Whats cool Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Whats cool - Essay Example Different people had their own way of defining it. To begin with, cool was seen as a behavioral characteristic. Cool mainly, was a behavioral attitude practiced by black American men in the US. As a slang word, it was used to mean that a person is ok or in a relaxed state (Simchona par 1). Cool is also a positive attribute assigned to an awesome or great thing. Underdogs, rebels, and the likes of slaves, prisoners, bikers and political dissents, all fostered a cool attitude. This rebellion often invited punishment. Other people view cool as a state of well-being. In the modern society, cool is seen to bring a sense of serenity and internal peace. Other terms used to explain this is the absence of conflict, a state of balance and harmony. This meaning is of an African origin. In other cases cool can be used to describe the absence of excitement or composure in a person. The idiom, ‘Keep your cool’ best defines this. Also in the phrase ‘I’m cool with that’, used to express agreement or assent (Bornstein 3). People also view cool in the form of aesthetic appeal; it is taken as an attitude adopted by intellectuals and artists, who have aided in its infiltration into the culture. Today, it is a global phenomenon having spread across the globe. In fact, the concepts of cool have existed in several cultures over the centuries. Cool has also existed as an epithet. It is a common slag word among the young people and is well understood by the English- speaking people. It has gone to the extent of being used as a vocabulary in languages besides English. It is seen generally as an epithet with a range of related adjectival meanings. Through creativity and innovation, cool appears to be a classic case of resistance to authority. A paradoxical fusion of submission and subversion is represented by â€Å"so cool† (Bornstein 6). In the early 1960s and 1970s, cool like groovy was a very popular expression of satisfaction. Like groovy,