HW #23 1s Constructivist Exploration of Cool

I think the definition of cool is when that person stands out in the crowd, is "popular" but as in the others who admire, respect, their style (maybe), their appearances and importantly, the personality of that person. I think personality is the crucial point because it makes them who and how they are. They can fake their true self but I think at the end, they are only getting followers, and not their real friends. If they are strong and nice, sort of having a sense of justice or is funny, where people likes them, then in a way, they are cool. However I think cool is more of admiration and respect because the people are trying to find themselves to be what the person they think is cool. In class on Friday, somebody (sorry, forgot who) said "Cool is a mask to say that people/person is cooler than me". A lot of us want to be cool but I think to become cool, we need someone to look up to.

Everybody's definition of "cool" and "uncool" can be same and different depending on what kind of clique/group that they are in. For example, like in movies, jocks and cheerleaders think that nerds and people who dress not in their style is not cool and vice versa (like goth people). However, such people like some nerds and geeks want to be cool, so they can be mad about what the cheerleaders and jocks are saying, they still want to become cool like them. Though I think that's normal, wishing to be "cool" or to be in the "in group", I thought it is important to be who you are. People's opinions can hurt but if you don't give up who you really want to be, you are just a human that's being led by other humans, a soulless human. I think "cool" is something that can hurt yourself, lose something important but receive something that you had wish for. For example, losing your old friends for new friends that are just using you (like in the movies with being cool but losing the "uncool" friends). One of my questions are, would you regret losing something, maybe important to become cool?

I think "cool" is also a form of leadership because to have followers, the person that is "cool" has the control of things and leads people into his/her own events/choices/etc... Additionally, that person has to be good with at least one thing as well as a charming personality that gets people to go near them, to become that person's friends. However, I think there is a difference between followers and actual friends. Followers only see the sides that they want to see in the cool person but actual friends can see more sides, maybe accepting more of you since sometimes followers would get negative once the cool person had lose the "cool". I wonder how the "cool" person would feel

Besides, general popularity, there can be friend popularity. I can think of this person as a cool person but that doesn't mean another person would see them as cool. I think there are so many cool types that we can categorize them, but the categories are all connected with the feelings of almost the same. However, we do say that we conform because of that, so are we conforming to become cool or are we becoming cool/want to become cool differently? Why do we say different things? Are we scare to be the same as others or are we scare to be called the same as the others?

When talking with Mr. Choi, he said that "cool" people are the puppets and the followers or the audiences that look at them are the puppeteers because the "cool" people are impressing to the audiences. So it is the audiences that are making the "cool" people to become how the audiences want. Connecting to what Andy said, everybody is in a taste community; that we are trying to conform to be what others want. Unless it is people who really don't want to be cool, but they are being cool involuntarily such as the brands trying to get people to buy the same clothes as the other people. We dress the same way with the others, trying to become the same. Therefore, "cool" is trying to conform people to be the same and if you are the "cool" person, you are also following a person who is cooler than you. We wish to be like someone, but it depends whether we really want to change ourselves 100%.