Implicity Defining Cool

While watching The Public Enemy, I did not find the main character to be cool. When contemplating why this supposedly cool person is not cool at all, I began to realize that defining cool directly is very hard. However, it may be easier to define cool through showing what I believe to be cool.

Kindness is a necessary component of cool. Although cool people may be evil or violent, I believe that a person must show kindness to some degree. For example, Dracula is a very evil figure in fiction. However, despite his disregard for most human life, he shows a very complex kindness in the way that he loves Mina. Though, in regards to good people, kindness alone is not enough to be cool. In order to be cool and good simultaneously, kindness is merely a necessary component in the puzzle of cool. Andy Griffith, an incredibly kind and goodhearted man, is not very cool because he lacks any other cool characteristics.

Another characteristic that is required for good people to be cool (and also help evil people be cool) is intelligence. Macgyver is a perfect example of someone that is cool through intelligence. By using his wits, he can solve any situation without resorting to the crude use of firearms. In comparison to Andy Griffith, Macgyver is just as kind and compassionate towards the innocent and attempts to serve justice to wrongdoers. However, the addition of intellect to Macgyver makes him considerably cooler than a Mayberry sheriff.

An additional part of cool that Macgyver, Dracula, and all other cool people share is the ability to lead. A person who exemplifies leadership along with kindness and intellect is Captain Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. It is difficult to be at a maximum level of cool while following orders. As captain, everyone must follow her orders exactly and without delay. Although other members of her crew like Tuvok may be somewhat cool, Janeway is the coolest person in Star Trek because of her ability to orchestrate her entire crew to perform amazing feats. Another example of a person who is cool through leadership is Barack Obama. Similarly to Captain Janeway, President Obama is cool because he charismatically gained the support of millions of Americans. Now, as a leader, his coolness is remaining because he is acting as an intelligent leader who kindly acts with the voice of the American people. In contrast, President Bush is not a cool person. Although he does have the quality of leadership, he does not act with kindness and intelligence. His speeches are more forceful than fluid, causing a slight bit of intimidation in his voice, and his poor speaking skills create the appearance of a lack of intelligence.

Being such an abstract concept, coolness is hard to discern through a direct explanation through words. The use of examples is almost necessary to show the difference between cool and square.

Another Dissident and Transcendent

I was watching the new episode of House on Monday when I suddenly realized that he is presently the coolest person on television. He lives as a contradiction to what should be acceptable in modern American society. House has a complete disregard for all rules. For him, the only important thing in life is finding the truth. While solving medical mysteries by using unconventional and often illegal techniques, House saves lives and forces his patients and fellows to acknowledge the truth. He truly believes that everyone holds lies and secrets, and that stripping everyone he sees of their protective secrets is the greatest service he can do next to solving medical problems. On many occasions, Dr. House must fight against the establishment of the hospital to perform extremely risky operations to save a patient's life. Strangely enough, a large amount of Christians find Dr. House to be cool even though he is an Atheist. However, I am more inclined to believe that the reason for this is that he is a horribly miserable man who is in constant pain.

While House is a cool dissident, Will Smith is made up of pure transcendent cool molecules. Smith's coolness comes from his talent as an entertainer. Over the past two decades, he has acted with extreme talent without developing the quirks that other actors have succumbed to. In addition, Smith has a kind of indescribable aura about him that permeates all of his roles regardless of how whimsical or serious they are. I would argue that Smith's coolness is so transcendent that his son Jaden has been able to absorb some of Smith's power and become cool as well. Considering that Jaden is also a very talented actor, I believe that Smith's coolness has been further enhanced by raising a star like Jaden. Even though Smith's acting is the primary cause of his coolness, he has also established himself as a rap artist with a smooth rhythm and flowing rhymes.

With the kind of cool qualities that Will Smith has, I view him as being the coolest real person in America today. However, including fictional characters, I could never place Smith above House as the absolute coolest person in modern America. House's search for the truth and his extreme hatred of arbitrary rules are traits that I find very cool. There is no one on Earth that could ever surpass his coolness.

Starting the "Cool" down

I have always had problems understanding the concept of cool. Personally, I have always believed that I am at the apex of uncoolness, and since hearing F. John's lecture on coolness, I still believe that I may as well invest all my money in the most square thing on the planet. Fortunately for me, listening to F. John has provided me with the tools to understand cool. According to him, the two primary forms of cool are dissident and transcendent. The cool dissident is the type of person that rebels against the mainstream culture and is accepted by a following of people. I specify that dissidents must have a following because not everyone who rebels is considered to be cool. An example of the dissident in American culture is Bender from the Breakfast Club. Although a rational mind would look at Bender and see that his future is one of either ditch-digging or weed peddling, an American teen in the 1980's would see Bender as a revolutionary who stands up against the prison of mainstream thought. Essentially, the type of dissidence that Bender portrays is cool because teenagers always want to dream about freeing themselves from adult tyranny and instilling their own brand of cool anarchy.

Almost opposed to dissident coolness, transcendent coolness is the kind of coolness that comes from being incredibly good at an ability that is valued by society. Again, there are some people who are incredibly talented but still uncool because of what they are talented at. One person who exemplifies transcendent coolness is Stephen Hawking. Hawking's sheer intellect and his ability to explain quantum physics on a level that almost anyone can understand has rightfully earned him the title of "Coolest Smart Guy on the Planet" in my mind. In addition, Hawking's handicap adds distinction to his achievements because he is able to reinvent physics while being practically paralyzed.

In addition to the ideas of coolness that we studied in class, I was very interested in the early history of film. I already knew about Edison's experiments with film and the nickelodeons, but I had no idea about the innovations made by the Lumiere brothers. I find the entire concept of early film very intriguing because of the transition that was made between pictures and movies. I find myself wondering what kind of new medium will take the place of the movies as the primary method of conveying coolness across America. While it is impossible to predict the future, I can only hope that the coolest piece of fictional technology in the history of television becomes reality before I die.