After watching Merchants of Cool, I was found asking my self: What is "cool"? How does something come to be cool? How are trends started? In the past "cool" has been defined as toys, people, music styles, or clothing.
Sometimes what is cool becomes cool due to its utilitarianism. For example, Birkenstocks (the sandals) were seen as a really ugly shoe. My mom had a pair in the early 2000s, and everyone made fun of her for her "ugly" shoes. However, a couple years ago, Birkenstocks made a comeback, due to the comfort that the shoes provide. But who was the one brave enough to wear these supposedly ugly sandals in order to convince the rest of society that they are comfortable and practical shoes, that could be trendy. Someone who was already praised in society? But how could one person influence so many others, especially when no one person is credited?
Sometimes phrases or words become cool. This can typically be credited to Youtubers, Vine stars, or anyone who uses a social media platform to produce videos. We find something funny on these platforms, and then find ourselves repeating the phrase that we had previously laughed over. It is interesting to note though, that there are several people out there that will repeat these words or phrases, without knowing of its true origin. Often we will just say something because we hear others around our school say them.
I think that school is the largest platform for passing along trends. It is where impressionable teens fight to be respected and with the "in crowd." School is the place where trends are created and defined. School seems to be the main place where something can come to be cool. Another platform for the creation of cool is social media. As with phrases, so much more becomes cool on social media. It is where objects, music and people are promoted, and is a great place for trends to quickly spread.
Sometimes what is cool becomes cool due to its utilitarianism. For example, Birkenstocks (the sandals) were seen as a really ugly shoe. My mom had a pair in the early 2000s, and everyone made fun of her for her "ugly" shoes. However, a couple years ago, Birkenstocks made a comeback, due to the comfort that the shoes provide. But who was the one brave enough to wear these supposedly ugly sandals in order to convince the rest of society that they are comfortable and practical shoes, that could be trendy. Someone who was already praised in society? But how could one person influence so many others, especially when no one person is credited?
Sometimes phrases or words become cool. This can typically be credited to Youtubers, Vine stars, or anyone who uses a social media platform to produce videos. We find something funny on these platforms, and then find ourselves repeating the phrase that we had previously laughed over. It is interesting to note though, that there are several people out there that will repeat these words or phrases, without knowing of its true origin. Often we will just say something because we hear others around our school say them.
I think that school is the largest platform for passing along trends. It is where impressionable teens fight to be respected and with the "in crowd." School is the place where trends are created and defined. School seems to be the main place where something can come to be cool. Another platform for the creation of cool is social media. As with phrases, so much more becomes cool on social media. It is where objects, music and people are promoted, and is a great place for trends to quickly spread.
I totally agree that things become “cool” when everyone is doing it. I think trends start when some celebrity or person we look up to does something and we all follow suit. The same happens at school when you see peers and friends doing something and you copy them. In this way trends and “cool” things spread like wildfire, but are always changing.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that school and social media influence the definition of "cool" more than anything else. But the idea of cool is also subjective; some people think being cool is doing the opposite of what everyone else thinks is cool (or "mainstream").
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