Cool Is What Makes The World Go Round

Introduction:
This unit we explored into the depths of coolness. We made assumptions, watched movies, interviewed people, and even looked into our own minds to see where this sense of cool comes from. My opinion is that coolness is a state of mind. There is no judge or committee to determine what is cool or what isn't. There is only what one believes in about themselves and others and what makes them cool. There is also no real you and individuality in the things we choose to do. It's all been done and said.


Argument 1:
So I think that individuality was just a concept made up to make people feel special in a world of so many people. We were programmed since little to believe that only we can be ourselves and that no one in the world is like us but in reality that's a lie. There are plentt of people out there who dress like us, talk like us, have the same view as us and yet we still believe that we alone are us.

In truth what is the real you? Is it the way you talk or act? Or the way you see things or do things? There can be no real you because everything your doing and saying has already been done by someone before you. And you can think all you want that it hasn't but it has. Someone before you thought of a tattoo on their ankle or a piercing on their hip.

Now you can say yea but I'm being me because I like those things that's why I do them but he truth is every thought and action in your life that you do is influenced by someone before you. With one word or action someone can change your life around and make you realize something you hadn't before and then your whole perspective on life changes and you say that it's you but it wasn't you until someone else made it you.


Argument 2:
Our interviews all kind of went the same. We talked about what kind of things make a person cool. I found that even if some ideas were alike there were others that were different. Either way it had a lot to do with confidence. The way one carries and presents themselves to others has a lot to do with whether people think they're cool or not. And when people think your cool then you begin to think yea I'm cool. And this is where this whole superficiality begins.

Now what we wanted to find out from these interviews were what qualities make cool. From my surveys I found that people like qualities such as down to earth and chill in the people they hang out with and of course these are typical amswers we expect to hear. But when it comes to fashion people's answers and styles were definitely different. For example while my friend Kayla likes more preppy American Eagle clothes, some guy we met on the street likes vintage, thrift shop clothing. I'm sure there styles wouldn't be cool to each other but that's the point. There is no one cool expert. Everyone is entitled to their own definition of cool because we all play different roles.

Now these roles that we play are what can make us cool or what can make us uncool. Depending on what role we choose to play or cuturally given role we are playing is whether we are cool or not. For example I know Andy used this example tirelessly but a black kid that lives in the projects buying Prada shoes would be cool because of his cultural map while a black kid who lives in the projects decides to stay in on Friday and Saturday nights to study is uncool because his cutural map says it is. An example of when we choose our own role would be a white kid who lives in Malibu trying to act like a thug is uncool to the people of Malibu (I think) vs. another white kid from Malibu who gets into Harvard would be cool and maybe also part of their cultural map.


Argument 3:
To see what we thought was cool we were told to write a story about someone or something that is cool. I found that a lot of stories were about heroes and good people in general. And the ones that were about assholes still ended up having some type of good quality in it. The differences in people's thoughts about cool were what really stood out. No one can say that anyone else's story was not about someone that's cool because that's ones own opinion. So here again we see the idea that cool is kind of like a personal thought. An idea you create in your head in which you form a cool identity which you then strive to be.

Identities are the way we try to make people see us. Our roles play into these identities because they contribute and tweek already made identities into our own. So like me being a social butterfly would be my role. My identity (the way I put myself out there) is that I can get along with anyone (here is where my role plays in) but I tweeked my social butterfly role into I get along with only those who I see are on the same level of interest as me. So I tweeked something to make it more me and to me that's cool. Because I know nothing I ever do will be original because there have been so many others before me who have done whatever I want to try and do but by changing something even just a little to make it more my own is cool to me.

Here is where someone's opinion might differ from mines. Some people (who shall not be named) think that everything they have has to be different from everyone else and in their heads they're being different by altering their bodies with tattoos and piercings because that's what sets them aside from others and makes them cool. This just makes them like all those other want to be rebels against society and cool. They're playing into it by not trying to play into it.

Alternative Point Of View
Now some people can say that cool is what the media sets out for us and we all judge cool similarly but those people can suck it because that's not true. We chose what to believe and like from the media. And if we judged it all the same then why isn't everyone be cool because we would all know the guidelines but there are still people out there who others don't see as cool. People will also try to say that you can be an indivual by adding your own style to everything but what is your styke? It's a style you saw somewhere or two outfits that you decided to put together and make your own. Those are already hundreds of other people's styles as well so that doesn't make you too unique.


Conclusion:
In the end this paper concludes this cool unit we have been working on. Thorugh all the blogs and interviews and discussions I still believe that cool is something that forms in your head and you keep in there to remind you of things you like. There's no new cool or old cool there's just what you believe and what you percieve of others. Cool can be thought of as attitude or fashion or even popularity but in the end it all comes down to the same thing. We all care about it even those who say they don't.


Sources
-My past blogs

Random People's Comments

Ummm Jacara,

Your essay just blew my mind. Your so blunt and ready to attack everything we have in mind that is cool. I love it!!

Restated Thesis:
-Cool is whatever state of mind we're in, in which we define the design it's in.
-The definition of cool is a state of mind in which you compile the material and form to put it in.
(Sorry they suck)

I agree that cool is a state of mind because we have no judge or committee that tells us what is cool or not. If you want to be technical the judge or committee may be your friends and the people you choose to associate with but even then it may not mater to you what they say. I think by us not knowing what cool is exactly makes it even more difficult for us to find our "true selves" because we want to be well liked and known but for unique reasons.

For your next draft I think that maybe you should use some more evidence from some reliable sources such as wikipedia (j/k). You may also find it helpful to talk about an argument that can be used against your thesis and how you would rebuttal. Well that's enough work for right now for me. I look forward to your final draft. Pastaaaaa : )



Nisie Babyyy,

So I think your thesis is saying 2 things. Let me know if I'm wrong but one is that in trying to be cool we follow others paths because there is no individual way to be cool without following the pack. The second is that we follow the pack for our own self benefit not because we choose too.

A revised thesis might be too wordy for both of these together as Andy calls it but here are some ideas:
-In order to be cool we must follow the pack which in turn not only helps us but also others around us because we all influence each other's ideas of cool.
-Everyone's idea of cool have traces of the last person's idea because we need this in order to benefit from society.
-We benefit from following the social trends of cool, which are inspired by everyone around us.
(I think all these are horrible. Sorry)

So based on what I think your essay is about I think that your right in saying we all follow each other's steps. It's kind of like our actions and style influence others whether we like it or not and in the end by just adding your own little twist it suddenly becomes you. This is what makes our identities so hard. We're constantly switching them because we see something else that we likes which inspires us to do something different to ourselves.

I think talking more about what we did in class and the movies we watched. Also maybe some quotes may improve the paper.

Moving On Up (Socially or Financially)

Cultural maps are maps that are already planned out and given to us since the day we are born. It's either be the same as everyone around you or be the outcast that gets goofed on. If your cultural map is shitty either way your screwed whether it be by your friends and family. Or if it's by having a crappy life. My cultural map I think was to go to school, find a guy that "loves me" and then get pregnant and be screwed for the rest of my life. I'd like to think that I've broken out of that because I don't have any kids. But what about those who can't break out of this ongoing cycle of "cool"? Those who still haven't chosen between the two worlds or those who have and chose to be liked by the people around their neighborhood who aren't going to get them anywhere.

For me the choice was somewhat easier. As a child my mother was very hard on me when it came to school. As a single mother, who hadn't graduated, of four children she knew the struggles of our cultural maps. She wanted me to break this though and she always told me that. As a result of this she made sure I did all my homework and I understood all the material. We didn't live in the best of neighborhoods and all my friends were the class clowns that always got in trouble. She tolerated my choice of friends as long as it didn't affect my grades. As I began to get older however things started changing. She started being more lenient and my grades although still high were slightly slipping. At one point I remember skipping class and thinking who cares if I don't go it's not like I'm going to achieve much in life.

Cultural maps are hard to break. Even when you have support behind you it's always better to be with the people that relate to you the most and for most people, the people they relate to are the ones with the same map. And when you do get out whose to say you won't fall back in?! Nothing is ever guaranteed. So whose to blame for this circle in life? Is it the people who continue making the choices that they know are bad for them? In my opinion it is and isn't their fault. It is their fault because it's not like their completely oblivious to the fact that there is a better life out there for them. They know their are clean ways of making money and bad ways. But then it isn't their fault because they rarely have any other choice than to join in whatever nonsense goes on in their neighborhoods. It's hard to be the outcast in any situation.

In the end it's this struggle to be cool doing whatever it is your cultural map leads you to believe is cool. Whether it's staying in school and going to Harvard or becoming number 1 gang banger in Brooklyn. You are cool because of your surroundings and the way you adapt with situations not because you were born with it.

Cool Is What Makes The World Go Round

This unit we explored into the depths of coolness. We made assumptions, watched movies, interviewed people, and even looked into our own minds to see where this sense of cool comes from. My opinion is that coolness is a state of mind. There is no judge or committee to determine what is cool or what isn't. There is only what one believes in about themselves and others and what makes them cool.

The movie we watched was about how industries find what we think is cool. To be continued...

Our interviews all kind of went the same. We talked about what kind of things make a person cool. I found that even if some ideas were alike there were others that were different. To be continued...

To see what we thought was cool we were told to write a story about someone or something that is cool. I found that a lot of stories were about heroes and good people in general. And the ones that were about assholes still ended up having some type of good quality in it. To be continued...

I'm not sure what I want my essay to be about yet so this outline is probably not going to be the same as the paper but for right now it's ok.

Tat Me Up

Tattoos are seen as a way for people to express themselves. To stamp yourself with something that seems important to you or makes people see you in a different way is now considered cool. It's cool to have something on your body in ink that can never be taken off because when you have it people think "Wow that person's cool. They took that pain and they're being rebels in our society by getting a tattoo." But are these people really being rebellious or are they just trying to conform into the real rebels that started the tattoos?

I have a couple of friends with tattoos and for a long time I wanted one as well. Every since I was little I thought I want a tattoo because my parents are going to hate it. And if they're against it why not do it? Now however my mind has changed. Getting a permanent marking on my body of a symbol that 20 years from now may mean nothing to me isn't so attractive anymore. For other people it may be seen as a way of making a statement to people who see them but to me it's all about conforming to be this person who doesn't care what they look like when they actually do care because they got the tattoo in order for people to recognize them.

People may also compare this to piercings. I'll be the first to say that I absolutely love piercing but I don't think I have piercings in order to conform into something else. I thought they were just nice piercings. Although the desire to get them could have been my subconscious telling me that I wanted to be "cool" so I got them. The difference between these two statements is also the fact that piercings will close if you keep the ring out. A tat is forever. Even that tattoo removal doesn't really work all the way. There are still tracings of it left. So who wants to be stuck with some rose on their lower back while they're a grandmother?!