How bout try it cooler?

It's been several weeks since we had the lecture on culture of cool, but it's been on my mind a lot recently. I think that our society, since the 1950s, seems to focus too much on our appearance and how we present themselves to others. I'm not sure how much further we can take this mentality because I think eventually we're going to have to reassess what really matters and how it affects the planet at large.

I brought up the 50s because that was the era of rock n roll and James Dean. Dean is still a universal figure and representation of coolness, and I think people will forever know his image, even if they've never seen one of his movies. As a person that has seen all three of his movies in his short but brilliant career, I think Dean was a dynamic person who stretches far beyond the simplistic bounds that being "cool" seems to allow people. Dean's characters were rebellious, which has never gone out of fashion, but they were unsure of themselves and vulnerable. He was a blend of masculinity and femininity that most "coolhunters" seem to gloss over and deem unworthy of attention. But since he was handsome, he was a image that advertisers could exploit and market to the same vulnerable and impressionable youth that Dean was so emblematic of and hold him over people's heads.

Today, it seems that people box themselves in so much to try to fit in, that they destroy who they really are. As a person that deals with such anxieties, I find myself trying to dial back and smooth my image so people will like me more, and it's depressing sometimes. I think things like "Well, I guess if I'm not as good looking as James Franco, then I probably shouldn't even try to date girls," which I know is stupid, but I nevertheless think that from time to time. People should be more willing to let their guards down and be more expressive. This pursuit of being cool is such a pointless endeavor because no one knows when they'll die, and if all you leave behind is some superficial exterior, then nobody will have known the real you, and that could be a real tragedy.