Cool (aesthetic): Difference between revisions
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==Origins== |
==Origins== |
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According to ''The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language'', the word ''cool'' comes from the Middle English ''cole'', from the Old English ''col'' [http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/C0621700.html]. Standard English usage shares limited parallels with vernacular usage related to composure and, possibly, assent. |
According to ''The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language'', the word ''cool'' comes from the Middle English ''cole'', from the Old English ''col'' [http://www.bartleby.com/61/17/C0621700.html]. Standard English usage shares limited parallels with vernacular usage related to composure and, possibly, assent. |
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Cool as an aspect of African-American culture is thought by some cultural anthropologists to have its roots in traditional [[African]] culture, where it is defined, in part, as tranquility, an absence of strife or turmoil, and composure.{{fact}} The language of black jazzmen began to appear in the American lexicon in the early [[1930s]]{{fact}} after jazz began to permeate American popular culture in the [[1920s]]. |
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African-American [[jazz]] culture gave rise to concepts of cool in American popular culture{{fact}}, which were spread in part by the bohemian, or [[beatnik]] phenomenon of the [[1940s]] and [[1950s|'50s]], and by youth eager to embrace the language of their jazz-musician idols.[http://www.bopsecrets.org/rexroth/jazz2.htm] Since then, the word has become ubiquitous in world [[popular culture]]. It has been incorporated into other languages, such as [[French language|French]] and [[German language|German]].{{fact}} |
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In ''Heart & Soul: A Celebration of Black Music Style in America 1930-1975'', Merlis and Seay write: |
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<blockquote>Even the most cursory survey of the American pop landscape reveals the enormous and enduring influence of black culture. One of the most significant factors in the creation of our national identity, it was also among the agents most responsible for the international appeal of all things American.</blockquote> |
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<blockquote>It's an influence seen in everything from music to fashion to language to the very essence of that indefinable term ''cool''.</blockquote> |
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==Theories of cool== |
==Theories of cool== |
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Revision as of 03:28, 18 April 2006
 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. |
- 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"[1]
- imperturbable [2]
- fashionable [3]
- nonchalant demeanor [4]
- "fashionable and attractive at the time"; "skilled and socially adept"
- "charismatic authority" - Max Weber[5]
- "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 [6]. Standard English usage shares limited parallels with vernacular usage related to composure and, possibly, assent.
Theories of cool
Cool as an elusive essence
According to this theory, cool is a real, but unknowable property. Cool, like "good", is a property that exists, but can only be sought after. In the New Yorker article, "The coolhunt"[7], cool is given 3 properties:
- "The act of discovering what's cool is what causes cool to move on"
- "Cool cannot be manufactured, only observed"
- "[Cool] can only be observed by those who are themselves cool"
"A company can intervene in the cool cycle. It can put its shoes on really cool celebrities and on fashion runways and on MTV. It can accelerate the transition from the innovator to the early adopter and on to the early majority. But it can't just manufacture cool out of thin air."[8]
Supporters of this theory seek cool with psychographics, and professional "cool hunters".
See also - Total Request Live
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.
Cool as a fictional concept
According to this theory, cool is an empty idea, manufactured top-down by the "Merchants of cool"[9]. 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".[10]
- 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