Routledge, . "Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption.." CJS Online (2004): n. pag. Web. 21 Dec 2009.
This is an online book review for Murray Milner's Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption. It sums up Miler's key points about how high school teenage lifestyles and consumer capitalism "are not inevitably linked, but they are mutually supportive and highly compatible with one another" and about teenagers acting cool in attempt to gain status, since high school is a hierarchy.
Miler makes the point that both coolness and capitalism feeds off of what it produces. Coolness depends on capitalism to provide its core and its signifiers. Capitalism depends on coolness to provide its products and revenue. I agree that they are intertwined, and that both of these are significant aspects in our lives. However, I think that to just focus in on teenage high school lives would be kind of ignorant. I think that our teenage years are the peak of our attempts of trying to be cool. Everyone, throughout their whole lives tries to be cool, but just in different forms. I think that by critiquing teenage lives, the author is separating himself from this category of: Fools who care about what others think, and tries extremely hard to become significant. But just him having a title like that for his web page contradicts him not trying.
What's Cool? (What's Hot? What's Not?)
Fenichel, Michael. "What is "Cool"? (What's Hot? What's Not?)." Dr. Michael Fenichel's Teaching Tools (2008): n. pag. Web. 21 Dec 2009.
Michael Fenichel tries to explain the reasons of why we try to be cool. He says, "If we were "cool" with our parents, assuming we had parents of course, we usually felt pretty good as long as people were loving and caring for us." According to him, teenagers try to hold a spot in people's lives because we've held one in our parents lives, and because of our hormones.
I would agree with his point about us trying to expand our territory in people's lives. We've already conquered our parents' hearts, at least most or some of us. So our next step is to do the same with other people. I would add that, we start off planting our seeds during our teenage years (maybe even before). To those seeds, we are only remotely significant to them. But once something has developed into a boyfriend/girlfriend, we become even more important. And eventually, we become important to the kid(s), that is a product of the development of that initial seed. Kind of cheesy, but it's interesting how we usually feed off of the plants we grow.
NY Times: What's Cool Online? Teenagers Render Verdict
Bossman, Julie. "What's Cool Online? Teenagers Render Verdict." New York Times (2005): n. pag. Web. 21 Dec 2009.
According to NY Times, customization is what's cool online. It allows for people to express themselves freely (through the limited options). Their online profiles, or designs in their example, can reflect on what they think is cool, or "who they are".
I think it's true that people would prefer to have a canvas in which they can paint on. Many people are looking to put their own tweak on things, and customization creates that availability. By having their own ideas on things, it's kind of like they're marking their territory. If they're the first one to have that design within that canvas, then they are original- they are authentic. And isn't being original part of being cool?
No comments:
Post a Comment