HW 34- Cool Pose

In New York City, it is very easy to see the different types of cool represented by teenagers. Whether it's the book smart asian kids that rarely care about their appearance, to the black kids who spend about $1000 on one outfit to wear to school (treating it like a fashion). Then you have the asian kids who try to act (or at least dress) 'black', clad in there baggy jeans and Jordan's. I think It's interesting how based off of ones cultural map, they are considered a 'good cool' or a 'bad cool'. What about the people who try to include themselves in another cultural map, who are they really cool too? This person isn't thought of as cool to the people in his cultural map because he doesn't WANT to be like them, however he isn't cool in respects to the other cultural map because he's trying too hard to be something he isn't. So which cool are they... the good cool (book smart) or bad cool (smoking weed and skipping school)?


I think these ideas of good and bad cools not only comes from cultural maps, but society in general. America is all about making money and becoming successful. I feel that people working towards that are always considered a good cool. on the other hand, people who do just the opposite are looked at critically. For the most part, I feel that black and hispanic people are the ones who are left with that bad cool reputation (I'm not saying that this is a bad thing...). You don't really see blacks who are motivated to become anything else besides basketball players, rappers, or something else that will get them rich quick. These culture maps are set in stone, as if to say only this map can be used for group of people. The person who decides to go against this map is looked at as an outcast. I find this crazy because why should someone who is trying to make something out of themselves (in a positive way) be looked down on just because it doesn't agree with the cultural map passed down to them. Shouldn't they be kind of role model/motivator for others to do better?

Not following a certain stereotype is something that is frowned upon. Why must people stick to their own cultural maps, and become outcasts if they don't. Who put this idea in our heads that we must 'stay in our place'? Why can't the cultural map you are given, eventually lead to a different map?

I feel that a lot of people try to make new maps for themselves. But i think it's almost impossible to create a totally new one. I feel that people try to create new maps, but end up going right back to the one that is already set for them. Even if they are able to make another map for themselves, i think that part of the old one had influence on them and will always be with them. I think we may just have to except being locked into the map into the culture map that we were given. "We real cool. We left school" is something that is locked into any black people's already laid out plan. Because of this, I think that "We die soon" is something that we are going to have to expect to be the end point of some of our maps.