Welcome to Wild Card Wednesday. Today’s topic is an interactive one. I hope to entice everybody to participate.
Some time ago, we spent a week talking about Robert Mitchum. Several readers oohed and aahed over Robert Mitchum’s coolness. One reader suggested I blog about public personas who are just cool. That’s what I’m doing today.
What is Cool?
Cool is difficult to define. There is no universal definition. What one person thinks is cool might be the epitome of uncool to the person sitting next to them.
Example:
At a red light, my husband and I spotted a vintage Dodge Charger. It was cherry. The paint gleamed. The mufflers rumbled. I could practically smell the Armor All. We loved this car.
A relatively new Ferrari pulled up next to the Charger. My husband and I made fun of the Ferrari…and its owner. Other than having enough money to buy something like this, nothing about it appealed to either of us.
To us, the Charger was cool without trying to be cool. The Ferrari was uncool because it was trying so hard to be cool.
The moral of the story: many people would have thought just the opposite. They would have thought the Charger was an outdated piece of junk, that it belonged in the scrap yard, and that there was certainly nothing cool about it.
So cool is…
For me, cool is not necessarily what is new or shiny. It’s not what everybody else likes because a million people can be wrong. Cool is something almost undefinable, but I know it when I see it.
My old glass lamps are cool.
So is the round mirror on my vanity dresser.
But my crocs are definitely not cool, even though I think they are really comfortable.
The Elements of Cool
I asked my Facebook friends to name someone they considered cool and to tell me why they thought that.
I won’t name the people they named—let them do that in the comments—but I will discuss some of the traits they thought were cool:
- Physical Appearance
- That the person seemed confident, comfortable in his/her own skin
- Talent
- Intelligence
- Ability to age well
- Mystique
I agree with all these qualities to some extent.
Who Fits Each Element?
This is a tomato/to-MAH-to thing, but I’ll share my thoughts.
Physical Appearance: Ian Somerhalder, James Dean, Johnny Depp, Jim Morrison, Jensen Ackles
Confident: Pam Grier, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman
Talent: Kris Kristofferson, Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Al Pacino…I could go on forever.
Intelligence: Quentin Tarantino, Rob Zombie, Katherine Ramsland
Ability to Age Well: Ellen Burstyn, Rick Springfield, Diane Keaton, Michelle Pfieffer, Tina Turner, Sophia Loren
Mystique: Sean Penn, Christian Slater, Elizabeth Taylor, Juliette Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Christopher Walken, Robert Deniro, Amelia Earhart
I’m Cool Because I Don’t Care
This kind of cool has its own subheading. We’re talking about the person who seems unbothered by the world in general. But he or she is so cool.
Steven Hyde from That 70s Show referred to this quality as zen. In one of the funniest episodes of the series, Steven teaches Jackie (who is very uncool) how to be cool.
Watch a clip of this episode I found on You Tube:
Steven Hyde tells Jackie the key to being cool is to use the words “cool” and “whatever” as a response to any and everything. This method is dependent on exuding the attitude that nothing is of any real concern.
This plays into the trait of mystique. Since nothing ever bothers the person who says “cool” or “whatever” all the time, people wonder what does bother that person…and how they got so cool.
The King (or Queen) of Cool
Steve McQueen was this kind of cool. His role in Bullitt is a good example of “I don’t care” persona. Even when Bullitt was engaged in the famous car chase, he was very, very cool and collected. That’s why Steve McQueen was called The King of Cool.
Some other examples:
Mickey Rourke (especially in Barfly, Rumble Fish, Angel Heart, and 9 1/2 Weeks)
Johnny Cash (need I say more?)
Jimi Hendrix
Samuel L. Jackson
Kim Novak
Angelica Huston
and…
Robert Mitchum
Now that I’ve bored you all to death with who and what I think is cool, I’m going to turn the tables. Who do you think is cool? What do you think is cool? Why?
on ,
wendy bailey said:
Christian Slater. The crashing waves frozen at the beach in the winter time. I didn’t know they could.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
I’ve never lived anywhere it really got cold, so I have never seen that. How very cool. And, yes, Christian Slater is cool.
on ,
wendy bailey said:
It was about 10°F, wind whipping, percipitation falling, hopped in the truck, and low and behold the curls on the beach were frozen in time. Truly a spectacular event to witness, spiritual cool.
on ,
alandhopewell said:
WENDY- are you on the NorthCoast, like on Lake Erie, maybe; I hail from around Cleveland.
on ,
wendy bailey said:
Delaware. The Atlantic ocean! I was at Broadkill Beach, Milton, DE.
on ,
William Simon said:
Very possibly THE defining moment of “Cool” in the 1960′s:
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Sean Connery was so terribly good looking. Wow. Just wow. I had to look up the actress who he was talking to in that clip. Wow. She was gorgeous. As with anything from the 60s and earlier, I am always struck by how well dressed everybody was. I wish we still did that.
on ,
William Simon said:
As we’ve talked about, Catie, some of us do still dress like that..:) I’ve deliberately gotten back in that habit!
And you’re right… Eunice Gayson was stunning.
on ,
sandylrowland said:
Katherine Hepburn was Cool. She lived the life she wanted without apology. Kirk Douglas, also cool, loads of masculine confidence there. Opening your mouth and looking like a fool is not cool. Confidence is.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Oh, she was. And so beautiful. Kirk Douglas is an interesting guy. I guess he is cool now that I think about it. One of my favorite roles of his is Tough Guys. It was kind of a cheesy movie, but it made sense to me. Thanks for stopping by.
on ,
William Simon said:
Krik Douglas can *still* tell a great story. Saw him interviewed a few years back, and he mentioned a young woman who rushed up to him, exclaiming, “You’re Kirk Douglas!” He was kind of surprised a woman so young would recognize him, but before he could say a word, she went on, “You’re MICHAEL’S father!”
Kirk himself was laughing so hard he could barely get the story out…:)
on ,
alandhopewell said:
Watching Kirk Douglas in IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY was a joy; even after the stroke, he could still roll up the movie, stick it in his back pocket, and walk off with it….that’s cool.
on ,
wendy bailey said:
I disagree. Foolishness is not uncool! It can sometimes be perceived as silly. I often say foolish things, that brain mouth filter doesn’t always work fast enough. Still i remain cool.
on ,
William Simon said:
Agreed, Sandy. Unfortunately, many today confuse ‘arrogance’ with ‘confidence’. There’s a huge difference!
on ,
Kitt Crescendo said:
My husband was actually named for him. His mom thought Kirk was “dreamy”. In fact, she used to squeeze the bottom of his chin together when he was a baby hoping he’d get a cleft chin…LOL!
on ,
Patricia Yager Delagrange said:
This has got to be one of my favorite posts you’ve written. It’s so cool. (whatever…)
Cool is having so much self-confidence that you don’t need anyone’s opinion of whether you’re cool or not. You are your true self and feel comfortable in your own skin. We all know there are so many people who are not good-looking and don’t dress any particular way, but because of the way they talk and act, they’re totally cool. Liam Neeson isn’t the best looking dude on the planet but he epitomizes cool for me.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
I like what you’ve shared here. It’s made me ponder. You’re right. Steve McQueen wasn’t traditionally good looking, but he was very exciting. And it was because he seemed so comfortable in his own skin. I agree with you about Liam Neeson. He also seems cool to me because he has that self-effacing aspect to his persona.
Thanks for commenting.
on ,
Rhonda Hopkins said:
Katherine Hepburn is one of my faves. I think her cool transcends the generations. And Jensen Ackles gets my vote for the coolest hot guy. Love him! Of course all the others you mentioned are definitely cool. I think you hit most of the ones I would have said.
on ,
Rhonda Hopkins said:
Oh! And I love your pics. Those lamps and your vanity area are very cool.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
I shouldn’t have named so many on my cool list. I should have given you–my readers–a chance to name cool people.
Jensen Ackles is cool as Dean Winchester. I’ve watched a few interviews with him and am still on the fence as to whether he’s cool in real life. (For the record, Josh Holloway (who played Sawyer on Lost) seemed very cool in his interviews.)
And thanks for the compliments on my furniture. I love to antique. I don’t have enough money to really get big into it. And I’d have to get rid of some furniture to make more room if I bought much more. But I do love old things.
on ,
Stacy Green said:
You know how I feel about Johnny and Jensen:) As far as celebrities go, they are cool all around. Katherine Hepburn is a great example, too. I think self-confidence is a key to being cool, and it’s a balancing act between being cool and flat out cocky. Love your lamps!
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Thanks so much for the compliment on my lamps. I think they are so neat.
Katherine Hepburn was not only beautiful, she was calm and collected. She had a great aura of confidence that always seemed to surround her.
on ,
alandhopewell said:
Such a list one could make!
Mc Queen
Travolta
Bogart
Jackson (Samuel L.)
Stan Lee
Bruce Lee
(Sir) Christopher Lee
This is a partial list, but I had to include this fellow, who made Friday nights SO cool for a lot of us Cleveland area kids….
also-
Smokey Robinson
John Wayne
Todd Rundgren
Rod Serling
Ray Harryhausen
Sammy Davis Jr.
Cool is who you are, what you’re capable of, and how you carry yourself.
One thing all of these people would have in common, from all that I’ve heard…. none of them would have applied the term, “cool”, to themselves.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Okay, Ghoulardi (hope I spelled that right) is cool. Not being from Cleveland, this was my first exposure to him. Where I grew up in East Texas, we had Count Bubba. No, I ain’t kidding. Check him out:
Here’s his main blog: http://www.countbubba.com
But this page has a video with clips: http://www.countbubba.com/count_bubba_videos.html
on ,
alandhopewell said:
Spelled perfectly. BTW, Ernie Anderson (Ghoulardi) left Cleveland to become an announcer….remember “the Looooove Boat” on ABC? Same guy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Anderson
I need to check into Count Bubba; looks waycool.
on ,
I.J.Vern said:
Hi Catie.
Very interesting post. Though I would have liked both the Charger and the Ferrari, the Ferrari because of its engine and technical characteristics
, not its cost or shiny appearance. I like cars and I love old cars. I like your vanity dresser as a whole, not only the round mirror 
.
As for cool, it’s an expression I’ve rarely used. Certain behavioral aspects, like people who adopt a wrongly perceived “I don’t care” attitude and their actions affect (in a disturbing way) other people around them, are definitely not cool. It’s cool to have an “I don’t care” attitude, as long as one does not cross the line and harm others.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Thanks for your compliment on my vanity dresser. I did buy it for the round mirror, but I love the design of it. And I love the black age spots in the mirror.
A proprietress of an antique store I visit often told me that most people gravitate toward a particular piece of furniture. For me, it’s vanity dressers and lamps. What people like and why is so interesting to me.
And, no, sociopaths and narcissists (or other people who don’t care how their actions effect other people) are not cool. They are terribly uncool.
on ,
Gregory Carrico said:
I have 2 examples of the New Cool. Idris Elba (Luther, Sometimes in April, Thor) is tough-guy and smart cool, and Benedict Cumberpatch, who not only has a cool name, but plays Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock. If Smart is the new cool, he’s polar ice!
Fun post!
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Had to look up both people you mentioned. I’m going to make a point to watch both of them in something. I love discovering new actors.
I sort of think smart is the new cool. It’s hard to get by in this modern world if you are dumb.
on ,
Yer ol' pal Rich said:
I remember when George Michael came out with his Faith album. My brother and I thought he was sooo cool. He wore his hair short (some of us were still wearing long hair) two day beard, jeans, boots, and a bitchin’ leather jacket! Girls swooned over the album cover and the videos on MTV. I recall a conversation with my brother wherein we discussed the amount of hot babes that must be swarming George for some one on one time! Then…we were shocked to find out that George didn’t even like girls! We were a couple of guys in our late teens and early twenties who were very dismayed to learn that our studly hero was battin’ for the other team. Suddenly he wasn’t so cool. Neither of us suffered from homophobia, but the image we were diggin’ seemed to fall apart after that. Many years later a thief stole several Music CDs out of my car. My dear brother, feeling my pain, was kind enough to buy me some new CDs. One of them was the Faith album. We listened to it in my car and talked about how much we used to like this album and still did. Suddenly George was cool again. Often cool is not just a matter of a youthful perspective but rather of maturity and appreciation. Thank you Catie for this insightful post.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
What an interesting story, Rich. I can completely relate to what you’re saying. I remember–back in the day–the urban legend that if men had the wrong earlobe pierced, it was an indication of homosexuality.
This was the 80s, and things were just different. Remember Eddie Murphy’s comedy act? I’m glad to say that I’ve lived in a time where I got to see things change so much. I guess everybody can say that, though. (??)
As for George Michael, I thought he was extremely sexy back then. I still do. My tastes in music have changed, but I still love select songs of his. He was and is cool.
on ,
hilliscolwell said:
Chael P. Sonnen, current light heavy weight mixed martial arts fighter for the UFC, is by far the “kewlest” and most interesting man on the planet today. Chael not only has the looks and charisma, but he may very well be the toughest man that God ever made. Mr. Sonnen also has a New York Times best selling book “The Voice of Reason” for those who want to learn more about Chael. Here is a couple vids for those who don’t know who Chael is….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CwyAdTTW9Y
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Okay. I didn’t know who Chael is. So I had to look at the videos. He is good looking. Very. His interview (that you posted below) reminded me of WWF interviews back in the 80s. Remember those? I’ll look up his book on Amazon.
Thanks for stopping by!
on ,
hilliscolwell said:
That was a good observation Catie. Chael has always been a big fan of pro wrestling and he has brought a little of that to the UFC. It has worked out to his advantage with his last fight being one of the biggest ppv draws in UFC history….earning Chael millions of dollars just for that one fight. Chael back in his college days was also a former national silver medalist in freestyle wrestling.
on ,
hilliscolwell said:
I also found this recent video when the world’s most interesting man, Chael P. Sonnen, visited Houston, TX for UFC 136…
on ,
Louise Behiel said:
Johnny Cash is th eking of cool. Steve Jobs was cool – in a nerdy, successful way. Thomas Gibson is cool. Shemar Moore, to me, works too hard at beign cool to accomplish it. of course he’s gorgeous.. LOL
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
I had never heard of Thomas Gibson or Shemar Moore. Shemar is hot! Too good looking.
I know what you mean, though, about trying too hard to be cool. To me, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie try too hard to actually be cool. If they were only a fraction as cool as they think they are… LOL!
on ,
hilliscolwell said:
I think Brad was cool with Jennifer, but Angelina Jolie is a joke…blonds are always better and Brad should of had enough sense to know that.
on ,
Louise Behiel said:
Totally agree with you. Her pose at the Oscars? Give me a break. it was studied planned and executed as if we should care. NOT
yeah, Shamar is easy on the eyes. Thomas too but in a different way – he reminds me of someone who could live next door and keep my heart going pit a pat. LOL
on ,
Donna Coe-Velleman said:
I agree with Patricia Yager Delagrange’s def. of cool.
I love Katherine Hepburn’s way and others you have down. I have to add Audrey Hepburn to the list, besides being a good actress she later worked for UNICEF.
on ,
Donna Coe-Velleman said:
Forgot to add your furniture is cool. What is it art deco late ’20′s? It’s kind of hard to see the vanity. Or it could be my eyes.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
From my guesstimate, the vanity table comes from the 1950s. The lamps, I think, are earlier than that. My favorite era is art deco from the 1920s. I have a few pieces but not many. I also love the “Waterfall” furniture from the 1930s and 1940s.
Audrey Hepburn is a good edition to the list. She was a very interesting woman–in addition to being beautiful and a great actress.
on ,
Reetta Raitanen said:
Brilliant post, Catie. This got me really thinking about what is cool. To me a cool person is someone who has a unique vision and does things in a way no one can copy. Lady Gaga and Madonna in her olde days are/were cool rebels.
Cool is an attitude, style and aestethics, and movies often create new cool crazes for the masses. Directors Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton have very distinctive styles and their movies ooze cool. And I love Joss Whedon’s ability to tell engaging stories in new wow ways in his TV series. His Buffy and Firefly series were something truly novel.
Coolness of their roles has rubbed deep on to some actors, like Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Mace Windu in Star Wars, Nick Fury in the Marvel superhero movies) and Christopher Lee (Dracula, Count Dooku in Star Wars and Saruman in LotR).
Neil Gaiman is a geek literary hero due to his Sandman comics and unique urban fantasy novels like American Gods and The Graveyard Book.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Madonna was and is cool. I love what she did with her brand. Know what I mean? LOL
Now, I know next to nothing about Lady Gaga. My days of being willing to listen to pop music are long over. Thus, I have completely missed whatever impact she made on the world.
You’re right about both Quentin Tarantino and Tim Burton. You either love it or hate it. I am also pretty into what Rob Zombie does both with his music and with his films. He’s like Tarantino in that everything is a reference to something.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
on ,
Reetta Raitanen said:
Lady Gaga’s music isn’t really that new except to America. It resembles Euro Dance (not my thing at all). But what makes her cool is her crazy costumes. For example, she has dressed in meat, bubble wrap and Kermit plushies. Every time you see Lady Gaga in an event, she’s a performance.
I haven’t seen Rob Zombie’s films but I love his music.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Girl, I quit listening to pop around 1990. So her music would have to be very old for me to be aware of it. Now, I have heard of her outrageous costumes. So at least I’m not completely out of the loop.
If you’re going to watch Rob Zombie’s films, I’d say The Devil’s Rejects is the best one. That one really seemed to reflect what he’d set out to do.
on ,
lynettemburrows said:
This discussion is cool, but ya all have listed most of the cool ones I can think of.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
That’s okay! Thanks for taking the time to read and comment.
on ,
Kitt Crescendo said:
I always thought Cary Grant was cool…I was an early teen when he died. Our local tv station played a marathon of his movies and I was in love. I also think the Rat Pack had cool to an art form. As for cool women…I think Angela Bassett is pretty awesome. Katharine Hepburn, we’ve all agreed is cool, but I think Audrey is, too…and oh so elegant!
For the younger set, I think Matt Bomer is very vintage cool. Anyone watch him on White Collar? Yum! And the guy can sing, too! For younger women, Miranda Lambert has a badass way about her. She does what she loves and dares you to like it.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Have you ever heard Paul Harvey’s “the rest of the story” about Cary Grant? I thought of it as soon as you commented this morning. It has to do with Cary Grant getting a tooth knocked out as a child. Google it if your interested.
I had to google Matt Bomer. He’s hot! LOL I also had to google Miranda Lambert. I’m going to continue looking into her music.
Thanks for commenting!
on ,
Kitt Crescendo said:
I’m definitely gonna check it out!
on ,
Marcy Kennedy said:
I have to agree with everyone else that this post was cool
My husband and I would have agreed with you about the Charger, and we wouldn’t have been drooling over the Ferrari. A Ferrari is just about showing off money. I think cool makes a statement but not in a self-conscious way. As soon as the masses pick up a trend, it stops really being cool and becomes mainstream. I see cool as having a little more edge to it.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
How cool that you and hubby would have agreed with us on the Charger. I always knew we had something in common.
We live right outside a fairly wealthy suburb of Houston, Texas. It’s close enough to us that it’s more convenient to do our shopping there than it is to shop in the town where our address says we live. We see a lot of high-end vehicles.
I agree with you that they make a statement but in an “I’m trying to be cool; look how cool I am” way. Like you, I think cool has an edge to it.
So glad you shared your thoughts.
on ,
alandhopewell said:
I don’t drive, but if I could afford one of these (and the petrol for it), I’d learn; landsharks are COOL….
http://www.kimballstock.com/pix/AUT/21AUT-21-RK0902-02P.JPG
on ,
alandhopewell said:
DARNIT! It’s supposed to be a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood, black, with fins for DAYS.
on ,
Catie Rhodes said:
Ooooh, I googled the car you mentioned. How very. I’d love to drive something like that. I would be very, very cool. LOL
on ,
borntolie said:
You named a lot of who I would have, Sean Connery key among them. Kiefer Sutherland (and his father now that I think about it) needs mentioning.
I think confidence is a very important quality, but it has to be tempered with humility. There’s a guy, David Belle, who I admire for his abilities (very athletic, though it’s hard to describe in short what he does, google his name and “parkour” though to get an idea), but even more for one video of him screwing up. The video was supposed to be him doing this awesome jump, but his hands slip, so instead of jumping, he just shoots forward impacting a brick wall and landing on one of the camera guys. First thing he does is hop up and check on the camera guy, second thing he does is makes sure that it was caught on tape, that even David Belle falls (thats what you want to type into youtube).
on ,
Julie Glover said:
Cool men: Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, Dean Martin, Lenny Kravitz, John Mellencamp, Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Nathan Fillion. Why? Each one of them has their own style. They are one of a kind.
I struggle a little more with the gals, but as for aging well, I’ll take Helen Mirren every time. If I ever look that good in a swimsuit in my 60s, I’m living the life of Dorian Gray.
Great post, Catie!
on ,
alandhopewell said:
One of the coolest ladies on tv has to be Sela Ward, just dripping with Southern charm, aging VERY well, and drop-dead sexy.
Pingback: Link Feast For Writers, vol. 26 | Reetta Raitanen's Blog