Cool Paper Outline:

Thesis: Coolness is a tragic trap that appears to solve problems of meaning and significance but only worses them as demonstrated by the media and self experience.

-Argument 1: Paradoxes and contradictions to the general idea of what cool is prevent us from having a clear understanding of how to attempt being cool and leaves us falling into the traps of unattainablity of cool based on these paradoxes.
-Trying to be cool doesn't make you cool (Simpsons)
-Cool is being real but we don't know what that is (sincerity vs irony Our Town and James Dean Movie)

-Argument 2: Capitalism influences competition and consuming commodities, it is a way of presenting what cool is and is a trap to make us run in circles following the trends spending money.
-Competing to have the next cool thing while what is cool varies quickly so consumers are forced to try and keep up with it (merchants of cool)
-Be a leader not a follower, if everyone is competing to be cool, not everyone can be a leader.

-Argument 3: Running after coolness despite the traps of paradoxes and competition, it leaves you falling under the larger trap of emptiness.
-we try to find meaning and we aggrandize ourselves to prove this meaning but often times it leads us to emptiness.
-Trying to fit into the archetypes that best fit ourselves leaves us feeling empty when we cannot completely fufill that role (informal research, from interviews and Breakfast Club)