Being born with a cultural map is a given. Following it is not. When we are thrust with images of cool, there's that temptation to adorn ourselves with that image but more than likely, we find ourselves repeating a cycle of actions that only brings us temporary satisfaction. Self importance is like our energy drink, giving us motivation and a feeling of meaning that keeps us content with the life we're leading. We thrive off compliments and high social titles. But what happens when we can't keep up with cool? We stick a label and sharpie "empty" on it. That's the excuse we give ourselves to justify our chase for cool. Many blame the media for corrupting our minds, blindfolding us with images of cool, and keeping us from aiming for a larger sense of purpose. But it is ultimately our own selves we have to overcome. We are puppets of our desires and of the "hole" in our hearts. It is our own individual choice to decide whether there really is a hole and whether aggrandizing ourselves is self fulfilling or not.
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 is a person to fill our hearts or a hobby to fill our schedule. We’ll settle for anything that will make us feel productive and let us believe 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 referred to as the "hunger of the soul" and in order to fill it up people turn to "food, excitement, substances, relationships, [or] consumer products." "A carefully cultivated cool pose can keep the lid on the most intense feelings and violent emotions" (Anatomy of an Attitude). We attempt to stuff our emptiness with materials and cool poses. Nonetheless, these things can only provide temporary happiness.
In the Buddhist's point of view, letting go of all desires, or rather being able to understand that our desires are merely false interpretations of our bodies' urges is an essential part of the road to enlightenment. Therefore, this belief that "Oh, if my nose was a little bit narrower or if I had these new boots, my life would suck a little less," is false. Filling the gap with tangible items will not satisfy it. Instead, we need to come to terms with ourselves. The Stoics aimed to "overcome destructive emotions," such as the feeling of emptiness, to find inner peace (Kate). When we get rid of this blur, we will see that the hole is all but an illusion, and we should not let our emotions control us nor lead us into the chase of cool.
Cool as we learned, is all but an act. It consists of a protagonist and an audience. Of course, we all consider ourselves protagonists and everyone else the audience. This is where the aggrandizing and the process of filling the void come in. We raise our voices in the hallway as Andy S. says, we tattoo our bodies as self expression, we dress like they do in the magazines, etc. Attention is what we thrive on. Every scene is an expedition set for success or failure. It is a success if we are able to convince someone of the image we are trying to put forth, but a failure when we are challenged and end up losing face. In the Chinese language, we use "mo mien" (no face) to describe embarrassment or that the person is ready to hide from further confrontational moments. This is used similarly in the English language as well.
We're all identified as some type of storybook character whether we mean to come across as that image or not. Some archetypes are regarded more highly than others depending on the person. This is where cool comes into play. As some strive to be heroes, others strive to be rebels. These are all poses we take on to fill in our emptiness. Otherwise, who are we? Without an identity, we will be regarded at the bottom of the spectrum, as antagonists or even worst, as extras. So we adapt to trends, and speech, hoping that our audience will notice and snag us a spot somewhere high on the social ladder. We have determined throughout the unit that it is impossible to not fit into a archetype because running away from one will only put you in another. So where do we go from there? If we can't escape this, then what? "Don't fit into stupid roles" as Andy S. said. I agree. But then again, who’s to judge what's stupid or not? What is stupid based on? The number of tattoos you have? The number of times you take drugs a day? The amount of control you have towards the media's marketing tactics? No matter how obvious we might think it is that one role is better than another, it will always remain an opinion. Because I can say, it is stupid to be the hero, or the revolutionary, or the insightful loner, but it is cool to be the player, the slut, or the evil step mom and there's nothing anyone can do to prove that I am wrong.
There's no denying that we all have our own tailored image of coolness. Based on an interview we conducted, we had some people tell us who they thought were the coolest celebrities. One said, Jay Z, because he's "makin' money." Another said, Susan Sarandon and Gloria Steinem because of their dedication towards giving back to the community. It was clear that they both admired celebs that resembled themselves in some way. The first one was dressed in very baggy clothes with shades and was listening to his iPod. It seemed predictable that he was into artists like Jay-Z. The second person was a female who told us she was into volunteer work, similar to the acts of her stars. This shows that the way we picture cool does play a role in shaping who we are as people.
We were taught to be who we are. There's no authenticity in us to tap into. Each of us is a product made collectively from the things we view as cool. From the day we were born, our minds are constantly taking in what we consider cool and filtering out the things we don't like. The things we choose to keep make up the cool image we strive to talk, act, dress, and be like. Quoted from Rachel's blog, "We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives." We can say authenticity is having a combination of aspects in our personality that is unlike any other combination. But that's as close to individuality as we can get. Even if you say, "I don't care what others think of me," you're submitting yourself into an aspired image of being a nonchalant, carefree person. There's still no authenticity in that type of map.
I've been shaped by my community, my culture, my family, my friends, and my classmates. So basically, it's everyone. My parents and my friends have been the ones who fed into my work ethics. My Asian heritage has encouraged me to work hard, and no play. My dad would shell out as much money as I needed for books, but would never purchase any game system for me. This convinced me that intelligence was above all else. But I consider my sister to be one of the most influential characters in shaping who I am. Back then, she was all I aspired to be like. I dressed the way she dressed. I started wearing makeup because she wore makeup. I started talking back to my parents because I saw her do it. My first sip of alcohol, my first cutting were all supervised by her. I know it sounds silly but she was my main guidance for everything and she probably didn't even know it. I turned to her for everything and as the years passed I started realizing how much I resembled her and now that I am more aware of it, I'm attempting to become my own person. This unit has made me think harder about why I'm the person I am. Magazines shaped me, T.V. shaped me, New York shaped me, friends shaped me, school shaped me, teachers shaped me etc. We are all aftermaths of the cools we want to be. Who we are is undeniably a composite of stolen identities which are also composites of other stolen identities and so on and so forth.
We don't realize that there is no such state of true authenticity, which is generally believed to be the highest level of cool. That is why we are constantly trying to find it through clothes, through speech, through attitude, through self expression such as tattoos, piercings, music, etc. This search is a failure to begin with, if the goal is to seek individuality and something to fill our void with. We will always remain characters in a play, always in a box, and always with a map. If someone wants to fill up their hole with wealth and materials, so be it. If someone else wants to follow the Buddhist's teachings because they believe that emptiness and desire are merely illusions, so be that. To each their own, I say. There is no right and wrong when it comes to a topic based on perspective. "If you want to sing out, sing out. If you want to be free, be free. ‘Cause there's a million things to be, you know that there are" (Cat Stevens). It is our own individual choice to decide whether we want to give in to our feelings of emptiness and whether aggrandizing ourselves is self fulfilling or not.
Cool Rules, Anatomy of an Attitude (Dick Pountain & David Robins)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emptiness
Rachel's blog
Kate's blog
Andy Snyder
Cat Stevens "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out"
Street interviews with strangers
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
HW 36: Triangle Partner Help
Maggie:
1. Thesis (rewritten): Emptiness has driven us to find value through masking, adorning, and aggrandizing ourselves, a process repeated and updated regularly to ensure constant approval.
2. I liked how you focused mainly on roles and the fact that they are inescapable. A lot of us are born with lives that are already mapped out for us. And for those who don't have a parent dictating their every move, they're still limited and controlled by their environment. Therefore, we don't have as much freedom in picking our roles as one might like to think.
When we do choose to follow a role, we try to live up to it as much as possible because we believe that the more we fill up an archetype, the more we fill up our own holes and the empty feeling that comes with it. This is directly linked to the way we feel about ourselves. We want to feel important. And the only way to feel important is from the approval and attention of others. So we spice up our acts hoping for applause from the audience and the louder the applause, the higher our "value" becomes.
3. Stuff you should consider including:
- Now that we know roles are inevitable, how should we make the best of these roles?
- What are our options and which are the best ones?
- Make better transitions btwn. your paragraphs.
- Include more evidence like the stuff we read in class, Andy's lectures, student's blogs, your emptiness research, street and friend interviews, or talk about how you yourself fit into all this
Andy:
1. Thesis (rewritten): (Probably won't be as good as what yours already is) Coolness disconnects our mental beings from our physical, and encourages us down a strict path while eliminating the possibility of a life outside of the paths.
2. Your arguments are very clear cut and intriguing. It's hard to imagine life outside of the boxes though. You say by submitting to roles, we are forfeiting consideration for any alternative, but isn't the attempt to not play a role a role in itself? Even trying not to be cool has its own label. Is it possible to not strive to not strive for a role (did that make sense?), and to be completely oblivious of your own role and place in society?
Rather, I think that instead of separating it as roles and no roles, it'd make more sense to separate it into good roles and bad. The good would obviously be the ones that maximizes our awareness and connections with the world around us as you said. Cited from Anatomy of an Attitude, the current mainstream cool is "narcissism, ironic detachment, and hedonism." These are the roles with the most stubborn set of paths, and contain the most negligence towards the outside world. They are set deep within their boxes and are anything but past the perimeter.
3. Stuff you can include:
- Evidence and examples from readings, Andy, or other blogs
- how you fit into all this, personal examples
- an idea of what an alternative would be like? if not, what is your preferred pick out of the limited options/boxes presented to us?
1. Thesis (rewritten): Emptiness has driven us to find value through masking, adorning, and aggrandizing ourselves, a process repeated and updated regularly to ensure constant approval.
2. I liked how you focused mainly on roles and the fact that they are inescapable. A lot of us are born with lives that are already mapped out for us. And for those who don't have a parent dictating their every move, they're still limited and controlled by their environment. Therefore, we don't have as much freedom in picking our roles as one might like to think.
When we do choose to follow a role, we try to live up to it as much as possible because we believe that the more we fill up an archetype, the more we fill up our own holes and the empty feeling that comes with it. This is directly linked to the way we feel about ourselves. We want to feel important. And the only way to feel important is from the approval and attention of others. So we spice up our acts hoping for applause from the audience and the louder the applause, the higher our "value" becomes.
3. Stuff you should consider including:
- Now that we know roles are inevitable, how should we make the best of these roles?
- What are our options and which are the best ones?
- Make better transitions btwn. your paragraphs.
- Include more evidence like the stuff we read in class, Andy's lectures, student's blogs, your emptiness research, street and friend interviews, or talk about how you yourself fit into all this
Andy:
1. Thesis (rewritten): (Probably won't be as good as what yours already is) Coolness disconnects our mental beings from our physical, and encourages us down a strict path while eliminating the possibility of a life outside of the paths.
2. Your arguments are very clear cut and intriguing. It's hard to imagine life outside of the boxes though. You say by submitting to roles, we are forfeiting consideration for any alternative, but isn't the attempt to not play a role a role in itself? Even trying not to be cool has its own label. Is it possible to not strive to not strive for a role (did that make sense?), and to be completely oblivious of your own role and place in society?
Rather, I think that instead of separating it as roles and no roles, it'd make more sense to separate it into good roles and bad. The good would obviously be the ones that maximizes our awareness and connections with the world around us as you said. Cited from Anatomy of an Attitude, the current mainstream cool is "narcissism, ironic detachment, and hedonism." These are the roles with the most stubborn set of paths, and contain the most negligence towards the outside world. They are set deep within their boxes and are anything but past the perimeter.
3. Stuff you can include:
- Evidence and examples from readings, Andy, or other blogs
- how you fit into all this, personal examples
- an idea of what an alternative would be like? if not, what is your preferred pick out of the limited options/boxes presented to us?
Monday, January 18, 2010
HW 35 - Cool Paper Rough Draft
Being born with a cultural map is a given. Following it is not. When we are thrust with images of cool, there's that temptation to adorn ourselves with that image but more than likely, we find ourselves repeating a cycle of actions that only brings us temporary satisfaction. Self importance is like our energy drink, giving us motivation and a feeling of meaning that keeps us content with the life we're leading. We thrive off compliments and high social titles. But what happens when we can't keep up with cool? We stick a label and sharpie "empty" on it. That's the excuse we give ourselves to justify our chase for cool. Many blame the media for corrupting our minds, blindfolding us with images of cool, and keeping us from aiming for a larger sense of purpose in the world. But it is ultimately our own selves we have to overcome. We are puppets of our desires and of the "hole" in our hearts. It is our own individual choice to decide whether there really is a hole and whether aggrandizing ourselves is self fulfilling or not.
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 the Buddhist's point of view, letting go of all desires, or rather being able to understand that our desires are merely false interpretations of our bodies' urges is an essential part of the road to enlightenment. Therefore, this belief that "Oh, if my nose was a little bit narrower or if I had these new boots, my life would suck a little less," is false. Filling the gap with tangible items will not satisfy it. Instead, we need to come to terms with ourselves. The Stoics aimed to "overcome destructive emotions," such as the feeling of emptiness, to find inner peace (Kate). When we get rid of this blur, we will see that the hole is all but an illusion, and we should not let our emotions control us nor lead us into the chase of cool.
Cool as we learned, is all but an act. It consists of a protagonist and an audience. Of course, we all consider ourselves protagonists and everyone else the audience. This is where the aggrandizing and the process of filling the void comes in. We raise our voices in the hallway as Andy S. says, we tattoo our bodies as self expression, we dress like they do in the magazines, etc. Attention is what we thrive on. Every scene is an expedition set for success or failure. It is a success if we are able to convince someone of the image we are trying to put forth, but a failure when we are challenged and end up losing face. In the Chinese language, we use "mo mien" (no face) to describe embarrassment or that that person is ready to hide from further confrontational moments. This is used similarly in the English language as well.
We're all identified as some type of storybook character whether we mean to come across as that image or not. Some archetypes are regarded more highly than others depending on the person. This is where cool comes into play. As some strive to be heroes, others strive to be rebels. These are all poses we take on to fill in our emptiness. Otherwise, who are we? Without an identity, we will be regarded at the bottom of the spectrum, as antagonists or even worst, as extras. So we adapt to trends, and speech, hoping that our audience will notice and snag us a spot somewhere high on the social ladder. We have vaguely determined throughout the unit that it is impossible to not fit into a archetype because running away from one will only put you into another. So where do we go from there? If we can't escape this, then what? "Don't fit into stupid roles" as Andy S. said. I agree. But then again, whose to judge what's stupid or not? What is stupid based on? The number of tattoos you have? The number of times you take drugs a day? The amount of control you have towards the media's marketing tactics? No matter how obvious we might think it is that one role is better than another, it will always remain an opinion. Because I can say, it is stupid to be the hero, or the revolutionary, or the insightful loner, but it is cool to be the player, the slut, or the evil step mom and there's nothing anyone can do to prove that I am wrong.
There's no denying that we all have our own tailored image of coolness. Based on an interview we conducted, we had some people tell us who they thought were the coolest celebrities. One said, Jay Z, because he's "makin' money." Another said, Susan Sarandon and Gloria Steinem because of their dedication towards giving back to the community. It was clear that they both admired celebs that resembled themselves in some way. The first one was dressed in very baggy clothes with shades and was listening to his iPod. It seemed predictable that he was into artists like Jay-Z. The second person was a female who told us she was into volunteer work, similar to the acts of her stars. This shows that the way we picture cool does play a role in shaping who we are as people.
We were taught to be who we are. There's no authenticity in ourselves to tap into. Each of us is a product made collectively from our images of cool. From the day we were born, our minds are constantly taking in what we consider cool and filtering out the things we don't like. The things we choose to keep make up the cool image we strive to talk, act, dress, and be like. Even if you say, "I don't care what others think of me," you're submitting yourself into an aspired image of being a nonchalant, carefree person. There's still no authenticity in that type of map. Quoted from Rachel's blog, "We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives." We can say authenticity is having a combination of aspects into our personality that is unlike any other. But that's as close to individuality as we can get. Because who we are is undeniably a composite of stolen identities which are also composites of stolen identities and so on and so forth.
We don't realize that there is no such state of true authenticity, which is generally believed to be the highest level of cool. We believe that we can find it through clothes, through speech, through attitude, through self expression such as tattoos, piercings, music, etc. This search is a failure to begin with, if the goal is to seek individuality and something to fill our void with. We will always remain characters in a play, always in a box, and always with a map. If you feel that there's a hole in you and want to fill it up with wealth and materials, so be it. If you want to follow the Buddhist's teachings because you believe that emptiness and desire are merely illusions, so be that. To each their own. There is no right and wrong when it comes to a topic based on perspective. "If you want to sing out, sing out. If you want to be free, be free. There's a million things to be, you know that there are" (Cat Stevens). It is our own individual choice to decide whether there really is a hole and whether aggrandizing ourselves is self fulfilling or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emptiness
Rachel's blog
Kate's blog
Andy Snyder's Lectures
Cat Stevens "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out"
Street interviews with strangers
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 the Buddhist's point of view, letting go of all desires, or rather being able to understand that our desires are merely false interpretations of our bodies' urges is an essential part of the road to enlightenment. Therefore, this belief that "Oh, if my nose was a little bit narrower or if I had these new boots, my life would suck a little less," is false. Filling the gap with tangible items will not satisfy it. Instead, we need to come to terms with ourselves. The Stoics aimed to "overcome destructive emotions," such as the feeling of emptiness, to find inner peace (Kate). When we get rid of this blur, we will see that the hole is all but an illusion, and we should not let our emotions control us nor lead us into the chase of cool.
Cool as we learned, is all but an act. It consists of a protagonist and an audience. Of course, we all consider ourselves protagonists and everyone else the audience. This is where the aggrandizing and the process of filling the void comes in. We raise our voices in the hallway as Andy S. says, we tattoo our bodies as self expression, we dress like they do in the magazines, etc. Attention is what we thrive on. Every scene is an expedition set for success or failure. It is a success if we are able to convince someone of the image we are trying to put forth, but a failure when we are challenged and end up losing face. In the Chinese language, we use "mo mien" (no face) to describe embarrassment or that that person is ready to hide from further confrontational moments. This is used similarly in the English language as well.
We're all identified as some type of storybook character whether we mean to come across as that image or not. Some archetypes are regarded more highly than others depending on the person. This is where cool comes into play. As some strive to be heroes, others strive to be rebels. These are all poses we take on to fill in our emptiness. Otherwise, who are we? Without an identity, we will be regarded at the bottom of the spectrum, as antagonists or even worst, as extras. So we adapt to trends, and speech, hoping that our audience will notice and snag us a spot somewhere high on the social ladder. We have vaguely determined throughout the unit that it is impossible to not fit into a archetype because running away from one will only put you into another. So where do we go from there? If we can't escape this, then what? "Don't fit into stupid roles" as Andy S. said. I agree. But then again, whose to judge what's stupid or not? What is stupid based on? The number of tattoos you have? The number of times you take drugs a day? The amount of control you have towards the media's marketing tactics? No matter how obvious we might think it is that one role is better than another, it will always remain an opinion. Because I can say, it is stupid to be the hero, or the revolutionary, or the insightful loner, but it is cool to be the player, the slut, or the evil step mom and there's nothing anyone can do to prove that I am wrong.
There's no denying that we all have our own tailored image of coolness. Based on an interview we conducted, we had some people tell us who they thought were the coolest celebrities. One said, Jay Z, because he's "makin' money." Another said, Susan Sarandon and Gloria Steinem because of their dedication towards giving back to the community. It was clear that they both admired celebs that resembled themselves in some way. The first one was dressed in very baggy clothes with shades and was listening to his iPod. It seemed predictable that he was into artists like Jay-Z. The second person was a female who told us she was into volunteer work, similar to the acts of her stars. This shows that the way we picture cool does play a role in shaping who we are as people.
We were taught to be who we are. There's no authenticity in ourselves to tap into. Each of us is a product made collectively from our images of cool. From the day we were born, our minds are constantly taking in what we consider cool and filtering out the things we don't like. The things we choose to keep make up the cool image we strive to talk, act, dress, and be like. Even if you say, "I don't care what others think of me," you're submitting yourself into an aspired image of being a nonchalant, carefree person. There's still no authenticity in that type of map. Quoted from Rachel's blog, "We try to combine their personal maps with ours, try to incorporate all ideas into one, and try to set a direction for our lives." We can say authenticity is having a combination of aspects into our personality that is unlike any other. But that's as close to individuality as we can get. Because who we are is undeniably a composite of stolen identities which are also composites of stolen identities and so on and so forth.
We don't realize that there is no such state of true authenticity, which is generally believed to be the highest level of cool. We believe that we can find it through clothes, through speech, through attitude, through self expression such as tattoos, piercings, music, etc. This search is a failure to begin with, if the goal is to seek individuality and something to fill our void with. We will always remain characters in a play, always in a box, and always with a map. If you feel that there's a hole in you and want to fill it up with wealth and materials, so be it. If you want to follow the Buddhist's teachings because you believe that emptiness and desire are merely illusions, so be that. To each their own. There is no right and wrong when it comes to a topic based on perspective. "If you want to sing out, sing out. If you want to be free, be free. There's a million things to be, you know that there are" (Cat Stevens). It is our own individual choice to decide whether there really is a hole and whether aggrandizing ourselves is self fulfilling or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/emptiness.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emptiness
Rachel's blog
Kate's blog
Andy Snyder's Lectures
Cat Stevens "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out"
Street interviews with strangers
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
HW 34: The Cool Pose and Various Approaches to Life Rooted in Class, Race, Gender, Age, etc.
Fresh starts don't always come with the amount of freedom one might think it would. The moment a baby is born, we expect that it has the ability to become whatever it wants to be. But we're neglecting the cultural map it is being born into. And as the baby grows older, his map would change but it is still undoubtedly a map. Now more than likely he would follow this map because its explicit in the way it describes the steps it would take to be cool or socially accepted. It's so much easier to follow something you've seen other people do and has "worked" for them in terms of raising their social standings.
Rebelling the map would only lead you to another map, thus there is no way of escaping the caricature or storyline you've put yourself into. Every move we make, everything we say or do has an audience that passes judgment and analyzes our character based on that. The more we become aware of our audience the more of a puppet we become. We start dramatizing our actions and our appearance to exert a specific identity and hope people get the message that this is who I am. Ultimately, the goal is to be accepted.
When this goal is constantly spinning around in your mind and becomes attached to every decision you make, it's hard to feel freed of boundaries. So you are stuck in a box and no matter how you decide to change, you're still in a box only it's labeled a different name. So the question is, is it even possible to leave your box? If so, how and where would you end up? Should we attempt to change our box? Are some labels better than others or are all labels equally demeaning? Is the right map the map you chose for yourself and not the one from your culture?
I think it is fine to have a map and to be in a box since you can't leave it anyway. It just comes down to which map and what box. It makes sense that the less the choice has to do with others and the way you want them to perceive you, the "better" and more "real" your map is.
Rebelling the map would only lead you to another map, thus there is no way of escaping the caricature or storyline you've put yourself into. Every move we make, everything we say or do has an audience that passes judgment and analyzes our character based on that. The more we become aware of our audience the more of a puppet we become. We start dramatizing our actions and our appearance to exert a specific identity and hope people get the message that this is who I am. Ultimately, the goal is to be accepted.
When this goal is constantly spinning around in your mind and becomes attached to every decision you make, it's hard to feel freed of boundaries. So you are stuck in a box and no matter how you decide to change, you're still in a box only it's labeled a different name. So the question is, is it even possible to leave your box? If so, how and where would you end up? Should we attempt to change our box? Are some labels better than others or are all labels equally demeaning? Is the right map the map you chose for yourself and not the one from your culture?
I think it is fine to have a map and to be in a box since you can't leave it anyway. It just comes down to which map and what box. It makes sense that the less the choice has to do with others and the way you want them to perceive you, the "better" and more "real" your map is.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
HW 33: Cool Paper Outline
Thesis:
Cool has driven teens into stuffing their 5 feet bodies into an inch of identity resulting in a society of caricatures. Defining ourselves have become a ritual and a necessity for gaining acceptance.
Argument 1:
Ethnocentrism - judging other cultures based on own. The idea of cool is derived pretty much from the same concept of thinking. It's all based on perception and in the eye of the beholder.
Examples:
- Cool interviews: the different perspectives of cool
- Cool stories
- Our cool webs
Argument 2:
Masking - Comes from emptiness.
"Cool is not a collective political response but a stance of independent defiance, which does not announce itself in strident slogans, but conceals its rebellion behind a mask of ironic impassivity."
"A carefully cultivated cool pose can keep the lid on the most intense feelings and violent emotions."
We feel that what's behind the mask isn't enough, so we develop a front that includes the way we talk, the way we dress, the way we act/react etc. Plus, we want to feel a sense of importance. When this mask is challenged or ripped off by somebody else, we feel great embarrassment.
Argument 3:
Archetypes - We're all identified as some type of storybook character whether we mean to come across as that image or not. Some archetypes are regarded more highly than others depending on the person. This is where cool comes into play. As some strive to be heroes, others strive to be rebels. These are all poses we take on to fill in our emptiness. Otherwise, who are we? Without an identity, we will be regarded at the bottom of the spectrum, as antagonists or even worst, as extras. So we adapt to trends, and speech, hoping that our audience will notice and snag us a spot somewhere high on the social ladder.
Examples:
- Cultural boxes and maps
- Tattoos
- Rebel without a cause
- Emptiness
(Argument 2 and 3 might be meshed together)
Conclusion:
Our desire for attention and importance has convinced ourselves to calculate every move and decision we make so that we can be sure that we are sending out the signals that we want others to receive. Is it possible to have natural performances, one where you aren't aware of your audiences?
Cool has driven teens into stuffing their 5 feet bodies into an inch of identity resulting in a society of caricatures. Defining ourselves have become a ritual and a necessity for gaining acceptance.
Argument 1:
Ethnocentrism - judging other cultures based on own. The idea of cool is derived pretty much from the same concept of thinking. It's all based on perception and in the eye of the beholder.
Examples:
- Cool interviews: the different perspectives of cool
- Cool stories
- Our cool webs
Argument 2:
Masking - Comes from emptiness.
"Cool is not a collective political response but a stance of independent defiance, which does not announce itself in strident slogans, but conceals its rebellion behind a mask of ironic impassivity."
"A carefully cultivated cool pose can keep the lid on the most intense feelings and violent emotions."
We feel that what's behind the mask isn't enough, so we develop a front that includes the way we talk, the way we dress, the way we act/react etc. Plus, we want to feel a sense of importance. When this mask is challenged or ripped off by somebody else, we feel great embarrassment.
Argument 3:
Archetypes - We're all identified as some type of storybook character whether we mean to come across as that image or not. Some archetypes are regarded more highly than others depending on the person. This is where cool comes into play. As some strive to be heroes, others strive to be rebels. These are all poses we take on to fill in our emptiness. Otherwise, who are we? Without an identity, we will be regarded at the bottom of the spectrum, as antagonists or even worst, as extras. So we adapt to trends, and speech, hoping that our audience will notice and snag us a spot somewhere high on the social ladder.
Examples:
- Cultural boxes and maps
- Tattoos
- Rebel without a cause
- Emptiness
(Argument 2 and 3 might be meshed together)
Conclusion:
Our desire for attention and importance has convinced ourselves to calculate every move and decision we make so that we can be sure that we are sending out the signals that we want others to receive. Is it possible to have natural performances, one where you aren't aware of your audiences?
Monday, January 4, 2010
HW 32: Tattoos & The Presentation of the Self
Usually people who get tattoos will tell you some variation of the meaning to their tattoo. It means something special to them. But it makes me wonder if they're doing it for themselves or if it's more for show. It seems that by stamping your skin, you're just trying to prove to the world how significant that meaning is. There's really no need to display to the world what you love or find important. If something is that significant to you, shouldn't you keep it to yourself?
But then some people will be honest and tell you that they are getting because it just looks cool. I see so many guys with dragon tattoos all over backs and arms. I highly doubt that each one of them can find their own distinct and personal meaning in the tattoo that they all share. So this in turn give them the exact opposite image of what they were trying to pursue. Their goal to look cool and confident is now replaced with an image of a poser and someone who is trying to be accepted. The same also goes for tramp stamps. It's labeled tramp stamp for a reason. If someone knew that and still went for it, then that would most likely mean she's submitting herself into a role. She's playing the tramp now and she's flashing her tramp stamp around so people would recognize her first for that whether or not that's who she truly is.
I get henna tattoos and those are good enough for me. They're pretty cool for the time being but I wouldn't want it on me for life. I have two friends who want to get infinity symbol together on the skin/crease in between their index fingers and their thumbs, so that when they linked their two hands, it'd make a full infinity sign. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but then again, I don't know if I'd want to have it in my face all the time. Nothing is permanent. So if their friendship ends, it might not be such a great thing to see it every time you look at your hands. But I can understand why this would appeal to some people. Although there's no need to show off your friendship that way, it's also there to remind you how special a friendship you have/had. I guess it's just the way you look at it. If you're someone who don't mind having permanent ink etched into your skin and it brings you hope or strength, or some type of positive remembrance, that's great. I've considered it myself before, but so far I have nothing important or permanent enough that would get me to imprint it on my skin.
This also reminds me of navel piercings. I just took mine off because I was having problems with it. I got it because I thought it looked pretty. But after I got it, I had a couple of people give me faces and tell me it was too promiscuous. Then I sort of starting regretting getting it because although it was cool, I didn't get it to be that type of cool. Now that it's off, I'm debating whether I should get it done again or not.
But then some people will be honest and tell you that they are getting because it just looks cool. I see so many guys with dragon tattoos all over backs and arms. I highly doubt that each one of them can find their own distinct and personal meaning in the tattoo that they all share. So this in turn give them the exact opposite image of what they were trying to pursue. Their goal to look cool and confident is now replaced with an image of a poser and someone who is trying to be accepted. The same also goes for tramp stamps. It's labeled tramp stamp for a reason. If someone knew that and still went for it, then that would most likely mean she's submitting herself into a role. She's playing the tramp now and she's flashing her tramp stamp around so people would recognize her first for that whether or not that's who she truly is.
I get henna tattoos and those are good enough for me. They're pretty cool for the time being but I wouldn't want it on me for life. I have two friends who want to get infinity symbol together on the skin/crease in between their index fingers and their thumbs, so that when they linked their two hands, it'd make a full infinity sign. I thought it was a pretty cool idea, but then again, I don't know if I'd want to have it in my face all the time. Nothing is permanent. So if their friendship ends, it might not be such a great thing to see it every time you look at your hands. But I can understand why this would appeal to some people. Although there's no need to show off your friendship that way, it's also there to remind you how special a friendship you have/had. I guess it's just the way you look at it. If you're someone who don't mind having permanent ink etched into your skin and it brings you hope or strength, or some type of positive remembrance, that's great. I've considered it myself before, but so far I have nothing important or permanent enough that would get me to imprint it on my skin.
This also reminds me of navel piercings. I just took mine off because I was having problems with it. I got it because I thought it looked pretty. But after I got it, I had a couple of people give me faces and tell me it was too promiscuous. Then I sort of starting regretting getting it because although it was cool, I didn't get it to be that type of cool. Now that it's off, I'm debating whether I should get it done again or not.
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