HW 37 Final Draft

The Cool

By Amon Ito

Being unique from others consumes us with satisfaction of being distinguished as an individual. It is a conflict many face in today’s society, where people get praised for brand name clothes and simply being materialistic. Though we can blame the media for the mentality we have acquired today. We are beginning to prioritize how total strangers perceive us through physical attributes over bonds in which we acquire that have sentimental values. Though many feel satisfied being labeled in a specific way, which may consist of anti-materialistic aspects like the hippie’s that smoke pot and “believe” to be developing a greater bond with nature by only purchasing goods from thrift shops, it all comes down to the same idea. For them, purchasing from thrift shops may be the “cool” fashion similar to the “fresh” kids from New York City who buys five-hundred dollar shoes from PRADA. It is not necessarily the wealth aspect that makes us unique, but the idea itself connects every genre of cool, whether it’s mainstream or not. We all find ourselves obsessive over becoming the person with a physical attribute no one else has, but that mentality categorizes us, making you no different than anyone else. To be “cool” is the attempt of achieving satisfaction in how others perceive us, by constructing a sense of individuality.

Fashion is by far the best example of “cool”. It is one of the few ways one can illustrate his/her personality without words, and is often crucial when it comes down to first impressions, and first impressions are significant in the process of being cool. As early as the 1700’s fashion became a considerable factor in societies. The French king, King Louis XIV even had a sense of individuality for his fashion trends that involved extravagant laces and velvets. Fashion can also label people based on their status in society, as of France in the 1700’s, wigs signified class. “Each class of society had an especial shaped wig…Various names were given to them, such as the comet, the cauliflower, the ladder, the she-dragon, the chancellor, the cut bob and the long bob” (Dress During Louis XIV). The same way brand names signify wealth in our society, France used it to reveal the social class each citizen belong to.

Though fashion was enforced upon by France’s society, our current society does not necessarily enforce any form of fashion (besides public nudity, and occupation based fashions) giving us the freedom to choose. So we seek out new things and unique things that make us diverse from one another, inevitably resulting in multiple people purchasing the same product. This mainly applies to mainstream fashion. Other styles of fashion are often looked down upon by society making them less cool by the rest of society besides their circle of associates. Yet they feel the satisfaction of being rebellious going against media and the major industries that attempt to brainwash us into spending money. And this satisfaction is what makes their style and who they represent to be cool.

An alternate form of fashion is body ink. Being a more permanent form of fashion, it represents a greater sense of individuality. Though there is a chance that the identical tattoo is engraved into another individual, the meaning of it often does not agree with one another. Due to their risk factor they are usually picked out with a deeper depth of thought, unlike clothes that can either be worn or thrown away, tattoos stay on the physical body and cannot be removed by simple procedures. But because of this, they illustrate a sense of individuality with pride and self-esteem.

My brother can be used as an example to demonstrate the significance of body ink in order to achieve self satisfaction. He is insisting on getting a tattoo of the Japanese traditional family crests on both shoulder blades, one of my dad’s side and one of my mom’s sides. His reasoning behind this is to represent something that no one else can represent. Others can get the same, but the meaning of it will be less significant because of the crests ownership is to his families. Though on the other hand, if I were to get it, its significance would be identical to my brother’s, but then it would no longer be unique. He feels the satisfaction of obtaining something out of reach from anyone else but himself and his family which would ultimately make him cool.

A general feel both body ink and fashion can produce in an individual is unruliness. The feeling of being a rebel isolates him/herself from the rest of society making them unique. Since we all believe the majority of the population are hoped on top of the massive bandwagon that consumes our minds with media in order to keep industries financially stable, being one of the few that strongly go against it is the closest we can separate ourselves from society. Though in actuality, we are all giving into the big corporations and are never complete rebels, or else none of us would be alive at least in the United States.

This idea is demonstrated in the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. The kids in the poem are satisfied with the fact that they are alleged to be badass rebels who skip school, and instead of gaining education, they substitute the time for fun. The kids are illustrated to be black youths, but this is common in many teens today regardless of race. Like the term “too cool for school”, they are rebels for not attending school, and they are proud of their actions. Though from society’s perspective, getting education would be the righteous route, they feel satisfied with how they are in control of their life.

Cool is an idea that changes constantly, and will always reside in a society. Because of its endless alternation, there will never be an accurate interpretation of cool, but at every wave of cool, there will be a certain type of mainstream cool. The feeling of being cool is determined in various ways by various individuals, but in the end cool will always go hand in hand with the feeling of self satisfaction of how we are distinguished from one another.

HW 36

Dear Moe
I understand your thesis, but I'm sure there is another way to word it out in order to make it more solid. What I have thought out was something like "The feeling of emptiness comes from our self-conscious mentality of how we are distinguished by society".

I also didn't quite see the thesis being incorporated into the intro, it might be my fault, but try to Bold/Italicize the thesis.

The balance of the paper seems very off. The first paragraph where you talk about the basics of emptiness and cool seem to overwhelm the other two sections. It'd be better if you balanced it out while inputing your thesis into every body paragraph.

Looking forward to seeing your final!

HW 35 Rough Draft

The Cool

By Amon Ito

Being unique from others consumes us with satisfaction of being distinguished as an individual. It is a conflict many face in today’s society, where people get praised for brand name clothes and simply being materialistic. Though we can blame the media for the mentality we have acquired today. We are beginning to prioritize how total strangers perceive us through physical attributes over bonds in which we acquire that have sentimental values. Though many feel satisfied being labeled in a specific way, which may consist of anti-materialistic aspects like the hippie’s that smoke pot and “believe” to be developing a greater bond with nature by only purchasing goods from thrift shops, it all comes down to the same idea. For them, purchasing from thrift shops may be the “cool” fashion similar to the “fresh” kids from New York City who buys five-hundred dollar shoes from PRADA. It is not necessarily the wealth aspect that makes us unique, but the idea itself connects every genre of cool, whether it’s mainstream or not. We all find ourselves obsessive over becoming the person with a physical attribute no one else has, but that mentality categorizes us, making you no different than anyone else. To be “cool” is the attempt of achieving satisfaction in how others perceive us, by constructing a sense of individuality.

Fashion is by far the best example of “cool”. It is one of the few ways one can illustrate his/her personality without words, and is often crucial when it comes down to first impressions, and first impressions are significant in the process of being cool. As early as the 1700’s fashion became a considerable factor in societies. The French king, King Louis XIV even had a sense of individuality for his fashion trends that involved extravagant laces and velvets. Fashion can also label people based on their status in society, as of France in the 1700’s, wigs signified class. “Each class of society had an especial shaped wig…Various names were given to them, such as the comet, the cauliflower, the ladder, the she-dragon, the chancellor, the cut bob and the long bob” (Dress During Louis XIV). The same way brand names signify wealth in our society, France used it to reveal the social class each citizen belong to.

Though fashion was enforced upon by France’s society, our current society does not necessarily enforce any form of fashion (besides public nudity, and occupation based fashions) giving us the freedom to choose. So we seek out new things and unique things that make us diverse from one another, inevitably resulting in multiple people purchasing the same product. This mainly applies to mainstream fashion. Other styles of fashion are often looked down upon by society making them less cool by the rest of society besides their circle of associates. Yet they feel the satisfaction of being rebellious going against media and the major industries that attempt to brainwash us into spending money. And this satisfaction is what makes their style and who they represent to be cool.

An alternate form of fashion is body ink. Being a more permanent form of fashion, it represents a greater sense of individuality. Though there is a chance that the identical tattoo is engraved into another individual, the meaning of it often does not agree with one another. Due to their risk factor they are usually picked out with a deeper depth of thought, unlike clothes that can either be worn or thrown away, tattoos stay on the physical body and cannot be removed by simple procedures. But because of this, they illustrate a sense of individuality with pride and self-esteem.

My brother can be used as an example to demonstrate the significance of body ink in order to achieve self satisfaction. He is insisting on getting a tattoo of the Japanese traditional family crests on both shoulder blades, one of my dad’s side and one of my mom’s sides. His reasoning behind this is to represent something that no one else can represent. Others can get the same, but the meaning of it will be less significant because of the crests ownership is to his families. Though on the other hand, if I were to get it, its significance would be identical to my brother’s, but then it would no longer be unique. He feels the satisfaction of obtaining something out of reach from anyone else but himself and his family which would ultimately make him cool.

A general feel both body ink and fashion can produce in an individual is unruliness. The feeling of being a rebel isolates him/herself from the rest of society making them unique. Since we all believe the majority of the population are hoped on top of the massive bandwagon that consumes our minds with media in order to keep industries financially stable, being one of the few that strongly go against it is the closest we can separate ourselves from society. Though in actuality, we are all giving into the big corporations and are never complete rebels, or else none of us would be alive at least in the United States.

This idea is demonstrated in the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. The kids in the poem are satisfied with the fact that they are alleged to be badass rebels who skip school, and instead of gaining education, they substitute the time for fun. The kids are illustrated to be black youths, but this is common in many teens today regardless of race. Like the term “too cool for school”, they are rebels for not attending school, and they are proud of their actions. Though from society’s perspective, getting education would be the righteous route, they feel satisfied with how they are in control of their life.

Cool is an idea that changes constantly, and will always reside in a society. Because of its endless alternation, there will never be an accurate interpretation of cool, but at every wave of cool, there will be a certain type of mainstream cool. The feeling of being cool is determined in various ways by various individuals, but in the end cool will always go hand in hand with the feeling of self satisfaction of how we are distinguished from one another.

Hw 34

It seems as if coolness has a deep connection to being rebellious, and the feeling of going against society. Especially when living in an enviorment where everyone is resisting against what society tells them is right, the individual may feel powerful forming an alliance with his/her fellow rebels. The nature of rebellious youths probably comes from the enviorment they grew up in as a kid.

I believe Gewndolyn Brooks's poem We Real Cool reveals a perspective that we would also have to consider. She stated that instead of questioning why the kids shooting pool were not at school, she wondered how they felt and thought about themselves while doing so. Attempting to understand the group of kids is a much better tactic than forcefully pressuring them with rights and wrongs that society wants us to believe. Regardless I think the only way we can ever change the rebellious acts teens continue to do, is to alter what society believes to be right and wrong which is highly unlikely.

According to Orlando Patterson, education is a big issue that troubles black youths. In America, education connects directly to occupation(unless your family is super rich, or you are born extremely good looking). It is not easy living here without money, and in order to gain money we need a job, and without education we can't get jobs because the illegal immigrants are taking the jobs that require no education. These all link together, and the young black kids who do not have as much opportunities as the white kids end up lost, ultimately retreating into the drug world. Even though the United States is under a financial crisis, once we do get back on track I think funding to poor neighborhoods could eventually decrease the unemployment rate and give the black youths a different perspective on what is cool.

HW 33 Cool Outline (To be Continued)

Thesis: Cool is the attempt to achieve satisfaction in how others perceive ourselves, by constructing a sense of individuality.

Intro: Being unique from others consumes us with the satisfaction of being seen as a individual. It is a conflict many face in todays society, where people get praised for brand name clothes and simply being materialistic. Though we can blame the media for the mentality we have acquired today. We are beginning to prioritize how total strangers perceive us through physical attributes over bonds in which we acquire that have sentimental values.

a. The value of fashion in teens today.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/infocus/fashion/whatisfashion.html

b. My brother's decision to get a tatoo.

Despite the resistance my mom gives towards his decision, he finds self-satisfaction of getting the tatoo overwhelms.

c. "We Real Cool" poem.

The teens in the poem are satisfied with the "badass" reputation they are acheiving through actions that society would consider wrong. Piercings, body ink, etc. are fashions that makes people feel like a rebel.

HW 32

            I believe the progression in tattooing has some connection to our previous unit, digitalization. As seen in the book Feed, the characters used a different version of tattooing that also caused harm to their physical body. This form of expression was considered to be “cool” by most characters in the book. The progression from tattoos being used as a rebellious/violent act, to a form of expressing one’s diversity from one another. Our general outlook on tattooing and piercing that cause physical harm to our bodies have drastically changed. It reveals the individual’s true self (depending on how significant the design is) and also proves to others that the individual was “tough” enough to endure the pain and commitment. This is considered “cool” or “badass” in our society.

            Though tattooing is at its all time high at the moment, like most trends, it will soon become old. We will eventually look back at our generation and realize our idiocy. Then it may come back again as an indie trend, while others live consumed by technology, no longer feeling as connected to the real world. Though tattooing will always be admired by the few who are fond of body art, the people who rebel against tattooing will never be considered cool. Since a large amount of commitment is needed in order to get a tattoo. People always admire people with stories that support their actions.

            I think the world of body arts cannot be labeled as one category. People have a burning desire for them while others get it in order to hop on the bandwagon of trends that come and go. I give a different level of respect for those who live by their commitments and decide to think things over before rushing into conclusions. For example, the celebrity Steve-O, often recognized as the skinny guy from the TV series and Movies Jackass. He has a tattoo of himself on his back. Which shows no real significance, yet he is still admired mainly because of his fame. If an average Joe decided to get something similar to Steve-O, most people will laugh at his stupidity, or just admire him for his humor. 

HW 31

Part A

For winter vacation, my brother came back to New York from California. Since I rarely get the chance to meet/talk to him ever since he got into high-school (he was at Boarding School in Toronto), we always try to socialize with one another as much as possible. One topic that came up which I remember he did talk to me before was tattooing the family crests of both my dad and mom's side on his shoulder blades. It seemed like he had thought it over for a couple of years, but he still needs time to think it over. He also stated that he wants to wait until he's making enough money to fully support his life, not under half-ass circumstances which according to him, he is living under at the moment.

Though his commitment seemed strong, his reason was a bit bland. A. He wanted something that symbolized not only himself but his family. B. It would be pretty bad-ass. I agreed with him that it would be pretty "cool", but there are other alternatives in order to represent him. Necklaces, and other forms of accessories can incorporate the crest, and will not require him to damage his body. My parents find the whole idea of tattoos to be a bit overwhelming, but they want to give him his freedom, and respect how hard he is working.

HW 30

Will Post when finished