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| ===Cool as social distinction=== | ===Cool as social distinction=== | ||
| According to this theory, cool is a ] game, in which cool exists only in comparison to things considered less cool. Illustrated in the book '']'', cool is created out of a need for status and distinction. This creates a situation analogous to an ], in which cool is perpetuated by a ] problem in society. | According to this theory, cool is a ] game, in which cool exists only in comparison to things considered less cool. Illustrated in the book '']'', cool is created out of a need for status and distinction. This creates a situation analogous to an ], in which cool is perpetuated by a ] problem in society. | ||
| ===Mystical coolness and the "mask of the cool"=== | |||
| In his work ''African Art in Motion'' <!-- {{ref|thompson1974}} --> , art historian ] (1974) divides the philosophy of cool into five distinct elements: visibility, luminosity (of motion) or "looking sharp", smoothness, rebirth and reincarnation and composure of the face (the "mask of the cool"). | |||
| Thompson explains the cool aesthetic in African and African American movement in ''African Art in Motion'': | |||
| <blockquote>The mind of an elder within the body of the young is suggested by the striking African custom of dancing "hot" with a "cool" unsmiling face. This quality seems to have haunted ] at the ] in 1673 and it struck the imagination of an early observer of strongly African-influenced dancing in ] in the early nineteenth century, who noted "thumping ecstasy" and "intense solemnity of mien." The mask of the cool, or facial serenity, has been noted at many points in Afro-American history.</blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote>It is interesting that what remains a spiritual principle in some parts of Africa and the rare African-influenced portions of the modern U.S.A., such as ] ], becomes in the mainline ] urban culture an element of contemporary street behavior:</blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote><blockquote>] boys…have a 'cool' way of walking in which the upper trunk and pelvis rock fore and aft while the head remains stable with the eyes looking straight ahead. The…walk is quite slow, and the Negroes take it as a way of 'strutting' or 'showing off'....</blockquote></blockquote> | |||
| <blockquote>The…cool style of male walking in the United States is called ''bopping''…. Mystical coolness in Africa has changed in urban Afro-American assertions of independent power. But the functions, to heal and gather strength, partially remain. And the name ''cool'' , remains. And the body is still played in two patterns, one stable, the other active, part energy and part mind.</blockquote> | |||
| ===Cool as a fictional concept=== | ===Cool as a fictional concept=== | ||
Revision as of 03:59, 18 April 2006
 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- For other uses of cool, see Cool (disambiguation).
Cool in popular culture is an aesthetic of comportment, demeanor, motion, physical appearance and style. It is also a term of social distinction. Because of cool's varied and changing connotations, as well as its subjective nature, cool is impossible to define singly. It can be defined variously as:
- "fearless self-possession in the face of danger"
- imperturbable
- fashionable
- nonchalant demeanor
- "fashionable and attractive at the time"; "skilled and socially adept"
- "charismatic authority" - Max Weber
- "all right, acceptable,...does not present a problem." - wiktionary
Origins
According to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, the word cool comes from the Middle English cole, from the Old English col . Standard English usage shares limited parallels with vernacular usage related to composure and, possibly, assent.
Theories of cool
Cool as social distinction
According to this theory, cool is a zero sum game, in which cool exists only in comparison to things considered less cool. Illustrated in the book The Rebel Sell, cool is created out of a need for status and distinction. This creates a situation analogous to an arms race, in which cool is perpetuated by a collective action problem in society.
Mystical coolness and the "mask of the cool"
In his work African Art in Motion , art historian Robert Farris Thompson (1974) divides the philosophy of cool into five distinct elements: visibility, luminosity (of motion) or "looking sharp", smoothness, rebirth and reincarnation and composure of the face (the "mask of the cool").
Thompson explains the cool aesthetic in African and African American movement in African Art in Motion:
The mind of an elder within the body of the young is suggested by the striking African custom of dancing "hot" with a "cool" unsmiling face. This quality seems to have haunted Ten Rhyne at the Cape in 1673 and it struck the imagination of an early observer of strongly African-influenced dancing in Louisiana in the early nineteenth century, who noted "thumping ecstasy" and "intense solemnity of mien." The mask of the cool, or facial serenity, has been noted at many points in Afro-American history.
It is interesting that what remains a spiritual principle in some parts of Africa and the rare African-influenced portions of the modern U.S.A., such as tidewater Georgia, becomes in the mainline Afro-American urban culture an element of contemporary street behavior:
Negro boys…have a 'cool' way of walking in which the upper trunk and pelvis rock fore and aft while the head remains stable with the eyes looking straight ahead. The…walk is quite slow, and the Negroes take it as a way of 'strutting' or 'showing off'....
The…cool style of male walking in the United States is called bopping…. Mystical coolness in Africa has changed in urban Afro-American assertions of independent power. But the functions, to heal and gather strength, partially remain. And the name cool , remains. And the body is still played in two patterns, one stable, the other active, part energy and part mind.
Cool as a fictional concept
According to this theory, cool is an empty idea, manufactured top-down by the "Merchants of cool". An artificial cycle of "cooling" and "uncooling" creates false needs in consumers, and stimulates the economy. "Cool has become the central ideology of consumer capitalism".
- Cool is "a heavily manipulative corporate ethos". - Kalle Lasn
Supporters of this theory avoid the pursuit of cool. They are also likely to resent planned obsolescence, and globalisation.
See also
External links
- Uncyclopedia cool -an illustration of the contradictary principles of cool
References
- The coolhunt - New Yorker article
- Merchants of cool - PBS documentary
- Heath, Joseph and Potter, Andrew. The Rebel Sell. Harper Perennial, 2004.
- A word too cool to go cold CNN article