I asked my friend Lieb why she dressed up, why she wore heels everyday, why she wore makeup etc. She responded with our predicted "'Cause I like it." I laughed (this was before I read the assignment about avoid putting them on the defensive). She gave me a weird look and I told her how her answer was so typical. I asked her, "That's the only reason you dress up? You don't think it has anything with trying to gain attention?" She paused, thought, started to say something, but instead asked me, "Well, what do you think?" I said I thought dressing up did have something to do with trying to catch other people's attention. After hearing me say that, she said "Well if you're going to have to wear something, you might as well wear something that looks good." I definitely put her on the defensive, so I'm not sure if her answers are completely honest.
Then I went back on aim that night to continue the interview. I asked her if she remembered the first time she started dressing up or caring about the way she presented herself to others. She said "I guess around 14 or 15." I asked her if she knew what it was that made her want to change. She said "I guess when I realized I shouldn't dress like a little girl anymore?" I asked her if she seen a change in her behavior as well and she said she didn't think so but maybe. Then I asked her, "Do you think dressing up makes you feel more confident?" She responded with "I don't think I'm dressing up though. I just wear things I like wearing, like in the morning, I don't go ohh what should I wear so I look pretty. It's just like I like some clothes so I wear them. I don't think it has to be special though. It sounds like a lie haha."
This reflects the popular claim that "I do it for me and nobody else." She wears the clothes she wears simply because she likes it and not because it looks good. But then I wonder what's the reason behind her outfit choices if it doesn't make her look good. What is it she likes if it's not its appearance? Plus it's contradicting her statement "Well if you're going to have to wear something, you might as well wear something that looks good."
For me, the way I dress affects my confidence level. I wouldn't say it's the biggest factor because personality is probably the biggest, but it definitely affects the way I feel about myself and the judgment I get from others. Like right now, I'm in sweats and a regular hoodie 'cause I felt lazy this morning. So now I'm feeling ordinary. When I'm in an outfit I really like, it makes me feel more confident and less dull throughout the day. It's what sets my initial mood for the day. I guess it does have something to do with the way people view me. Clothes are like art and when you have a great piece of art, you would want to show it off.
When I see certain "looks" I like, I don't think about who might like it, because I do choose clothes for myself and not for others. There's a difference between dressing a certain way just to impress people even when you feel uncomfortable in it and dressing in a way that would satisfy yourself and gain compliments.
This isn't to say that anyone who doesn't care about their appearance is a loser. Because like I said earlier, I feel like personality plays the biggest part in the way we view a person. I would say that when people can't impress others with their personality, they look to other self aggrandizing strategies like talent, titles, money, the way we dress etc. I can say I'm none of those. But I probably am. Maybe I'm trying to compensate my lack of interesting-ness with clothes and make-up. That feels true sometimes.
“You’re literally watching the social landscape on the screen, and if you’re obsessed with your position in that landscape, it’s very hard to look away.”
When we find ourselves so obsessed with our social rankings, it's hard not to feel compelled to raise that ranking. Monkey see, monkey do. We see something we admire and we are tempted to change ourselves to become that way. As we mentioned earlier, this is a shortcut. Trying to be "cool" can only get us so far and soon enough we'll see ourselves back at square one, empty and lost.
Friday, December 18, 2009
HW 30: Psychological and Philisophical Theorizing of Cool
Often we hear about people leaving each other and taking parts of each other with them. We hear about people trying to find that missing piece to fill out that hole in their heart. When we are feeling lonely, we are describing a state of lacking something. Are we really lacking anything? Or do we just convince ourselves that we'll feel better if we had this or that? When we feel like we are lacking something, we purposely go out and find something to fill the "void", whether it be a person to fill our hearts or hobbies to fill our schedule. Anything to make us feel like we have something to do and that what we're doing is meaningful. Otherwise we'll just feel like another ant on earth, neglected and insignificant.
Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher believed that the emptiness felt by our generation was a result of spiritual emptiness. People have become lazy thinkers where everything they try to figure out is more about scientific logic than self acknowledgment or "enlightenment" as the Buddhists call it. The feeling of emptiness is refer to as the "hunger of the soul" and in order to fill it up people turn to "food, excitement, substances, relationships, [or] consumer products." Nonetheless, these things can only provide temporary happiness.
In Buddhism, emptiness is viewed as a positive feeling. It is seen to be a spiritual awakening when we realize that all objects in the world are only "appearances of our subjective minds" and that they have no inherent existence in the world. The saying "form is emptiness; emptiness is form" perfectly describes this. The things we see and feel are all interpretations of our minds. They are all "empty." This relates to Plato's theory that our perception of an object relies on our senses and the physical object itself. But this doesn't give us its essence at all. Therefore, it has no inherent existence. Buddhism taught the "emptiness of emptiness." The essence or purpose I would say, of emptiness "is empty of inherent existence." So that would mean that all our efforts of trying to fill up this void is not necessary. We feel like the essence of emptiness is a hole that needs to be patched up because it's broken or missing things. But according the the Buddhist's teachings, essence can not be found anywhere (ie. mind, physical world, "heavenly realm"), so our hole isn't really a "hole." (I think I'm sort of adding a little nihilism into the Buddhist point of view, but I'm not sure.)
Nihilism has more to do with objects having no meaning and purpose. I'm not really understanding the differences these sites are pointing out because what's so different between not having an essence/inherent existence (Buddhism) and not having a purpose (nihilism).
From what I've read so far, the Western's approach to emptiness seems to involve a lot of patchwork which only provides temporary happiness. The vision of cool and happiness is seen to be a cut out shape of the "hole in our hearts." If we followed the Buddhist's ideas, then maybe we would find out that emptiness is empty of essence in itself and that this cut out shape we're aiming for is not what emptiness is looking for.
Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher believed that the emptiness felt by our generation was a result of spiritual emptiness. People have become lazy thinkers where everything they try to figure out is more about scientific logic than self acknowledgment or "enlightenment" as the Buddhists call it. The feeling of emptiness is refer to as the "hunger of the soul" and in order to fill it up people turn to "food, excitement, substances, relationships, [or] consumer products." Nonetheless, these things can only provide temporary happiness.
In Buddhism, emptiness is viewed as a positive feeling. It is seen to be a spiritual awakening when we realize that all objects in the world are only "appearances of our subjective minds" and that they have no inherent existence in the world. The saying "form is emptiness; emptiness is form" perfectly describes this. The things we see and feel are all interpretations of our minds. They are all "empty." This relates to Plato's theory that our perception of an object relies on our senses and the physical object itself. But this doesn't give us its essence at all. Therefore, it has no inherent existence. Buddhism taught the "emptiness of emptiness." The essence or purpose I would say, of emptiness "is empty of inherent existence." So that would mean that all our efforts of trying to fill up this void is not necessary. We feel like the essence of emptiness is a hole that needs to be patched up because it's broken or missing things. But according the the Buddhist's teachings, essence can not be found anywhere (ie. mind, physical world, "heavenly realm"), so our hole isn't really a "hole." (I think I'm sort of adding a little nihilism into the Buddhist point of view, but I'm not sure.)
Nihilism has more to do with objects having no meaning and purpose. I'm not really understanding the differences these sites are pointing out because what's so different between not having an essence/inherent existence (Buddhism) and not having a purpose (nihilism).
From what I've read so far, the Western's approach to emptiness seems to involve a lot of patchwork which only provides temporary happiness. The vision of cool and happiness is seen to be a cut out shape of the "hole in our hearts." If we followed the Buddhist's ideas, then maybe we would find out that emptiness is empty of essence in itself and that this cut out shape we're aiming for is not what emptiness is looking for.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
HW 29: Merchants of Cool
Of course the corporations manipulate us while pretending not to, so they can make more money off of us. Of course we actively seek commodified coolness while trying to claim "self-expression" and "being ourselves", so we can feel a sense of importance and gain attention and approval. So what?
By throwing us all these products and images of cool, these corporations are only reinforcing the idea that chasing coolness is cool and popular. Therefore, it's just adding more heat to the fire. We seek out individual looks and when we see our looks on T.V. or on a billboard in Times Square, we receive a boost of confidence. Why is this so bad? Because we're are being dragged around by the media and happily skipping down this path that they've carved for us without even acknowledging it. And even when we do, a lot of us don't care. And why should we? As long as we get the new purse or the new shoes, we're happy. In the "Merchants of Cool," they said that teens have become the largest group of consumers, profiting 150 billion from them. They're easy targets. Now teens are stuck in this mind frame that if you want to be somebody or if you want to be important, then you need to stand out. They do this either by following trends or creating trends of their own... which will probably later be stolen by the media. Instead of dressing to show off who they are regardless of what others think about them, they're starting to dress to impress.. everyone.
What specific manipulation techniques work best on the specific insecurities and emotional needs of young people, according to Merchants of Cool?
The corporations started realizing that corny ads don't work anymore, so like the Sprite commercial, they filmed it to mock the stereotypical Star-approved ads... with a Star. Teens soon caught up to that too. So Sprite started studying teen culture and incorporated its own brand name into their party life to show support to its music and scene. This worked because teens really believed that Sprite was really there for them. The documentary said something like "It looked like Sprite was only studying the culture and not how to advertise to the teens. Thus, Sprite became the culture." So pretending like they weren't out to manipulate the teens successfully manipulated them.
Even the Dove commercials attempt to reach out to "normal" people by putting elders, mothers, curvy women, and others into their ads. They're trying to make it seem that normal is the new cool and that they support this movement. Their focus on "real" women has made those insecure about their bodies the next target. Except their way of approaching it is different. Instead of saying, purchase this so you can change yourself and feel better about yourself, they're saying purchase this, don't change yourself and still feel better about yourself. This works and it still sends a great message.
They also started filling the media with archetypes such as the "mook" and the "midriff" to convince teens that characters such as these get the most attention. They were sending the message that guys that were obnoxious and annoying were fun and popular. Girls who showed off skin and dressed provocatively earned them confidence and attention. So for teens, that was the secret to solving their insecurities, although I think it only made them crave attention even more.
Should advertising to young people be banned? Up to what age? Or all ages?
Obviously, teens can't hide from the media and all its sumbliminal messages. But they should limit the types of commercials that are put out to the public. Teens shouldn't have to look at commercials and feel compelled to purchase a product because it's what's popular at the time. But of course, commercials are bias . There would never be a commercial that would just come out and say blahblahblah this has this feature and that feature and it is this price, without any cool images or people endorsing it. Ads that constantly pressures teens to be cool shouldn't be shown to them until 21, when most of them are mature enough to make the right decision. But then again, no matter what age we are, we are still prone to the pressures of being cool and important.
Should Rage Against the Machine or Mos Def have refused to play the corporate game to prevent their revolutionary music becoming a source of capitalist profit? What if that meant that they would gain far fewer listeners?
The whole concept of their band in the first place was to fight capitalism or "the machine." They've lost all sense of dignity once they bought into the game. If I were them, I would rather have a couple of listeners who really believed in my music rather than having my music promoted as anything other than what it was supposed to be in the first place.
By throwing us all these products and images of cool, these corporations are only reinforcing the idea that chasing coolness is cool and popular. Therefore, it's just adding more heat to the fire. We seek out individual looks and when we see our looks on T.V. or on a billboard in Times Square, we receive a boost of confidence. Why is this so bad? Because we're are being dragged around by the media and happily skipping down this path that they've carved for us without even acknowledging it. And even when we do, a lot of us don't care. And why should we? As long as we get the new purse or the new shoes, we're happy. In the "Merchants of Cool," they said that teens have become the largest group of consumers, profiting 150 billion from them. They're easy targets. Now teens are stuck in this mind frame that if you want to be somebody or if you want to be important, then you need to stand out. They do this either by following trends or creating trends of their own... which will probably later be stolen by the media. Instead of dressing to show off who they are regardless of what others think about them, they're starting to dress to impress.. everyone.
What specific manipulation techniques work best on the specific insecurities and emotional needs of young people, according to Merchants of Cool?
The corporations started realizing that corny ads don't work anymore, so like the Sprite commercial, they filmed it to mock the stereotypical Star-approved ads... with a Star. Teens soon caught up to that too. So Sprite started studying teen culture and incorporated its own brand name into their party life to show support to its music and scene. This worked because teens really believed that Sprite was really there for them. The documentary said something like "It looked like Sprite was only studying the culture and not how to advertise to the teens. Thus, Sprite became the culture." So pretending like they weren't out to manipulate the teens successfully manipulated them.
Even the Dove commercials attempt to reach out to "normal" people by putting elders, mothers, curvy women, and others into their ads. They're trying to make it seem that normal is the new cool and that they support this movement. Their focus on "real" women has made those insecure about their bodies the next target. Except their way of approaching it is different. Instead of saying, purchase this so you can change yourself and feel better about yourself, they're saying purchase this, don't change yourself and still feel better about yourself. This works and it still sends a great message.
They also started filling the media with archetypes such as the "mook" and the "midriff" to convince teens that characters such as these get the most attention. They were sending the message that guys that were obnoxious and annoying were fun and popular. Girls who showed off skin and dressed provocatively earned them confidence and attention. So for teens, that was the secret to solving their insecurities, although I think it only made them crave attention even more.Should advertising to young people be banned? Up to what age? Or all ages?
Obviously, teens can't hide from the media and all its sumbliminal messages. But they should limit the types of commercials that are put out to the public. Teens shouldn't have to look at commercials and feel compelled to purchase a product because it's what's popular at the time. But of course, commercials are bias . There would never be a commercial that would just come out and say blahblahblah this has this feature and that feature and it is this price, without any cool images or people endorsing it. Ads that constantly pressures teens to be cool shouldn't be shown to them until 21, when most of them are mature enough to make the right decision. But then again, no matter what age we are, we are still prone to the pressures of being cool and important.
Should Rage Against the Machine or Mos Def have refused to play the corporate game to prevent their revolutionary music becoming a source of capitalist profit? What if that meant that they would gain far fewer listeners?
The whole concept of their band in the first place was to fight capitalism or "the machine." They've lost all sense of dignity once they bought into the game. If I were them, I would rather have a couple of listeners who really believed in my music rather than having my music promoted as anything other than what it was supposed to be in the first place.
Monday, December 7, 2009
HW 28: Informal Research - Internet, Magazines, and TV Shows
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_(aesthetic)
"...mainstream perception of cool is narrow and distorted, with cool often perceived merely as style or arrogance, rather than a way to achieve respect."
Wikipedia's article states that cool isn't subjected to a particular group and it differs from culture to culture. The idea also changes over time. It is mainly viewed through behavioral characteristics and state of being. Cool used to be heavily associate with rebellion and avoiding authority, much like it is now (as shown in our stories). It's also defined as someone who has achieved transcendental balance, and is calm during moments of chaos.
The article continues to talk about different cultures and their history of cool. One notable element was that during segregation blacks acted cool to attain a "sense of control, strength, confidence and stability and helps him deal with negative messages." Mona Lisa was also used as an example to "convey her grandeur, self-confidence and societal position." Her posture and expression exerts a sense of detachment and she succeeds in looking like she isn't trying hard look indifferent.
http://www.whatiscool.org/
Entering this site, I thought it would be filled with meaningful stuff to read about. But it turned out to be written by a jerk or at least someone who was pretending to be a jerk. I think it was written purposely to make fun of the stereotypical way people interpret coolness. It was basically a compilation of What is cool, What isn't, How can I be cool etc. His approach to teaching us how to be cool was different from the other sites. Instead of actually giving us advice he believed in, he did the opposite to show that "cool" is b.s. although he doesn't explicitly say so. He attempts to convince us that the goal is to just forget about the importance of being cool and be whatever we want to be.
He pokes fun at how smoking is closely associated with the idea of coolness by telling us to go ahead and smoke but be careful of the diseases that came with it. His How To article also pointed out the stereotypical ways of becoming cool. He also said that coolness requires a lot of work and time to perfect. Overall, I think his point was to show us how absurd the idea of wanting to be cool is.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/
(video attached)
The article talks about how corporations have started to excessively commercialize music, social, and fashion trends directly to teens all in the name of profit. Nothing belongs to us anymore because they take any new fad and "blares it back at [us] relentlessly and everywhere." And after they do so, the trend is killed and now we have to search for a new trend and it just becomes a cycle. "By discovering cool, you've moved cool onto the next thing."
"Kids feel frustrated and lonely today because they are encouraged to feel that way," Miller tells FRONTLINE. "You know, advertising has always sold anxiety and it certainly sells anxiety to the young. It's always telling them that they are not thin enough, they're not pretty enough, they don't have the right friends, or they have no friends...they're losers unless they're cool. But I don't think anybody, deep down, really feels cool enough, ever."
The media is trying to categorize us and creating a group of identical adolescents that listen to the same music and wear the same clothes (like the Feed) and we're letting them. I'm beginning to wonder if I've already fell victim or rather a clone to their scheme of things and it's looks like I did. The article points out that Cool is no longer determined by us. It's determined by the media and what they choose to feed us.
"...mainstream perception of cool is narrow and distorted, with cool often perceived merely as style or arrogance, rather than a way to achieve respect."
Wikipedia's article states that cool isn't subjected to a particular group and it differs from culture to culture. The idea also changes over time. It is mainly viewed through behavioral characteristics and state of being. Cool used to be heavily associate with rebellion and avoiding authority, much like it is now (as shown in our stories). It's also defined as someone who has achieved transcendental balance, and is calm during moments of chaos.
The article continues to talk about different cultures and their history of cool. One notable element was that during segregation blacks acted cool to attain a "sense of control, strength, confidence and stability and helps him deal with negative messages." Mona Lisa was also used as an example to "convey her grandeur, self-confidence and societal position." Her posture and expression exerts a sense of detachment and she succeeds in looking like she isn't trying hard look indifferent.
Homer: So, I realized that being with my family is more importantI also really liked this dialogue. Cool depends on bias judgment so much that it can really be anything you want it to be. In this case, all of them have different notions of being cool and different ways of acknowledging it (being told that you are or not being told). Therefore this whole idea of coolness is just resting on a pile of theories and different sources. It doesn't even deserve a definition.
than being cool.
Bart: Dad, what you just said was powerfully uncool.
Homer: You know what the song says: "It's hip to be square".
Lisa: That song is so lame.
Homer: So lame that it's... cool?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Am I cool, kids?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Good. I'm glad. And that's what makes me cool, not caring,
right?
Bart+Lisa: No.
Marge: Well, how the hell do you be cool? I feel like we've tried
everything here.
Homer: Wait, Marge. Maybe if you're truly cool, you don't need to
be told you're cool.
Bart: Well, sure you do.
Lisa: How else would you know?
http://www.whatiscool.org/
Entering this site, I thought it would be filled with meaningful stuff to read about. But it turned out to be written by a jerk or at least someone who was pretending to be a jerk. I think it was written purposely to make fun of the stereotypical way people interpret coolness. It was basically a compilation of What is cool, What isn't, How can I be cool etc. His approach to teaching us how to be cool was different from the other sites. Instead of actually giving us advice he believed in, he did the opposite to show that "cool" is b.s. although he doesn't explicitly say so. He attempts to convince us that the goal is to just forget about the importance of being cool and be whatever we want to be.
He pokes fun at how smoking is closely associated with the idea of coolness by telling us to go ahead and smoke but be careful of the diseases that came with it. His How To article also pointed out the stereotypical ways of becoming cool. He also said that coolness requires a lot of work and time to perfect. Overall, I think his point was to show us how absurd the idea of wanting to be cool is.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/view/
(video attached)
The article talks about how corporations have started to excessively commercialize music, social, and fashion trends directly to teens all in the name of profit. Nothing belongs to us anymore because they take any new fad and "blares it back at [us] relentlessly and everywhere." And after they do so, the trend is killed and now we have to search for a new trend and it just becomes a cycle. "By discovering cool, you've moved cool onto the next thing."
"Kids feel frustrated and lonely today because they are encouraged to feel that way," Miller tells FRONTLINE. "You know, advertising has always sold anxiety and it certainly sells anxiety to the young. It's always telling them that they are not thin enough, they're not pretty enough, they don't have the right friends, or they have no friends...they're losers unless they're cool. But I don't think anybody, deep down, really feels cool enough, ever."
The media is trying to categorize us and creating a group of identical adolescents that listen to the same music and wear the same clothes (like the Feed) and we're letting them. I'm beginning to wonder if I've already fell victim or rather a clone to their scheme of things and it's looks like I did. The article points out that Cool is no longer determined by us. It's determined by the media and what they choose to feed us.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
HW 27: Informal Research - Interviews and Surveys
Street Interviews
Guy with Baby Stroller - He thought kids were cool no matter how the media portrays them, which are usually bratty kids that you can't handle and ruin your life.
College Student Walking to Class - "Coolness is a manufactured desire." I guess that's true because we invented this idea (of coolness) ourselves and chose to look at its image for guidance when the fact is we don't really have to. Or did he mean we only looked to tangible objects to increase coolness... I don't know. He didn't want to explain it to us. He didn't think he was cool and he advised us to read a book called Noble Rider and the Sound of Words written by a poet named Wallace Stevens.
Guy dressed Head to Toe in Electric Blue with Shades on - He didn't think he was cool. He thought being cool was being yourself ..typical. He believed that the way you dressed played a part in how cool you looked although when asked, his shades weren't for looking cool. He said he didn't like people looking into his eyes. Then he proceeds to take off his glasses. He said he admired entrepreneurs such as Jay Z who are "makin' money."
Lady Jogger - She does a lot of volunteer work. She used to work in PR, but now she's using the skills she gained there for things she actually care about: causes such as human trafficking and hunger in Africa. One cool trait of coolness she thought was integrity. She thought that those who used their popularity for power and gratifying their own egos were bad and unfortunately that's how most women sees it. For men though, she thought that they measure their coolness through how much they use their power to contribute to the community. The two celebrities she admired most were Susan Sarandon and Gloria Steinem because of their dedication to giving back to the community.
It's clear that the guy in blue and the female jogger both admired celebs that resembled themselves in some way.
Family Member
Rowena (Cousin) - She thinks cool is usually someone who is popular where everyone wants to be either her friend or be her. It's someone others idolize. They're people who are famous and goes for their dreams. "Do you find yourself striving to be cool?" "Oh yess! cause I will be famous and ceooo of microsoft! and be cool like taylor swift! and jb (jonas brothers). and live in cali!" When I asked her if she knew of anyone in her life that was cool, she said no, not even her friends... "and people in my school are retardedd, going to parties every weekendd and having hangoverrs lol."
My friend interviews were basically HW 26.
Additional Friend
Sweetie (yeah that's her real name) - I asked her what's her perspective on "cool" and what attributes she would associate that with. She starts off with an ummm... "Ok, can I answer this personally as in I don't care if I offend anyone else? A "cool" person can't be nerdy. He has to be someone who is open to talk about everything. Oh one more thing, that person has to learn to not to judge. But yeah.....I think I'm cool, 'cause like my friends are all open to talk to me about everything, even the most sensitive things (eg. sex, drugs, family) and I know how to deal with a lot of these things so I teach them how to get through it and how not to get hurt. Oh and also guys feel comfortable talking to me about these things too. I'm proud. =)" Then I asked her about appearance and whether she thinks it plays a role in being cool or not. And she answered "Half and half. 'Cause someone can be cool inside but not showing. I think dressing is completely different from personality. I have lots of friends are like that. They dress mad nerdy but they think mad crazy. THIS APPLY TO LOTS OF GUYS TOO, so watch out."
Guy with Baby Stroller - He thought kids were cool no matter how the media portrays them, which are usually bratty kids that you can't handle and ruin your life.
College Student Walking to Class - "Coolness is a manufactured desire." I guess that's true because we invented this idea (of coolness) ourselves and chose to look at its image for guidance when the fact is we don't really have to. Or did he mean we only looked to tangible objects to increase coolness... I don't know. He didn't want to explain it to us. He didn't think he was cool and he advised us to read a book called Noble Rider and the Sound of Words written by a poet named Wallace Stevens.
Guy dressed Head to Toe in Electric Blue with Shades on - He didn't think he was cool. He thought being cool was being yourself ..typical. He believed that the way you dressed played a part in how cool you looked although when asked, his shades weren't for looking cool. He said he didn't like people looking into his eyes. Then he proceeds to take off his glasses. He said he admired entrepreneurs such as Jay Z who are "makin' money."
Lady Jogger - She does a lot of volunteer work. She used to work in PR, but now she's using the skills she gained there for things she actually care about: causes such as human trafficking and hunger in Africa. One cool trait of coolness she thought was integrity. She thought that those who used their popularity for power and gratifying their own egos were bad and unfortunately that's how most women sees it. For men though, she thought that they measure their coolness through how much they use their power to contribute to the community. The two celebrities she admired most were Susan Sarandon and Gloria Steinem because of their dedication to giving back to the community.
It's clear that the guy in blue and the female jogger both admired celebs that resembled themselves in some way.
Family Member
Rowena (Cousin) - She thinks cool is usually someone who is popular where everyone wants to be either her friend or be her. It's someone others idolize. They're people who are famous and goes for their dreams. "Do you find yourself striving to be cool?" "Oh yess! cause I will be famous and ceooo of microsoft! and be cool like taylor swift! and jb (jonas brothers). and live in cali!" When I asked her if she knew of anyone in her life that was cool, she said no, not even her friends... "and people in my school are retardedd, going to parties every weekendd and having hangoverrs lol."
My friend interviews were basically HW 26.
Additional Friend
Sweetie (yeah that's her real name) - I asked her what's her perspective on "cool" and what attributes she would associate that with. She starts off with an ummm... "Ok, can I answer this personally as in I don't care if I offend anyone else? A "cool" person can't be nerdy. He has to be someone who is open to talk about everything. Oh one more thing, that person has to learn to not to judge. But yeah.....I think I'm cool, 'cause like my friends are all open to talk to me about everything, even the most sensitive things (eg. sex, drugs, family) and I know how to deal with a lot of these things so I teach them how to get through it and how not to get hurt. Oh and also guys feel comfortable talking to me about these things too. I'm proud. =)" Then I asked her about appearance and whether she thinks it plays a role in being cool or not. And she answered "Half and half. 'Cause someone can be cool inside but not showing. I think dressing is completely different from personality. I have lots of friends are like that. They dress mad nerdy but they think mad crazy. THIS APPLY TO LOTS OF GUYS TOO, so watch out."
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