What is cool and how do you explain it? Since it’s induction early on in the 20th century, it has maintained a fairly sustained existence as a slang word. Cool goes far deeper than its use in our vernacular. It is a very elusive concept and seems to be relative to those who create it. Cool seems to evade definition. It consumes much of our culture in today’s world. It is heavily weighted, yet it is as flimsy as a majority’s whim. It doesn’t necessarily respond well to logic, and in some cases defies common sense.
Popular culture in America is incredibly celebrity-driven. Completely absorbed, we sit and absorb everything we see in front of us on the silver screen. We carefully study the celebrities and watch their each and every move. Is that a Rolex watch? What brand of clothes is she wearing? Where do they get their morning coffee? Do the stars endorse Colgate toothpaste? These questions may seem asinine, but it’s true. We worship the stars at Hollywood. We’ll buy their half-eaten piece of French toast on eBay for $3,000. Something happens to us at the subconscious level. We are left with an impression etched in our minds that describes the look and feel of what we perceive as cool.
Hollywood isn’t the only culprit advertising these ideals. Our obsession with fashion and trends also play a role in defining cool. The corporate world has noticed this and has responded to that demand by creating products that appeal to the young, hip market of consumers. From a business standpoint, cool is a profitable venue. Cool has then created a felt necessity to purchase products that will help the everyday person achieve feeling a sense of cool. Commercial advertising has also promised us happiness. We all want to be happy. Buying this new product will make you happy. The primary objective of a business is to be profitable, and they have to structure clever marketing schemes.
While I don’t think that good sense of style or the prospect of business is necessarily a bad thing, I think that this may provide insight into a deeper issue. I believe that our culture’s conquest of cool has clearly revealed in us a need for validation. We are looking to be accepted who we are as a person. We are looking to popular culture to explain what we have to do in order to be accepted by our peers or in our community. Whether we believe that we need community or not, we need each other.
Do we really want to live our lives as a mere facsimile of someone else’s life? No one wants to be a copy of someone else. This generation has voiced its desire for independence. We are trying to find our identity as human beings by association with icons of culture. Cool has embraced some and rejected others refusing their validation as a person on the basis of its ever-changing standards. It’s almost as if life were a big popularity contest. This condition is not conducive to maintaining a healthy relationship with our own community. As global citizens, we need to be aware of this to ensure we create a better environment for everyone to live in.