Introduction:Being cool is a way for people to feel more significance and have a sense of importance due to our acknowledgment of mortality,filling a hidden emptiness within with artificial happiness.
Cool a artificial happiness to fill the empty feeling within
(Something along those lines....)
1. The Emptiness
-What is the emptiness? The feeling?
-There is no sense of knowing the meaning of your own life and identity.
2. Where does it come from/What does it do?
-Becker's Theory of acknowledgment of mortality
-Competition among those who may be taking our emptiness
-The need to be needy
1. The Artificial Replacement
a. Role playing
-List of certain roles
-People's Stories
-Cool Rules: Anatomy of an Attitude
b. Aggrandizing
-Tattoos
-Interviews
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
My Grandma has her eyebrows TATTOOED
So whenever I think about tattoos or when someone shows me or talks to me about tattoos I think or say "Im going to get my tattoo as soon as I get the money." So I see why I may say this for certain reasons, one reason is that it is I finically am not able to afford a tattoo as they are actually quite expensive. And second is because tattoos are the new trend, its the new "cool" thing to get. It shows off how cool you are as you were able to sit through the billions of stabs in your pores. It is another way of showing a meaning or an image of who you are and what you experienced. There are the people who are brave enough to get a tattoo and feel the accomplishment of sitting through the session and being able to brag about it later. And there are the people like me who want to be a part of the whole tattoo trend to be cool so I say things like "i'll get a tattoo soon" and use the excuse of not having the money.
Saying how badly I want a tattoo and how I will get it sooner or later would still let me be part of the cool tattoo trend without actually getting the tattoo and without actually admitting that I will most likely end up never getting one. My initial idea of a tattoo is to get my chinese name tattooed. If I were to get this tattoo and people asked me what it represented since it would be in chinese I would tell them that it was my chinese name. There is no story behind it but it would be projecting a part of me, showing how I am aware of my chinese culture. In reality though, even though I speak Cantonese (chinese) I actually do not know how to read or write. I do not know how to write my chinese name, only say it in chinese. So would this make me a fake chinese? If I were to get a tattoo of my chinese name (which for those of you who do not know, it is not just "Chloe" translated to chinese. There is no such thing as this), would I just be flaking my chinese culture.
I think tattoos represent a different meaning to every person and gives a different feeling to every person. Ali Jo gets tattoos which gives her a feeling of bravery and accomplishment while filling her need for attention yet she mentions how her tattoos initially have no thought put into them. As Mr. Fanning has his tattoos that kind of show a timeline of his life. It is a reminder to him of his accomplishments or his experiences to this very day, like the japanese word for "bravery" tattooed which represented his time in the operating room. His tattoos act as an armor to him, giving him the sense of who he is and no one can change that. A big FU to the conservative people. My grandma has her eyebrows tattooed, my mother and aunt their eyeliner tattooed (tattooed there eyelids. I know this sounds weird but it doesn't not as weird as it sounds, you can hardly notice it) as it was the latest trend when they were younger. They all went to get it together which makes me think it was kind of like a right of passage thing like Mr. Fanning's first tattoo or something that enabled them to bond as they all shared this moment of courage and accomplishment.
So as everyone else is fulfilling their feeling of accomplishment and bravery and getting permanently reminders of something or sometime in their lives, I will most likely be a total chicken and just keep saying that I will get my tattoo some day soon when I get the money. And although I have do not have tattoos I use to have a crap load of piercing, so maybe a small reason for not getting tattoos is that I have already felt that accomplishment and bravery feeling from piercing but I am not sure if they count or have the same sort of representation or feeling. I guess I wouldn't know until I actually get a tattoo which I plan on getting...soon........yeah right.
Saying how badly I want a tattoo and how I will get it sooner or later would still let me be part of the cool tattoo trend without actually getting the tattoo and without actually admitting that I will most likely end up never getting one. My initial idea of a tattoo is to get my chinese name tattooed. If I were to get this tattoo and people asked me what it represented since it would be in chinese I would tell them that it was my chinese name. There is no story behind it but it would be projecting a part of me, showing how I am aware of my chinese culture. In reality though, even though I speak Cantonese (chinese) I actually do not know how to read or write. I do not know how to write my chinese name, only say it in chinese. So would this make me a fake chinese? If I were to get a tattoo of my chinese name (which for those of you who do not know, it is not just "Chloe" translated to chinese. There is no such thing as this), would I just be flaking my chinese culture.
I think tattoos represent a different meaning to every person and gives a different feeling to every person. Ali Jo gets tattoos which gives her a feeling of bravery and accomplishment while filling her need for attention yet she mentions how her tattoos initially have no thought put into them. As Mr. Fanning has his tattoos that kind of show a timeline of his life. It is a reminder to him of his accomplishments or his experiences to this very day, like the japanese word for "bravery" tattooed which represented his time in the operating room. His tattoos act as an armor to him, giving him the sense of who he is and no one can change that. A big FU to the conservative people. My grandma has her eyebrows tattooed, my mother and aunt their eyeliner tattooed (tattooed there eyelids. I know this sounds weird but it doesn't not as weird as it sounds, you can hardly notice it) as it was the latest trend when they were younger. They all went to get it together which makes me think it was kind of like a right of passage thing like Mr. Fanning's first tattoo or something that enabled them to bond as they all shared this moment of courage and accomplishment.
So as everyone else is fulfilling their feeling of accomplishment and bravery and getting permanently reminders of something or sometime in their lives, I will most likely be a total chicken and just keep saying that I will get my tattoo some day soon when I get the money. And although I have do not have tattoos I use to have a crap load of piercing, so maybe a small reason for not getting tattoos is that I have already felt that accomplishment and bravery feeling from piercing but I am not sure if they count or have the same sort of representation or feeling. I guess I wouldn't know until I actually get a tattoo which I plan on getting...soon........yeah right.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
HW31 Aggrandizing
Part A-
So I decided to ask my boyfriend because I know he would not/ cannot get offended plus I can mostly tell if he is totally bullshitting or not. I asked him a little bit about the video games he played. He uses his world around video games to aggrandize himself. Mainly the video game known as Call of Duty: Modern Wafare. A war game that is mostly played online with random people who also play the game. It involves shooting, running around, bombs, killing, teams, etc. He explains when split up into two teams, when killing people from the other team you gain points, you can get points for different things that I am not going to go into detail on. "I try to stay number one which I am. I am always high on the rank when at the end of the game it shows everyone's scores and achievements and how good they are." When he screams at the television screen as if he has stereotypical tourettes its apparently his own way of aggrandizing. He feels important if he stays number one on this online game, it makes him feel important to the other players that play online.
He also mention a physical attribute about himself that makes him feel more significant or bigger then others, mentally and physically. "Another thing is that I am tall. I'm 6'2 and in our society as men are suppose to be masculine. Men are supposedly expected to be tall, at least especially to be taller then women. And since I have the advantage of already being tall since its not exactly something I am doing and I just happened to grow up tall I feel more important and bigger compared to guys who are shorter." Although not exactly something that he is trying to do to aggrandize himself like get tattoos or wear shoes that make himself taller, his physical attribute makes him feel lucky, being able to be tall naturally make him feel as if he is seen as better then some other men.
Part B-
There are several ways I have or am still aggrandizing myself. The first way is how I use to have piercing. I did it because I felt it was edgy, it was the "cool" thing to do as it wasn't as common as it is now. It showed how I would go to extreme measures of piercing my flesh which showed how extreme and "cool" I was. It was what I thought was unique or different from so I though. As time went on piercing started to become more common as everyone started to get piercing as if it was another accessory like a hat or a bracelet. Which is when I realize how I did not want my piercing anymore. Plus I really thought about what the point was. Obviously I was not getting piercing because they felt good or made me feel good, I was doing it to impress people, impress friends, show people how edgy I was. Which relates to the emptiness feeling that we all get. No matter how much I pierced my body there is no real filling of the emptiness. It only made me feel a little more important and "cooler" then other people because it was something nobody dared to get. Or so I thought.
Another way that everyone relates to is clothing. Someone who says "I buy these clothing for myself, because I like it. Makes me feel good" is a complete lie. Just like when Juliette stated that she bought and wore the shoes that she had one because she simply liked it and wore them for her own enjoyment (sorry for singleing you out Juliette). We all buy clothing to impress. Dress to impress as people say. I buy certain clothes to fulfill the need to impress certain people like friends, boyfriend, people who are seem more "cooler" then others. Compared to someone who wears a T-shirt and and jeans, I can feel and seem more important because I am more "fashionable". Compared to someone who doesn't dress to impress, they may have a more outspoken personality, I on the other hand am more timid and quiet and in order to match that I dress and wear things that can be noticed. This probably can be known as fishing out compliments, the most common thing someone buys something new is to feel the importance and to feel special in that first few moments when everyone compliments the new item or article of clothing. This compels people to always feel the need to buy new clothes, that at times is the intention in buying new clothes as well.
So I decided to ask my boyfriend because I know he would not/ cannot get offended plus I can mostly tell if he is totally bullshitting or not. I asked him a little bit about the video games he played. He uses his world around video games to aggrandize himself. Mainly the video game known as Call of Duty: Modern Wafare. A war game that is mostly played online with random people who also play the game. It involves shooting, running around, bombs, killing, teams, etc. He explains when split up into two teams, when killing people from the other team you gain points, you can get points for different things that I am not going to go into detail on. "I try to stay number one which I am. I am always high on the rank when at the end of the game it shows everyone's scores and achievements and how good they are." When he screams at the television screen as if he has stereotypical tourettes its apparently his own way of aggrandizing. He feels important if he stays number one on this online game, it makes him feel important to the other players that play online.
He also mention a physical attribute about himself that makes him feel more significant or bigger then others, mentally and physically. "Another thing is that I am tall. I'm 6'2 and in our society as men are suppose to be masculine. Men are supposedly expected to be tall, at least especially to be taller then women. And since I have the advantage of already being tall since its not exactly something I am doing and I just happened to grow up tall I feel more important and bigger compared to guys who are shorter." Although not exactly something that he is trying to do to aggrandize himself like get tattoos or wear shoes that make himself taller, his physical attribute makes him feel lucky, being able to be tall naturally make him feel as if he is seen as better then some other men.
Part B-
There are several ways I have or am still aggrandizing myself. The first way is how I use to have piercing. I did it because I felt it was edgy, it was the "cool" thing to do as it wasn't as common as it is now. It showed how I would go to extreme measures of piercing my flesh which showed how extreme and "cool" I was. It was what I thought was unique or different from so I though. As time went on piercing started to become more common as everyone started to get piercing as if it was another accessory like a hat or a bracelet. Which is when I realize how I did not want my piercing anymore. Plus I really thought about what the point was. Obviously I was not getting piercing because they felt good or made me feel good, I was doing it to impress people, impress friends, show people how edgy I was. Which relates to the emptiness feeling that we all get. No matter how much I pierced my body there is no real filling of the emptiness. It only made me feel a little more important and "cooler" then other people because it was something nobody dared to get. Or so I thought.
Another way that everyone relates to is clothing. Someone who says "I buy these clothing for myself, because I like it. Makes me feel good" is a complete lie. Just like when Juliette stated that she bought and wore the shoes that she had one because she simply liked it and wore them for her own enjoyment (sorry for singleing you out Juliette). We all buy clothing to impress. Dress to impress as people say. I buy certain clothes to fulfill the need to impress certain people like friends, boyfriend, people who are seem more "cooler" then others. Compared to someone who wears a T-shirt and and jeans, I can feel and seem more important because I am more "fashionable". Compared to someone who doesn't dress to impress, they may have a more outspoken personality, I on the other hand am more timid and quiet and in order to match that I dress and wear things that can be noticed. This probably can be known as fishing out compliments, the most common thing someone buys something new is to feel the importance and to feel special in that first few moments when everyone compliments the new item or article of clothing. This compels people to always feel the need to buy new clothes, that at times is the intention in buying new clothes as well.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Theorizing Coolishhh
What are the sources of this sense of meaninglessness but also of the need for a sense of meaning?
So this idea of cool has put me in a total stump. Or I think that is my excuse because I am starting to develop what is known as senioritus where I've always know "following the rules" of school is total BS and I'm actually loosing all interest in school. Its like that feeling you get when you keep eating the same flavor of food until you get sick of it. But of course I will still pull out what I can.
These few days exploring the ideas of cool I've noticed many things about myself and the reasons we have this need to be cool. Whether we are aware of it or not. I myself do cool things and dress cool but at least I am aware of this and this class has just given me the chance to explore why. I definitely agree with the fact that humans have this sense of emptiness which is why they have the need to fill this whole by being cool, in doing so they have a sense of feeling important in this large world. We are just mere specks in this huge world, out of around 6 billion people on earth we are just one tiny little person that will probably never be famous or have any importance, great discovery, etc. There is no sense of knowing the meaning of ones life or ones identity which makes us feel this emptiness.
Becker's theory of the fear of death and the actually acknowledgment of death I definitely think is what makes up this emptiness and our reason to be cool. Everyone wants to fulfill some sort of important roll or do something that seems worth living for before you die. I mean it relates to the point of if life is meaningless or not. If you were to ask someone if they want to make something of their life before they die most people would answer yes, because if they said no then why not just kill themselves right then and there? This acknowledgment that we are all basically just temporary makes us feel insignificant, it makes us aware of the fact that in reality our lives may be meaningless because we are all going to die in the end. This is why we cover up this sense of emptiness by covering it over with coolness.
For example dogs do not acknowledge the fact that they are not immoral. Babies don't acknowledge mortality either, like babies, the ones that can't talk and move around. Dogs do not have this need to put up an act o being cool. All they need is food, water, poop, sleep, and some play time. They do not have this existential thought about the meaning of life and what to do before they die. Which is most likely why you do not see the dog choosing doggie outfits to wear to show off or build a personality to their image. Unlike dogs our need to want to feel important or wanting to fulfill or be enlightened before we die in one source of our need for a sense of meaning.
A second idea is the fact that we develop our "coolness" from how we are raised or who raises us. For example a lot of how we act is taken from our parents or who ever raises us, or the lifestyle we grow up in. The people who raise you are most likely the people who teach and give you your identity. In class we spoke about how most families or when growing up there is some sort of domination and competition actor. In order to survive we develop ways to be liked and compete by conforming to what seems as "approved" by who we are trying to get attention from.
In my family, there was this sense of everyone for themselves. Not saying that there is no love in our family as we do have love for each other but we it is just awkward to express it i guess. Growing up most of my childhood with my mother she is a women who can love other but loves herself more. Our whole family most have this whole "all for one" attitude. Which does not create my identity but makes up a part of my identity of pretending not to really care, try to fend for myself before others in certain crowds. I always seemed to be able to get the attention of my parents the most, being younger came to a good advantage too. My mother always was very good at portraying a very friendly and nice personality (approachable).This is why my identity in school of keeping to myself and this whole "I don't care" attitude is derived from. I also try to portray a friendly and approachable personality (maybe not so much my outter "cool" image) when I am outside of school.
We always have this need to be liked, this "I care about you but I'm trying to care about myself more" attitude is makes my mom admire me for. We try to gain admiration from others and be admired because it covers our feeling of being lonely. People do not have a true understanding of someone's identity or the full meaning of someone. If I were to really be honest and think about it, there is not one person I know that truly understands my meaning or who I am; my thoughts, my goals, why I am doing things that I am doing. We do not truly want to admit this though. This is why we try to fill up this lonely feeling by gaining power, being admired, feeling as if you are fulfilling something, being a hero.
And lastly is our neediness which probably connects back to everything, loneliness, emptiness, meaningless. People never seem to be satisfied with what they have or the situation they are living in. They always want something more or something better. Here are a couple of examples; a teenager wants to do sex or the first time, if they get it they develop the need to want a specific partner to do sex with and also form a strong relationship with. After that they become less content and want marriage, then kids, then whatever else. People are never content with what we have but I feel maybe this is the result of this emptiness rather then the reason for where the emptiness derives from. We feel empty and no one knows what this emptiness is or how to fill it so having a neediness or dependency on things gives a feeling as if you are accomplishing and getting something to fill the emptiness.
So this idea of cool has put me in a total stump. Or I think that is my excuse because I am starting to develop what is known as senioritus where I've always know "following the rules" of school is total BS and I'm actually loosing all interest in school. Its like that feeling you get when you keep eating the same flavor of food until you get sick of it. But of course I will still pull out what I can.
These few days exploring the ideas of cool I've noticed many things about myself and the reasons we have this need to be cool. Whether we are aware of it or not. I myself do cool things and dress cool but at least I am aware of this and this class has just given me the chance to explore why. I definitely agree with the fact that humans have this sense of emptiness which is why they have the need to fill this whole by being cool, in doing so they have a sense of feeling important in this large world. We are just mere specks in this huge world, out of around 6 billion people on earth we are just one tiny little person that will probably never be famous or have any importance, great discovery, etc. There is no sense of knowing the meaning of ones life or ones identity which makes us feel this emptiness.
Becker's theory of the fear of death and the actually acknowledgment of death I definitely think is what makes up this emptiness and our reason to be cool. Everyone wants to fulfill some sort of important roll or do something that seems worth living for before you die. I mean it relates to the point of if life is meaningless or not. If you were to ask someone if they want to make something of their life before they die most people would answer yes, because if they said no then why not just kill themselves right then and there? This acknowledgment that we are all basically just temporary makes us feel insignificant, it makes us aware of the fact that in reality our lives may be meaningless because we are all going to die in the end. This is why we cover up this sense of emptiness by covering it over with coolness.
For example dogs do not acknowledge the fact that they are not immoral. Babies don't acknowledge mortality either, like babies, the ones that can't talk and move around. Dogs do not have this need to put up an act o being cool. All they need is food, water, poop, sleep, and some play time. They do not have this existential thought about the meaning of life and what to do before they die. Which is most likely why you do not see the dog choosing doggie outfits to wear to show off or build a personality to their image. Unlike dogs our need to want to feel important or wanting to fulfill or be enlightened before we die in one source of our need for a sense of meaning.
A second idea is the fact that we develop our "coolness" from how we are raised or who raises us. For example a lot of how we act is taken from our parents or who ever raises us, or the lifestyle we grow up in. The people who raise you are most likely the people who teach and give you your identity. In class we spoke about how most families or when growing up there is some sort of domination and competition actor. In order to survive we develop ways to be liked and compete by conforming to what seems as "approved" by who we are trying to get attention from.
In my family, there was this sense of everyone for themselves. Not saying that there is no love in our family as we do have love for each other but we it is just awkward to express it i guess. Growing up most of my childhood with my mother she is a women who can love other but loves herself more. Our whole family most have this whole "all for one" attitude. Which does not create my identity but makes up a part of my identity of pretending not to really care, try to fend for myself before others in certain crowds. I always seemed to be able to get the attention of my parents the most, being younger came to a good advantage too. My mother always was very good at portraying a very friendly and nice personality (approachable).This is why my identity in school of keeping to myself and this whole "I don't care" attitude is derived from. I also try to portray a friendly and approachable personality (maybe not so much my outter "cool" image) when I am outside of school.
We always have this need to be liked, this "I care about you but I'm trying to care about myself more" attitude is makes my mom admire me for. We try to gain admiration from others and be admired because it covers our feeling of being lonely. People do not have a true understanding of someone's identity or the full meaning of someone. If I were to really be honest and think about it, there is not one person I know that truly understands my meaning or who I am; my thoughts, my goals, why I am doing things that I am doing. We do not truly want to admit this though. This is why we try to fill up this lonely feeling by gaining power, being admired, feeling as if you are fulfilling something, being a hero.
And lastly is our neediness which probably connects back to everything, loneliness, emptiness, meaningless. People never seem to be satisfied with what they have or the situation they are living in. They always want something more or something better. Here are a couple of examples; a teenager wants to do sex or the first time, if they get it they develop the need to want a specific partner to do sex with and also form a strong relationship with. After that they become less content and want marriage, then kids, then whatever else. People are never content with what we have but I feel maybe this is the result of this emptiness rather then the reason for where the emptiness derives from. We feel empty and no one knows what this emptiness is or how to fill it so having a neediness or dependency on things gives a feeling as if you are accomplishing and getting something to fill the emptiness.
Monday, December 14, 2009
29 Another post.....
Merchants of Cool
So this program seemed pretty old. None of what we saw in the video seemed cool at all, the clothing, the pepsi, etc. Probably since it was from 2001 and like in the program, "cool" keeps changing every minute.
I noticed that when the cool hunters went out to find sources and mainly targeting the dominant friends of a pack of kids, photographing their style, they mentioned that when using these sources to market, as soon as it starts to become projected to people its no longer cool. This reminds me of the unique factor of cool, teenagers try to set this standard of being unique and edgy and different but companies broadcasting whats the new "cool" thing which is taken from a person's style then gives everyone the ability to be that certain type of unique. Which backfires causing it to not be as unique, so its no longer cool.
The fact that all these advertisements and/ or the media to be more specific always appeared to me as if it influences our way of viewing cool but to me it seems like the opposite. Its all kinda confusing but the sprite part of he program showed how the companies don't wanna embody cool of what teenagers thing but be part of it. Its not necessarily showing kids whats cool influencing their ideas of cool but in fact trying to be cool. "posers". Its as if teenagers is what gives companies, and teaches them how to be cool.
So this program seemed pretty old. None of what we saw in the video seemed cool at all, the clothing, the pepsi, etc. Probably since it was from 2001 and like in the program, "cool" keeps changing every minute.
I noticed that when the cool hunters went out to find sources and mainly targeting the dominant friends of a pack of kids, photographing their style, they mentioned that when using these sources to market, as soon as it starts to become projected to people its no longer cool. This reminds me of the unique factor of cool, teenagers try to set this standard of being unique and edgy and different but companies broadcasting whats the new "cool" thing which is taken from a person's style then gives everyone the ability to be that certain type of unique. Which backfires causing it to not be as unique, so its no longer cool.
The fact that all these advertisements and/ or the media to be more specific always appeared to me as if it influences our way of viewing cool but to me it seems like the opposite. Its all kinda confusing but the sprite part of he program showed how the companies don't wanna embody cool of what teenagers thing but be part of it. Its not necessarily showing kids whats cool influencing their ideas of cool but in fact trying to be cool. "posers". Its as if teenagers is what gives companies, and teaches them how to be cool.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
28 Informal Research
1)http://www.wholefamily.com/aboutteensnow/relationships_peers/friends/wyatt_history.html
This kid explores the history of cool. That what its basically called. He gives a bunch of scenarios of being cool. One is of a cute caveman story. He talks a little bit about style and how where all the cavemen are wearing mammoth fur one very unique caveman decides to wear leopard fur. This is the clothing aspect of being cool. There is a need for originality to be cool. Everybody wants to be able to say "I was the one who did that first". So besides from a uniqueness of being cool there is a originality aspect of being cool although everyone always seems to think they are the first or original person to be cool or unique.
Another point he brings up is that you must open yourself to all kinds of cool. If you only stick with one group of friends and are cool with them, outside your group of friends you would not be considered cool to others. He connects popularity with the idea of being cool. In order to be cool you have to be found cool, interesting, able to relate to all types of people and all types of cool. Not just being well known but a large amount of people but be admired as well.
2)Cosmopolitan
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/
Cosmopolwitan is a magazine mainly talking or teaching women how to have sex. Or how to have sex the "right way". Its a pretty degrading magazine for women, if you opening up any of the magazines you can always find articles like "how to give your man a good time" or "how to have sexual body language" or some crap like that. Everything mostly in the magazine you can find on their website. There fashion section is a significant idea of coolness. It shows different fashion sense of what uncool and what is cool, they even let you vote on celebrities outfits on "love it!" or "leave it". Basically whether there outfit is cool or uncool. They also apparently give "life advice" which have articles such as "How to have the hottest holiday season ever?", "How to be Hot, Rich, and Famous?", "14 people you should follow on twitter?", "5 signs your boss is hitting on you." I mean what kind of life advice is that?
Unfortunately this is what they try to catch women's attention as it is seem as cool to be sexual or be found as sexually attractive. A lot of this magazine indicates that women have to be "sexy" to other beings and know how to "please" partners sexually in order to be accepted. This is a perfect example: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/how-to-be-rich-sexy-and-famous
Sex is a big part of being cool. But why? Why must women flaunt their bodies to be cool? This article shows how to make a "sexy vibe" at a party basically: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/feel-so-freakin-sexy-0709 It basically sounds like a mating ritual or how to plan a mating ritual which really too sexual and too weird. Sexuality is a big part of being cool, we even have magazines and articles like this to help us apparently because women its as if women can't be sexy by just being there selves.
3)http://www.pualife.net/begin-the-game/the-essence-of-being-cool.html
This seems to be showing on how to be "cool" with the ladies. This is generally more targeting towards men readers. The writer uses the idea of Adam from Adam and Eve and a forbidden fruit idea. Wanting a women or being attractive towards a women is being cool if you are a guy. That is what this article is basically saying of course. It shows an idea of the fact that your mind always wants what you know you are particularly unable to have. So men wanting women must pretend like they are not attractive to them and pretend like they do want want to do sex with them. Not just sex but whether just wanting sex or forming a relationship. But on a deeper level it brings up the idea of confidence and how comfortable a person is. Being seen as confident and comfortable as themselves is a common factor of what can be seen as cool to many people. Having the "I don't care" attitude as the article says to pretend to do when dealing with women is another common factor of being cool. Not giving a crap and not having any care in the world for anything is a common factor for being cool.
4)http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108296/sun-maid-girl-makeover-sparks-controversy.html?mod=family-love_money
Im not sure if this directly connects or says anything about cool but I feel it may show how company's market their product by making it seem "cool" to target the youth. This article basically talks about the Sun Maid Girl on the Sun Maid Raisin box. They talk about how the Sun Maid girl on television was made to look like a brunette Barbie, with larger breast, a perfect straight white smile, and perfect brown curls in her hair. They use this new animate character to target the more modern generation of people by using a modern looking girl. Rather then a Sun Maid girl that looks like she is from a years 90 years in the past she looks more like "as if Julia Roberts decided to don a red bonnet and start picking grapes," which can be find more appealing to some targeted groups.
I think what this has to do with cool is how companies portray their "icon" or "mascot" as cool to be able to target more customers by making them look more "barbie" girl perfect. This is what is cool to our modern generation, at least its the fashion/appearance aspect of cool. The girl is not fat as if she was fat she would not be as appealing since fat people are not generally seen as cool in our society. This feature would be only featured on product advertisements and not directly on the product itself. Instead of having her be in the vine yards and "kicking up her heels out in the vineyard" which apparently is not cool to the modern women, the company would rather made her "do what is appropriate for her to do, based on her history but also being a contemporary person living in the 21st century." Basically saying following the mainstream of 21st century is being cool and is more appealing to the youth and more customers in general.
This kid explores the history of cool. That what its basically called. He gives a bunch of scenarios of being cool. One is of a cute caveman story. He talks a little bit about style and how where all the cavemen are wearing mammoth fur one very unique caveman decides to wear leopard fur. This is the clothing aspect of being cool. There is a need for originality to be cool. Everybody wants to be able to say "I was the one who did that first". So besides from a uniqueness of being cool there is a originality aspect of being cool although everyone always seems to think they are the first or original person to be cool or unique.
Another point he brings up is that you must open yourself to all kinds of cool. If you only stick with one group of friends and are cool with them, outside your group of friends you would not be considered cool to others. He connects popularity with the idea of being cool. In order to be cool you have to be found cool, interesting, able to relate to all types of people and all types of cool. Not just being well known but a large amount of people but be admired as well.
2)Cosmopolitan
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/
Cosmopolwitan is a magazine mainly talking or teaching women how to have sex. Or how to have sex the "right way". Its a pretty degrading magazine for women, if you opening up any of the magazines you can always find articles like "how to give your man a good time" or "how to have sexual body language" or some crap like that. Everything mostly in the magazine you can find on their website. There fashion section is a significant idea of coolness. It shows different fashion sense of what uncool and what is cool, they even let you vote on celebrities outfits on "love it!" or "leave it". Basically whether there outfit is cool or uncool. They also apparently give "life advice" which have articles such as "How to have the hottest holiday season ever?", "How to be Hot, Rich, and Famous?", "14 people you should follow on twitter?", "5 signs your boss is hitting on you." I mean what kind of life advice is that?
Unfortunately this is what they try to catch women's attention as it is seem as cool to be sexual or be found as sexually attractive. A lot of this magazine indicates that women have to be "sexy" to other beings and know how to "please" partners sexually in order to be accepted. This is a perfect example: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/how-to-be-rich-sexy-and-famous
Sex is a big part of being cool. But why? Why must women flaunt their bodies to be cool? This article shows how to make a "sexy vibe" at a party basically: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/advice/tips/feel-so-freakin-sexy-0709 It basically sounds like a mating ritual or how to plan a mating ritual which really too sexual and too weird. Sexuality is a big part of being cool, we even have magazines and articles like this to help us apparently because women its as if women can't be sexy by just being there selves.
3)http://www.pualife.net/begin-the-game/the-essence-of-being-cool.html
This seems to be showing on how to be "cool" with the ladies. This is generally more targeting towards men readers. The writer uses the idea of Adam from Adam and Eve and a forbidden fruit idea. Wanting a women or being attractive towards a women is being cool if you are a guy. That is what this article is basically saying of course. It shows an idea of the fact that your mind always wants what you know you are particularly unable to have. So men wanting women must pretend like they are not attractive to them and pretend like they do want want to do sex with them. Not just sex but whether just wanting sex or forming a relationship. But on a deeper level it brings up the idea of confidence and how comfortable a person is. Being seen as confident and comfortable as themselves is a common factor of what can be seen as cool to many people. Having the "I don't care" attitude as the article says to pretend to do when dealing with women is another common factor of being cool. Not giving a crap and not having any care in the world for anything is a common factor for being cool.
4)http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/108296/sun-maid-girl-makeover-sparks-controversy.html?mod=family-love_money
Im not sure if this directly connects or says anything about cool but I feel it may show how company's market their product by making it seem "cool" to target the youth. This article basically talks about the Sun Maid Girl on the Sun Maid Raisin box. They talk about how the Sun Maid girl on television was made to look like a brunette Barbie, with larger breast, a perfect straight white smile, and perfect brown curls in her hair. They use this new animate character to target the more modern generation of people by using a modern looking girl. Rather then a Sun Maid girl that looks like she is from a years 90 years in the past she looks more like "as if Julia Roberts decided to don a red bonnet and start picking grapes," which can be find more appealing to some targeted groups.
I think what this has to do with cool is how companies portray their "icon" or "mascot" as cool to be able to target more customers by making them look more "barbie" girl perfect. This is what is cool to our modern generation, at least its the fashion/appearance aspect of cool. The girl is not fat as if she was fat she would not be as appealing since fat people are not generally seen as cool in our society. This feature would be only featured on product advertisements and not directly on the product itself. Instead of having her be in the vine yards and "kicking up her heels out in the vineyard" which apparently is not cool to the modern women, the company would rather made her "do what is appropriate for her to do, based on her history but also being a contemporary person living in the 21st century." Basically saying following the mainstream of 21st century is being cool and is more appealing to the youth and more customers in general.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
27 Crap Load of Interviews
Street Interviews
Lady at 711
Who is the coolest person to you and why?
Well as of now presently I think President Obama is cool...because he is multicultural, he is helping us, helping the schools, and hes just really smart.
What was the cool thing when you were in high school?
High school? hmm. Like famous actors...celebrities with the new trends.
Kind of like the media basically?
Yeah! The media was pretty cool, whatever was on the media people take it to be it.
What is the coolest trend or something cool about an outfit right now?
I think trends are cool only if they fit you. Like plaid is really in right now with everybody but I hate plaid so to me it's not cool.
American Apparel Looking Guy
Who is the coolest person you know and why do you think they are cool?
My boyfriend....because he is really successful at what he does....and he dresses really nice.
What is the latest trends that you think is cool?
Farm to Table Restaurant, because the foods fresh and and reasonable.
Well, whats like the coolest clothing trends?
Vintage. Civil War looking stuff. Something that looks good piratical.
Family Interview- My Dad Obviously
Who is the coolest person you know and why?
Whats considered a cool person?
But the point is asking you what you think is cool?
Well what is cool? What do you mean by cool?
Bunch of old people. Only young people are cool. Old people aren't cool.
So how about what do you think the youth think is cool at the moment?
I think somebody who has fashion taste, knows that they are cool, but doesn't flaunt it and has some humility.
Why?
Because being cool is not to me what life is about, being cool to me is not only what I just said but its more of having an understanding of people around you and how fortunate you are to be cool and living in America. And allowed to do that.
Why just America?
Cause in this country we have so much freedom. For instance, who do i know or who do I think is cool?
Huh?
For instance Brad Pitt I think is cool. Can't be anyone who is more cool then him yet at this moment, he gives to charity, hes helped rebuild part of New Orleans and put his time and efforts in.
Interesting...
I don't think that all these starlets like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohmen-
Its Lohan
Lohan...there is nothing cool about them. Question is what have they given to society besides being dead drunk somewhere lying in a pool of vomit. So there is uncool people such as those reality show people who give nothing to society but a laugh and then you have some serious people who actually give back. Look at Bill Gates, number one richest man in the world and most charitable person in the world.
So why do you think so much of youth think these dead drunks are so cool and try to imitate them?
Cause its an age thing, you know...yeah. When your 18 you think your cool.
I'm 18. Do you think I think I'm cool?
mmhmm
Anything else?
Nah..enough bullshit.
You know I'm going to write that.
What "bullshit?"
Yeah.
Well that's because I'm cool. I'm the only person that I really know that's cool. I'm know I'm cool because I know I'm not cool.
I think your cool.
Well shows how many people you know is cool. haha
haha....jerk.
Friend #1 Javi
Friend interviews
Who is the coolest person you know or look up to and why?
My mother, because she is confident, strong, doesn't give a shit about the world, and always takes care of the family.
What do you mean by strong?
As in mentally strong.
Do you consider yourself cool? Why or Why not?
I think im pretty cool because I fee like everyone knows me.
So you think its popular just to be known?
Yeah, because people think im easy going, im always funny, and smart. To my friends at least.
What are some things you try to do to maintain coolness such as clothing and stuff?
I try to keep good hygiene, good communication, social networking, behavior.
What do you mean by behavior?
As mean knowing how to control when to be calm and when not to be dramatic or maintaining a politeness.
Lets just say you are making a character, what would this character be like in order to be seen as cool?
ehhhhhh...........
Like what would he be wearing? Or how would he act?
No I don't care about that, he has to be into what I like and be able hold a conversation.
Friend # 2- Megan
Who is the coolest person you know and why?
Chloe.
Suck up...why?
Because shes my best friend. Or you are. haha.
Why do you think I am cool or why do you like me as your best friend?
Because I have known you for so long but the funny thing is that we have nothing in common. We are completely opposite in like style, genre of music, slang, movies, interests. So its weird that we still get a long so well.
So why do you think I am cool and such good friends despite our major differences?
umm...I don't know why were still best friends. We just love each other haha to bits.
But is there something about my style, personality, what?
I think you have a great personality, because even though our interests are different we've experienced a lot of life challenges that are really similar so we can talk and relate a lot about it. I guess because to each other we are so unique to each other since we are completely different so its interesting to see what both of us do or act or say towards each other. Hard to explain but you get my jiff.
This interview is too gushy haha. Im done.
Lady at 711
Who is the coolest person to you and why?
Well as of now presently I think President Obama is cool...because he is multicultural, he is helping us, helping the schools, and hes just really smart.
What was the cool thing when you were in high school?
High school? hmm. Like famous actors...celebrities with the new trends.
Kind of like the media basically?
Yeah! The media was pretty cool, whatever was on the media people take it to be it.
What is the coolest trend or something cool about an outfit right now?
I think trends are cool only if they fit you. Like plaid is really in right now with everybody but I hate plaid so to me it's not cool.
American Apparel Looking Guy
Who is the coolest person you know and why do you think they are cool?
My boyfriend....because he is really successful at what he does....and he dresses really nice.
What is the latest trends that you think is cool?
Farm to Table Restaurant, because the foods fresh and and reasonable.
Well, whats like the coolest clothing trends?
Vintage. Civil War looking stuff. Something that looks good piratical.
Family Interview- My Dad Obviously
Who is the coolest person you know and why?
Whats considered a cool person?
But the point is asking you what you think is cool?
Well what is cool? What do you mean by cool?
Bunch of old people. Only young people are cool. Old people aren't cool.
So how about what do you think the youth think is cool at the moment?
I think somebody who has fashion taste, knows that they are cool, but doesn't flaunt it and has some humility.
Why?
Because being cool is not to me what life is about, being cool to me is not only what I just said but its more of having an understanding of people around you and how fortunate you are to be cool and living in America. And allowed to do that.
Why just America?
Cause in this country we have so much freedom. For instance, who do i know or who do I think is cool?
Huh?
For instance Brad Pitt I think is cool. Can't be anyone who is more cool then him yet at this moment, he gives to charity, hes helped rebuild part of New Orleans and put his time and efforts in.
Interesting...
I don't think that all these starlets like Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohmen-
Its Lohan
Lohan...there is nothing cool about them. Question is what have they given to society besides being dead drunk somewhere lying in a pool of vomit. So there is uncool people such as those reality show people who give nothing to society but a laugh and then you have some serious people who actually give back. Look at Bill Gates, number one richest man in the world and most charitable person in the world.
So why do you think so much of youth think these dead drunks are so cool and try to imitate them?
Cause its an age thing, you know...yeah. When your 18 you think your cool.
I'm 18. Do you think I think I'm cool?
mmhmm
Anything else?
Nah..enough bullshit.
You know I'm going to write that.
What "bullshit?"
Yeah.
Well that's because I'm cool. I'm the only person that I really know that's cool. I'm know I'm cool because I know I'm not cool.
I think your cool.
Well shows how many people you know is cool. haha
haha....jerk.
Friend #1 Javi
Friend interviews
Who is the coolest person you know or look up to and why?
My mother, because she is confident, strong, doesn't give a shit about the world, and always takes care of the family.
What do you mean by strong?
As in mentally strong.
Do you consider yourself cool? Why or Why not?
I think im pretty cool because I fee like everyone knows me.
So you think its popular just to be known?
Yeah, because people think im easy going, im always funny, and smart. To my friends at least.
What are some things you try to do to maintain coolness such as clothing and stuff?
I try to keep good hygiene, good communication, social networking, behavior.
What do you mean by behavior?
As mean knowing how to control when to be calm and when not to be dramatic or maintaining a politeness.
Lets just say you are making a character, what would this character be like in order to be seen as cool?
ehhhhhh...........
Like what would he be wearing? Or how would he act?
No I don't care about that, he has to be into what I like and be able hold a conversation.
Friend # 2- Megan
Who is the coolest person you know and why?
Chloe.
Suck up...why?
Because shes my best friend. Or you are. haha.
Why do you think I am cool or why do you like me as your best friend?
Because I have known you for so long but the funny thing is that we have nothing in common. We are completely opposite in like style, genre of music, slang, movies, interests. So its weird that we still get a long so well.
So why do you think I am cool and such good friends despite our major differences?
umm...I don't know why were still best friends. We just love each other haha to bits.
But is there something about my style, personality, what?
I think you have a great personality, because even though our interests are different we've experienced a lot of life challenges that are really similar so we can talk and relate a lot about it. I guess because to each other we are so unique to each other since we are completely different so its interesting to see what both of us do or act or say towards each other. Hard to explain but you get my jiff.
This interview is too gushy haha. Im done.
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