Homework 33 - Cool Paper Outline

Intro:
We are stuck in a society that believes that cool involves fitting in, having a packed social life, wearing the right clothes, owning the right materialistic items, and adorning our bodies with tattoos or piercings. We constantly try to change the image we portray to the world in order to receive the approval of others, while scrutinizing what others wear and deeming them “cool” or “uncool”. We buy the latest technology to fit in to a certain quota, and have the right group of friends to improve our social status. But does this make us seem “cool”, or are we buying into what our culture tells us is “cool”? Being cool means fitting in while standing out, being different while being the same, owning the latest items while acting like you could care less, having the most stylish clothes, while acting as if they’re nothing. Being cool means fitting into our culture’s standards, and always adorning our body or changing our image to be accepted by others.

Every day, the word “cool” is tossed around as if it is nothing, effortlessly leaving people’s lips, without requiring much thought to the definition behind this four letter word. What is the definition of “cool”, and who defines what is considered “cool”? Does your style make you cool, the way you act, your personality? Or is it something completely different? What do people mean when they say “you’re cool”?

What is “uncool”? Who is “uncool”? Who defines what “uncool” is? I believe that being “uncool” ties into the whole concept of being “unpopular”. If one does not have many friends, or does not have a sense of style, they might be considered “uncool”. They don’t demand respect from others, or do anything to impress others. However, a person’s perception of whom or what is cool also depends on opinion. I could think sidekicks (the cell phone) are cool, but my mother might think they are uncool. These concepts of cool versus uncool plays into a person’s perception.

I do not believe there is a universal definition of the word “cool”, rather a definition chosen by that of the person. Different people define what is “cool” in different ways; some people might say that being cool involves not caring or being a rebel, while others might think being cool means conforming to society’s standards. I believe that being cool ties into the idea of being popular, or being liked by many people. Your style might be cool or your personality might be cool, and that might make you cool to others. But what makes you “cool” to others? I believe what makes you cool is the ability to make people like you, and follow you. Sadly, our society is filled with followers rather than leaders, and when one spots a leader type, someone who isn’t afraid to show authority, they automatically think, “hey they’re cool”. There’s no fundamental base to what is cool, no concept written in textbooks, or steps to follow. Being cool is based on one’s perspective of others. I can say that I think Kate D’Auria, or Carrie Li, are cool (which I do believe is true), however people might beg to differ. I could argue that Carrie’s effortless style makes her cool in my eyes, and Kate’s ability to be nice to everyone makes her cool also. But this is my perspective, someone, let’s say Maggie Zheng, might think differently. We could argue over whether or not Kate and Carrie are cool, but what difference would it make? It’s an opinion, not a fact.

Point One
Dan Brown once said (as proclaimed in his book “Angels and Demons”) “The human spirit craves mastery over its carnal shell” What makes a tattoo any different? We as humans are always trying to make ourselves stand out, to make ourselves feel superior over others of our kind. Our “carnal shells” are our bodies; the shells are the barrier we break through with body piercings or tattoos. We “crave” the feeling of being different, of being unique, of being unlike the others. But we want to be thought of as “cool” the entire time. We adorn our bodies with symbols or materialistic items that set us apart from all the rest, that make us feel “important” or “special”. By getting inked, we are portraying to the world that we are “different”, that we are not like the rest of the humans.

By getting a tattoo, we are using our bodies to portray to the world who we are as a person. Depending on where and what you get as your tattoo, you can come off as sweet and innocent (a simple butterfly on your ankle), tough and brolic (a tattoo on your bicep), or slutty (a tramp stamp). Or the final option, mysterious and worldly. People do this by getting other languages tattooed on their bodies (most common languages are Asian languages). By getting “love” in Chinese or “courage” in Japanese, we are forcing others who don’t speak the language to ask us about our tattoo, therefore drawing attention to ourselves. Think of it as an ice breaker, of some sort.

One of our friends, Jacara, wants to get a tattoo as soon as she turns eighteen. She wants a circle on her arm, to represent cycles and how they never end. Cool and mysterious right? Now if a random person was to see her tattoo, they would ask her why she got it, thus sparking up a conversation. However, her mother does not want her to get a tattoo. But of course Jacara wants one, because she craves that "mastery" over her "carnal shell", that feeling that she owns and controls everything that goes on her body. That feeling of power.

Point Two
It is a known fact that corporations manipulate teens into buying their products, all while pretending not to, as shown in “Merchants of Cool”. Companies hire people to go “cool-hunting” for them, people who will find those 20% of teens who set the trends, who make their own style, who don’t feel the need to confine to the next best trend. They take pictures of these teens, and sell them to companies so that companies know what teens find cool. But once companies market off these styles to be cool, it is not cool anymore. Everyone says that in order to be cool, you must be yourself, and have self-expression. But when buying mass produced products, how can one be cool and be yourself at the same time? We all want to appear as if we don’t care about being cool, and we don’t care what others think of us, but while doing this there is a part of us that seeks that attention and approval from our peers. Companies, as shown in “Merchant of Cool”, know this, and decide to subtly sell off their products without overselling the product. Once something “new” comes out, such as a new trend, teens flock to it. They gobble up the merchandise, spend millions of dollars on their new wardrobes, all trying to confine to the definition of “cool.” This works out in the companies favors, because they’re making millions of dollars. Once that trend dies out, something new will pop up, gaining a company more money.

Does this make corporations evil? Are they the enemy in our lives, always trying to sell us the next best thing? Or are they our best friends, the ones who show us the next greatest thing, the new trends that make us seem “cool” to our peers? I don’t believe it is evil that corporations manipulate the minds of young people for the sake of profit. Yes, when put in that sentence, corporations seem like the enemy, the ones who want to take our money and make a profit. But think about it…marketing is the process where people sell a new trend or product, and make money of off it. Isn’t this how our society works? We buy mass produced products, making corporate companies richer, and making ourselves happy because of our new products? Companies are actually smart for manipulating the minds of young people, because they know that young people follow the trends the most. They know we always want the next best thing, the things that will make us appear “cool”, and feed off of that. So maybe they make a profit of off it…isn’t that how capitalism works? It’s a cruel world, it’s true.