves because we think it will make our performances seem more real from "getting tattoos, piercings, becoming buff, wearing make up; these are all things we do because we are told to do so. " (Amber). Constructing identities is evidence that we are controlled by the society we live in. Certain situations are all ready set up for us by the systems we live in. So we have to create these characters and put it along with a performance we have to pull off in response to the situation. Our characters and our performances are all "scripted" for the most part. In the sense that we sometimes arrange the situation we are in and set up the way we present ourselves to those watching us. It becomes a routine for us, everyday we wake up a play some type of role.
Conclusion:
The only reason cool exists is because people want to be somebody. People want a name for themselves, whether it be "the jock", "the beauty" or "the funny person". They want that certain recognition from society and the group they are trying to be apart of. We try to fit in and become what is cool in order to be and feel accepted, important, and special. We desire to be cool. People feel like they matter through being cool and being admired by others. But really we are just feeding into societies ideas, instead of creating our own. If we don't start thinking for ourselves and if we continue to worry about being cool, we 'll just end up following the society and systems we live in.
Work sited:
Pountain, Dick, and David Robins. Cool rules: anatomy of an attitude. London : 2000. 12-33. Print.
Amber Mujeeb , Triangle partner comments hw
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