Close Reading: What it means to be cool in 2013

        This month, Slate.com is doing a feature on the evolution of “cool” and its future. I read

the article “Cool Story: What does cool even mean in 2013?” which focused on the original

origins of the word “cool” up to its present meaning. The author makes sure to discuss this

informal topic in a collegiate style with elevated diction, intelligent details, and clever usage of

language.

         The author uses colorful diction that keeps the reader entertained and still feeling they

are reading a formal piece of writing. For example, the article begins by discussing mainstream

psychedelic-rock band MGMT’s video for “Cool Song No. 2”.The author describes the avant-
garde video to be “loaded with signposts of cool”. Using the word “signposts” is an example of

connotative diction because the video does not literally contain signs providing directions for

the nearest “cool” location. Infact, the video contains no signs at all. Instead, there is trendy

clothing, futuristic furnishings, and bizarre art that the author considered to be visually cool.

Another example of connotative diction being used in the article, was when the author said the

word “cool” was used to describe the “emotional textures” of the jazz era/Harlem Renaissance.

Texture is being used in another way than its literal meaning yet, it conveys a coherent

message. This article is mostly written in elevated diction. To convey that this article has a

serious purpose and deserves intellectual consideration, the author uses impressive vocabulary.

One does not necessarily need to use flowery words in order to sound intelligent; however, this

approach is often taken by writers. I think in this case, the pompous-writing style works

because the author is methodically and analytically observing a topic that, at first, can seem

amateur.

        To make this article less of a rant about how “uncool” 2013 has become, the author

uses historical details to perpetuate the fact that the word “cool” is multi-dimensional and has

deep roots. The article is structured to follow a timeline, starting before the Africans were

brought as slaves to America, to the present year of 2013. Historical evidence is brought into

this article by references to essays, written by various American intellectuals over the years.

The author mentions how “Cool has come a long way, literally” and refers back to a 1973 essay

written by a noted art historian called “An Aesthetic of the Cool.” In which, the historian

describes how the concept of acting “cool” is derived from a “West African Yoruba idea of

itutu—a quality of denoting composure in the face of danger, as well as playfulness, humor,

generosity, and conciliation.” By adding strong details such as these, the article develops

greater purpose then just commentary on modern society. It provides a historical lesson by

collecting information from different sources, and conveniently putting them into one article.

        I have a difficult time differentiating language from diction, however, I felt that

alliteration was better described as a feature of language. The author has a habit (consciously

or not) of using alliteration. This installation keeps the article playful and poetic while making

clever descriptions. Examples of the author’s alliteration are “cruel, of course, and

competitive”, “Dull, derivative outfit”, “another artist’s aura”, “Flexibility and fluidity”, and

“morality into modernity”. Personally, I loved these poetic moments for two reasons. One

being the author often refers to American poets in the article—making the author’s own lyrical

writing seem impressionistic. Secondly, it is simply clever. Using playful language does not take

away any of the writer’s credibility (why should I punish him for being entertaining?). It just

balances out the elevated diction by making the article less intimidating and more laid back.


http://www.slate.com/articles/life/cool_story/2013/09/the_history_and_future_of_cool_what_does_the_term_mean_in_2013.html