This website talks about the definition of cool, its history, and how the definition of "cool" changes between countries and their cultures. The article then talks about the distinctions within the ideas of cool. An excerpt from the show, The Simpsons, is used as an example to show these distinctions.
Lisa: That song is so lame.
Homer: So lame that it's... cool?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Am I cool, kids?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Good. I'm glad. And that's what makes me cool, not caring,
right?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Well, how the hell do you be cool? I feel like we've tried
everything here.
Homer: Wait, Marge. Maybe if you're truly cool, you don't need to
be told you're cool.
Bart: Well, sure you do.
Lisa: How else would you know?
It seems as though if you admit you're cool you are uncool because being cool is not caring. But if you're uncool, admitting that is cool--the song can be so lame that it's cool. But then how can you know if you're cool without asking and sounding like you're trying too hard? We all seem like we try so hard, trying different tactics of attaining coolness to get others to like you. Is your own perspective of yourself enough? Apparently not because we are always looking for approval of others. Why do trust other peoples' judgements of ourselves? My guess it is because we are so insecure with ourselves, we are so easy to trust what other people say about us.
The Breakfast Club:
In the movie The Breakfast Club, all of the general stereotypes are stuck in detention together, each of them playing the role that they fit into, "a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, a criminal...". They eventually become friends with each other despite the expectations of not associating with people outside of their social group.
This film showed the dominant views of what is cool in a typical high school, the jock, the princess, and the rebel, and what is uncool, the geek and the basket case. Each character fulfilled their archetype. In the beginning, "the princess," "the criminal" and "the athlete" think they are better than the others, "the brain" obediently sitting at his desk and "the basket case" in the back kind of just doing whatever she wants. Throughout the movie they escape these norms by admitting that they don't fit them.
The Brain:
I can't have an F, I can't have it
and I know my parents can't have it!
Even if I aced the rest of the
semester, I'm still only a B. And
everything's ruined for me!
The Princess:
I hate having to go
along with everything my friends say!...
You know, you just don't understand
the pressure that they can put on
you!
The Athlete:
it's all because of me and
my old man. Oh God, I fucking hate him!...
"Andrew, you've got to be number one! I
won't tolerate any losers in this
family... Win. Win! WIN!!!"...
sometimes, I wish... he
could forget all about me...
The Basket Case:
My home life is un...satisfying...
[my parents] ignore me...
The Criminal:
(as his father)
Stupid, worthless, no good, God
damned, freeloading, son of a bitch,
retarded, bigmouth, know it all,
asshole, jerk!
(as his mother)
You forgot ugly, lazy and
disrespectful.
They all come to the conclusion that,"we're all pretty bizarre! Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all." Which I agree with. We all have problems and being "cool" or trying to be, is just a way of pretending that we are happy and avoiding/denying the fact that our lives are not perfect.
By the end of the movie the audience is feeling pretty satisfied as the cool and the uncool become friends. They get the briain to write the essay to the principal for all the them (I guess not everything changed) saying, "you're crazy to make [us write] an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us...In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal..." The audience ends up believing all five of the students are cool regarless of the norms (arguably) because they all shyed away from what they were expected to be. Which is going againts the grain and being authentic, supporting those general ideas of cool, but they still fit themselves under their given lables.
How To Be Cool:
This website has ten tips of how to be cool, basically saying generally everything that we have talked about. Number one is not caring what others think. Being indifferent, but still having a general view of how others percieve you. You have to be confident, be different, say what you think, laugh at yourself. Individualism is also an important aspect, be relaxed, and be social without coming on to strong to other people. There seems to be many regulations in being cool.
When comparing this website to my interview with the hair stylists', their definition was much simpler, just be easy to get along with and that is it. But it seems as though there is more to it than just being easygoing, With regard to physical appearance, beware of bad breath, body odor, etc. "In terms of body language, stand/sit up straight, look and feel confident, smile generously, do not stare, etc." It seems like a lot to think about.
You always see in the movies or shows when the main character tries to make the transformation into someone who is cooler than they think they originally are. The general formula for this type of story is that they try to be cool, they fail because they are too subconscious about being cool. Then in the end someone is there to tell them, or they figure out on their own, that being themself is what makes you cool and what makes you unique. But unique isnt always "cool", The basket case in The Breakfast Club is someone you can call unique but she was not considered cool. And in one of my interviews, a girl is considerd cool but she was not unique. When is unique cool and when isnt it?
Works Cited:
Hughes, John. "The Breakfast Club." awesomefilm.com. 1985. WDBG@AOL.COM, Web. 7 Dec 2009.
"Theories of cool." wikipedia.org. 2000. Web. 7 Dec 2009.
"How To Be Cool ." iloveindia.com. Web. 7 Dec 2009.
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