“First rule about fight club: you do not talk about fight club.” I find it ironic that in a class where talking about the films is essential, we watch a movie that has that particular rule. I think that part of the reason behind that rule, was to keep the club exclusive—keep it secret. By doing so, its members would become exclusive and set apart from the rest of society while still remaining part of the mainstream. After being allowed into this exclusive club, the men acquired a certain swagger. They were proud of their “battle” wounds and wore them like badges even though people on the outside would have no idea or even care where their wounds originated.
I think there are a lot of films that revolve around this basic theme: a character seeking
some level/type of coolness or status, only to find that it was not what they thought. One example can be seen in the movie, Mean Girls. This movie is about a girl who, in trying to join the popular group, proceeded to lose herself and what she stood for. She accomplished her ultimate goal of “coolness” onlyto find that it was not quite what she expected. I think that this is a reoccurring theme in movies where a character is striving to achieve coolness—kind of a “the grass is always greener on the other side” sort of thing—but once they get there, they realize that it is not what it was played up to be.
Another example of this can be seen in recent release, 17 Again with Zac Efron. (Yeah, I can’t believe I paid eight dollars to see this either). The once well-know , high school basketball star is grown up, and wishes he had done things differently and pursued a college career instead of a family. Mysteriously, he is granted this wish and is transformed back into his former, high school
self. However, all too soon he realizes that it is not like he thought it would be. He misses his wife and children and wishes that it would all go back to the way it was originally. Even though his life did not seem ideal, he realized that if he were to undo it, he would have lost that which meant the most to him, his family.
Overall, through out this semester, we have learned so much about cool. Ultimately, cool is not something that can be pinned down and defined. There are so many definitions that are individualized and personal. Striving to attain cool will not necessarily make you cool or happy. I think that the closest we can come to a true definition of cool, is to say that it cannot always be a cookie-cutter opinion. It is transient and its fluidity will continue to change in constancy.
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