Cool...

Merchants of Cool is one of the videos that we watched in class after discussing the "cool" culture. It was interesting to see the way companies and agencies were constantly hunting for what is (or was) cool. These companies are always trying to stay on top of what is cool because the money that teenagers have really drives a portion of our economy. Teens seem like they always have money to spend, and usually spend it on frivolous things. I can remember some of the stupid things I bought as a teenager because it is what everyone else had, or I saw it in a magazine, so it was automatically cool. The bad thing is, as soon as something cool is discovered and marketed, it is no longer cool. Like the movie said, cool is quickly shifted to something else as soon as it is made mainstream. So then here comes my dilemma, is anything really ever cool? I say this because if something is only cool as long as mainstream media does not get ahold of it, then how is something in mainstream "cool". I'm sorry if that does not really seem to make sense but I don't really know how else to say it. This whole cycle of what is and is not cool just seems like it is exactly that, a cycle. Things come and go and then come back around again. For example, popular fashions of the 1980's are once again seen as cool. Will this cycle ever end? No, but it is interesting to study. I'm sure there are tons of companies who already know what the next "cool" thing will be, but none of us will know what it is (or was) until it is no longer cool again.