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”?
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.
One way to make ourselves seem cooler to others is by adorning our bodies with tattoos. These tattoos that we receive on our body portray to the world how we want people to look at us. By getting a tattoo, we are using our bodies to show 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.
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.
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. We are constantly changing our image to gain the respect and approval of our peers.
Another technique in adorning our bodies with tattoos, we also choose to adorn our bodies with piercings. Although they don’t represent one’s personality as a tattoo does, they do represent the image a person wants to portray to the world. There are many types of piercings you can get, and many possible places to pierce. In my opinion, a simple ear piercing (or several) represents nothing to wild, just that the person wants to adorn their body with jewelry. A piercing on the face presents that the person wants to draw attention to their face. A piercing on other body parts such as the belly button represents that the person likes to keep their piercing hidden unless they feel like showing it. It’s a secret they keep under wraps until they feel like opening up and sharing it to the world. It is very common to see a teenager get a piercing in an act of rebellion. Whether it be rebelling against parents or society, piercings represent an act of defiance. When someone gets a belly button or tongue piercing even though their parents forbid them too, they feel as if they are in control of their own body. By adorning our bodies, we want to represent to the world that we are indeed in control of our own thoughts, and do what we please. However, getting a piercing is a mainstream idea, and people also do it to feel cool. So being rebellious while being cool…the two ideas clash, but they also fit in our minds.
When asked what people think being "cool" involves, people automatically reply "being different" and having your own "sense of style". The ability to not "care" what others think, and "being ourselves". But what does it mean to be ourselves, when we were born into a society that puts us into categories since we were young? Every day of our life, we are in these "boxes", these labels that we fit ourselves into in order to fit in with the rest of society. Ever since we were born, we were dressed in pink or blue clothes, depending on our gender. In school, we are categorized into boxes by our classmates and peers. "Oh she's the nerd or he's the jock." So how can one be different when being different just means changing your label? When it means changing out current perspective on life and our appearance, but looking just like all the other people who want to be "different." What does it mean to be different, when being different means being the same but in a different way? We can appear different to somebody who is not in our same "category" or "box", but the same to somebody who is. How can we be ourselves when we don't know who we really are? People can say "oh I'm different because I'm being myself", but who are you? You're just somebody else who conforms to our society’s standards but in a rebellious way. We always want to gain the approval of our peers, even if we do it unconsciously.
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 “Merchants 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.
With every rung we climb, we either push ourselves up or lower ourselves down on our social ladders. With every move we make, we are constantly being watched and/or criticized by the people surrounding us. With every path we decide to travel on, we are either following our cultural maps for being cool or defying the unspoken rules. But throughout all of this we are always trying to decide just who we are, and how cool we are. By buying materialistic items, we are portraying to the world how we want them to see us, and showing them what image we want to put forth of ourselves.
Shakespeare once said "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players" (As You Like It). This is true. We are constantly putting on "acts" that other people watch, speaking "scripts" that are merely thoughts portrayed by others. If our life was a movie, we'd each be a star in our own way. But in the end, we're all just playing a role in a society that controls everything we do. We are like puppets, getting pulled this way and that, in order to fill a category that is imposed onto us. We are "merely players", constantly being watched, our roles getting reversed or switched, and the "world" is the "stage" where our acts come alive.
But how do we know which roles to play in our society? Who makes that decision for us, is it our choice or were we born into a pre-scripted destiny? Playing into this idea is the idea of culture maps. In each culture and sub-culture, people alike are following their “cultural maps to being cool.” In each culture and sub-culture, we have our elders or others telling us how we should behave and how we should conduct ourselves. We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives. We want to be different from all the others, but then again we want to be the same. Let’s take the Asian culture for example. Being of Asian descent myself, I can speak comfortably about my experience with my map to being “cool”. Every since I was young, it was hammered into my brain that I must succeed in school, always push myself to get the best grades possible, and hang out with only the right people. Once I started getting older, the word “college” got hammered into my head. My mother was not the best student in school, nor did she go to one of the best colleges in America. She attended night classes in college, and her mom couldn’t care less if she went because she didn’t believe college mattered. But for me, college mattered more than anything in the world. My mom wanted me to go to a good college, so I can get a good job, and be able to support my family in the future. If I wanted to go take a year off and travel the world after high school, I’d get shunned. After all, why travel the world instead of going to college? A college education is more important anyways…or so I’m told. To my family, being “cool” means following the path created for me from birth…be nice to your elders, get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job, and have a family. No questions asked. Not that I would have bothered to question my cultural map.
To reiterate what was said in class (in no way is this my opinion), a typical cultural map for African-Americans living in our society is to not really care about school, rather caring about surviving in the streets and impressing their friends. Your grades don’t matter, but your clothing does. Your intellectual level does not matter, but the way you walk and talk does. Let’s say there is a teenager who wants to succeed in school, of African-American descent. He tries hard in school, and wants to get into college. But his friends make fun of him for it. They question his desire to do well in school, and ask him why he feels the need to go to college. With the constant bantering and criticizing, he will soon give in and reform to their ways. With no one backing him up and giving him the power to stand up to his friends, he feels weak and alone. Of course he is going to give up, what choice does he have? But is it our right to make fun of him for not going to college? No of course not. He tried, and admittedly failed in the end, but all because he was following a cultural map provided for him. Instead of creating his own for his life, he decided to follow what people in the past have done. Why the need to be different, when being the same is so much easier? If following a generic cultural map is what makes him cool in his friend’s eyes, he is going to follow it. It’s not fair to any extent, considering he had potential to be different. But what can you do when the person you want to change is not willing? Absolutely nothing.
With the constant need to adorn our bodies with tattoos and piercings, or buying the latest trends and styles, WHY do people feel the need to be cool? Especially teenagers. Well for one, it ties back to the theory of the culture maps of our society. In America, we have one universal culture map, the map that tells us to buy the newest clothes, spend all our money on materialistic items, have a big group of friends, and make money. We as Americans always want to appear “cooler” to our fellow peers, or more “popular”. We crave the ability to fit in, because no one wants to be the oddball that everybody makes fun of on a daily basis. We want to feel as if we belong, even if we are categorizing ourselves into something we are not. People who claim that they do not feel the need to be "cool" are lying to everyone, and especially themselves. In our society, we are constantly scrutinizing others and their apparel, along with ourselves. In the back of our mind we are always trying to make ourselves seem cool in someone else's eyes.
Bibliography
Brown, Dan. Angels and Demons. New York: Pocket Books, 2000. Print.
"Media Giants." Frontline: The Merchants of Cool. PBS Online, 2001.
Web. 7 Feb. 2005.
Florman, Ben and Hopson, David. SparkNote on As You Like It. 24 Jan. 2010
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